2009 Eastern Conference Finals: C's vs Cavs

cfan79 · Post #1 » by **cfan79** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:06 pm

I must admit the Cavs are looking really good. Lebron is on another planet skills wise and he keeps me up at night. Hopefully we can solidify our bench like we did last season, that really pushed us over the top adding P.J. and Sam. Plus I think our backup small forward position has to be upgraded. Posey did a great job in the playoffs against Lebron.

SLCceltic · Post #2 » by **SLCceltic** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:14 pm

The Cavs are very good, but they dont scare me
Now that Ray is doing his thing, Rondo being the perfect point for our team, Perk adding things he was never able to do offensively, being deep enough to match up with anyone----Walker may even be able to contribute some Ariza type minutes if we need a bigger defender than Tony

The cavs will most likely edge us again on the boards, but thats about it. We will facilitate around and be able to score on their "#1" defense
That said............. Joe Smith would be a nice addition, but I really like this team as is

The chemistry is starting to reach its full potential, and there is no other team close;
We still win with subpar performances from main guys, noone else can do that
We take out the Lakes or Cavs in 5-6

captain_cheapseats · Post #3 » by **captain_cheapseats** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:20 pm

I agree that the Cavs are looking good. However, I have to say that I'm not so sure about changing up the bench. Last year Powe/TA/Baby/Rondo/Perk had no real playoff experience, so it made some sense to bring in a couple less talented guys who had a ton of experience that the Celts could rely on in big games. But now those young guys have been through a championship run and proved their worth. Also, for what it's worth, the bench has been better this year than it was last year thus far (exactly the same scoring, but a lot better on the boards than last year's crew). So I wonder if we really need another PJ, or Sam to play anything beyond towel waiver.

As for the back-up SF, I really the idea in the abstract, but there just isn't a guy available that we could get on the cheap who would be helpful. Sunshinekid made a pretty good list of all the SFs who could be had at the moment in another thread, and it was kind of a sad crew. As I recall, Jared Jeffries was the only real big, defensive SF out there at the moment, and he'd just rot at the end of our bench.

Truthiracy · Post #4 » by **Truthiracy** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:33 pm

Remember now, last year ONLY went to 7 games because Ray was off the entire series.

Celtics in 5 this year.

cfan79 · Post #5 » by **cfan79** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:49 pm

captain_cheapseats wrote:I agree that the Cavs are looking good. However, I have to say that I'm not so sure about changing up the bench. Last year Powe/TA/Baby/Rondo/Perk had no real playoff experience, so it made some sense to bring in a couple less talented guys who had a ton of experience that the Celts could rely on in big games. But now those young guys have been through a championship run and proved their worth. Also, for what it's worth, the bench has been better this year than it was last year thus far (exactly the same scoring, but a lot better on the boards than last year's crew). So I wonder if we really need another PJ, or Sam to play anything beyond towel waiver.

I understand your optimism because afterall we are 22 and 2, but there are some serious holes on our bench. A big plus is that most other benches have similar holes.

That said there is something to be said about having reliable vets like P.J. and Sam just in case. Because some nights Baby just isn't going to be tall enough and House is going to have trouble handling the ball.

celtics792244 · Post #6 » by **celtics792244** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:31 pm

Don't forget the unknown factor.... What I mean by this is don't forget that Wally's Contract is ending this year at (if I remember correctly) $10 million. This makes him VERRYYYY tradable at the deadline. As teams fall out of contention maybe they get the big man that is somewhat decent offensively. Don't forget, Cleveland doesn't want to lose Lebron in 2010 and they will make every effort to get the players needed for THE NOW.

That is what scares me. I fear Cleveland more than LA. The ECF this year is the true NBA Finals.

cfan79 · Post #7 » by **cfan79** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:30 pm

celtics792244 wrote:
That is what scares me. I fear Cleveland more than LA. The ECF this year is the true NBA Finals.

I agree, unbelievable that the once joked about Eastern Conference has the 2 best teams. If we don't win the title I think the Cavs will.

Harison · Post #8 » by **Harison** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:04 pm

I agree Cavs is the most serious oponent on the path to the rings, but I still think Celtics have an edge over Cavs. Who will be the winner will depend on many factors - injuries, players form, etc., but with all things equal I would guess its Cs in 6 or 7.

MyInsatiableOne · Post #9 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 4:25 pm

LucerneStDoggz wrote:Remember now, last year ONLY went to 7 games because Ray was off the entire series.

Celtics in 5 this year.

I agree with this...

While they do scare me more right now than the Lakers, the Cavs schedule has been pretty soft...and they lost to the Hawks to snap their skid. I think they are scorching hot right now but will come back down to earth, while the C's are not playing to the fullest of their abilities and are on a roll...we are still on the way up. Once we reach that level, we will be very VERY hard to beat...

GreenDreamer · Post #10 » by **GreenDreamer** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:20 pm

celtics792244 wrote:Don't forget the unknown factor.... What I mean by this is don't forget that Wally's Contract is ending this year at (if I remember correctly) $10 million. This makes him VERRYYYY tradable at the deadline. As teams fall out of contention maybe they get the big man that is somewhat decent offensively. Don't forget, Cleveland doesn't want to lose Lebron in 2010 and they will make every effort to get the players needed for THE NOW.

That is what scares me. I fear Cleveland more than LA. The ECF this year is the true NBA Finals.

They also have Eric Snow's deal to play with. The Cavs will almost certainly make a trade for a 6th man, and maybe even a starter. Guys who could possibly be in Cleveland this Spring are:

Redd
Jamison
Mike Miller

i'm not too crazy about seeing any of those dudes balling with Cleveland.

GreenDreamer · Post #11 » by **GreenDreamer** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:31 pm

The Cavs are currenetly 1st in offensive efficiency and 2nd in defensive efficiency. They are a very scary team right now, and could get even scarier with a big trade.

