ECF: P1 | (2) Boston Celtics vs (4) Cleveland Cavaliers | BOS 2-0

[Blaze4G]

Coaches don't play the game man....Stevens is good but not that good. Are we forgetting they almost got swept by the Bulls last year? Are we forgetting the Cavs dominated the Celtics just a year ago? This is the GOAT we're talking about peeps.

Are we forgetting our MVP sister died the day before game 1? Are we forgetting the cavs had Kyrie thay averaged 25 ppg on 76% TS and love 22 ppg.

Are you forgetting the 5 players that started last year in ecf for Celtics only 1 starter remain?

Man...yall gon learn to stop disrespecting the GOAT around here. Just wait.

I actually don't disagree with you to an extent. But you're making it seem this Celtics and Cavs team are the same / similar to last year's version.

I honestly can't predict this series. I could see cavs sweeping Celtics and I can see Celtics winning in 7 and wouldn't be shocked either way.

Gun to my head I have cavs in 5 or 6.

[Darth Celtic]

i voted cavs in 6. We'll see. Unlike the sixers threads that started with proclamations of "i'll dig my own grave and lay in it if the sixers lose to boston" "boston has no chance" "easy win, they have no generational talent", these are starting off fine.

I'm even of with the Cavs fans saying close to those things because they have been there before and Lebron is the generational talent.

Win or lose, Celtics have been playing with house money for months. Really wanted to humble the sixers, and we did. Now i can just sit back and enjoy whatever games we have left.

[Patches Perry]

I'm taking the Celtics in 7. They have all the strong team elements of Toronto, as much or more talent, and aren't afraid of the moment. LeBron is only one man. If Kevin Love gets going like last year, it could be interesting.

[yoyoboy]

interesting takes regarding how to defend LeBron and whether teams should double or not. Let me first say LeBron can shred you both ways and it is not like he is the player now that he was before in terms of isolating and going 1 vs. 5. LeBron can do anything he wants on a basketball court and the best thing to do is throw multiple looks at him to disrupt his rhythm.

This is just a recent example so i'm not trying to throw shade at the Raps but you can't let LeBron get hot and continue to single cover him like the Raps did in game. when he is hitting 6-7 shots in a row i would hope you send the doubles once he has hit 2-3 or 4 in a row instead of giving him a chance at 6-7 or 8. I think the last series vs. Embiid showed an example of that because for the most part the Celtics played him straight up with mainly Baynes/Horford but when he found rhythm for 2-3 or 4 possessions then the doubles started to come. LeBron is a way different animal so i expect to see Tatum, Brown, Smart. Semi, Morris all get a shot at him and the Celtics will double at times hopefully at 2-3 possessions and not 7-8.


All this is easier said then done

Definitely agree with that. At the end of the day single coverage is still the way to go rather than doubling and trapping him like the Cavs did against Oladipo in round 1 because LeBron is too good of a passer and tall enough to see over the defense. But once he gets on a hot streak you definitely have to get the ball out of his hands. In Game 2 he got hot in the 3rd/early 4th quarter and Toronto continued to let him go one on one and he made them pay over and over and the game got out of reach. But as a whole throwing different defenders at him at various points to tire him out is probably the way to go. I expect to see Morris, Ojeleye, and Brown on him. I don't think Tatum is strong enough to see time on him though.

[INKtastic]

It may be crazy to think he loses to Brown and Tatum but not so crazy to think he loses to Stevens.

Coaches don't play the game man....Stevens is good but not that good. Are we forgetting they almost got swept by the Bulls last year? Are we forgetting the Cavs dominated the Celtics just a year ago? This is the GOAT we're talking about peeps.

Are we forgetting our MVP sister died the day before gamte 1? Are we forgetting the cavs had Kyrie thay averaged 25 ppg on 76% TS and love 22 ppg.

Are you forgetting the 5 players that started last year in ecf for Celtics only 1 starter remain?

No, she died before game 1 of the