I started a thread regarding our offense because of this. The offense that we've been wheeling out there the last few games was the one we used early on this season and for most of last season. We were 27th in offensive efficiency after 11 games this season using it, and the main reason we are now 6th is because of a more Rondo oriented uptempo approach. Evidently Doc didn't get that message and is backsliding.

People might have thought that beating up on Washington was fun, but that game's 3rd quarter was a ridiculous turnover fest. The Hornet game wasn't much better. That garbage isn't going to cut it against the Cavs in a 7 game series. We need to be able to score points efficiently because their defense is almost as good as ours now, and their offense is nasty.

Danny needs to make a deal which gets us another shooter off of the bench, and Doc needs to get squared away with consistently running an offense which takes advantage of Rondo's game. If we are running this garbage come this Spring, then the Cavs will destroy us. Even if the two things I mentioned actually happen it will be close.

Prophet_C · Post #12 » by **Prophet_C** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:39 pm

God I would love for the Cavs to get bounced in the first round. They scare me more than LA

GuyClinch · Post #13 » by **GuyClinch** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:21 am

I am hopeful Danny plans ahead and gets us some Cavs specific help - namely a big 3 that can bother Lebron even a little (Someone not named Brian Scalabrine) and a backup center with length that can contribute.. (Deke?)

As it stands right now the Cavs seem really really scary. We matchup TERRIBLE with them (as shown last year when they were just a .500 team) now they have gotten much better and we match up even worse.

MyInsatiableOne · Post #14 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:14 pm

^^Pete, while I agree Cleveland is scary, I still want to see what they do against some better competition...namely, us, the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Blazers...and how they are doing around the All-Star break. While I readily acknowledge they're our biggest threat in the East, I'll wait to pass final judgment for a little while...

Athanacropolis · Post #15 » by **Athanacropolis** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:30 pm

MyInsatiableOne wrote:^^Pete, while I agree Cleveland is scary, I still want to see what they do against some better competition...namely, us, the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Blazers...and how they are doing around the All-Star break. While I readily acknowledge they're our biggest threat in the East, I'll wait to pass final judgment for a little while...

The Cavs are 3-3 against contending teams, if I remember. I know that's not conclusive of anything, but it's interesting nonetheless. I'm with Insatiable: let's see how the Cavs do against the Cs and other quality teams later on before we quake in fear of them. I still think the Celtics are the better team by far. Mo Williams does not a championship team make.

MyInsatiableOne · Post #16 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:12 pm

Athanacropolis wrote:
MyInsatiableOne wrote:^^Pete, while I agree Cleveland is scary, I still want to see what they do against some better competition...namely, us, the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Blazers...and how they are doing around the All-Star break. While I readily acknowledge they're our biggest threat in the East, I'll wait to pass final judgment for a little while...

The Cavs are 3-3 against contending teams, if I remember. I know that's not conclusive of anything, but it's interesting nonetheless. I'm with Insatiable: let's see how the Cavs do against the Cs and other quality teams later on before we quake in fear of them. I still think the Celtics are the better team by far. Mo Williams does not a championship team make.

witnessmoboobie · Post #17 » by **witnessmoboobie** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:02 pm

Its a long season fellas, we will see you in the ECF. That should be the real NBA Finals this year. The Cavs had opportunities to win the series last year, blowing game 1. The series could have easily gone the other way. Both teams have gotten stronger and it should be a great series when the time comes.

Buckeye-NBAFan · Post #18 » by **Buckeye-NBAFan** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 6:17 am

MyInsatiableOne wrote:
LucerneStDoggz wrote:Remember now, last year ONLY went to 7 games because Ray was off the entire series.

Celtics in 5 this year.

I agree with this...

While they do scare me more right now than the Lakers, the Cavs schedule has been pretty soft...and they lost to the Hawks to snap their skid. I think they are scorching hot right now but will come back down to earth, while the C's are not playing to the fullest of their abilities and are on a roll...we are still on the way up. Once we reach that level, we will be very VERY hard to beat...

Didn't the Cavs have their 2nd best player out against Atlanta? And they lost at the buzzer, whereas Boston won at the buzzer.

Regardless though, Boston played the worst possible basketball in their entire history, and still beat the Cavs who were playing out of their minds crazy good (Re: LeBron shooting 2-18, 6-24, 5-16 ect) and Boston still won. :roll:

crm0922 · Post #19 » by **crm0922** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 9:03 am

Buckeye-NBAFan wrote:
Didn't the Cavs have their 2nd best player out against Atlanta? And they lost at the buzzer, whereas Boston won at the buzzer.

Regardless though, Boston played the worst possible basketball in their entire history, and still beat the Cavs who were playing out of their minds crazy good (Re: LeBron shooting 2-18, 6-24, 5-16 ect) and Boston still won.

As I recall, the Celtics forced LBJ into a lot of contested jumpers to arrive at these poor shooting performances.

C

sam_I_am · Post #20 » by **sam_I_am** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:52 am

It amazes me that Cleveland is the best defensive team in the NBA right now. Ben Wallace is not the same guy he was in Detroit. Big Z, West and Mo Wiliams aren't exactly the greatest individual defenders. Lebron has the ability to be the best defender the game has ever seen and I hear he is playing great. Could he be league MVP and defensive player of the year in the same season?

They are also winning by an amaing 13 ppg - which is amazing because of how much it has gone up in such a short time. They are blowing everybody out of the gym. I watched a recent game of theirs and the offense is flowing like a championship team.

This team is already excellent but they keep getting better and better. The Lakers are in a tough stretch and could lose 3 of the next 4 games. It is looking more and more like Boston and Cleveland are the elite teams of the league. Christmas day will prove it.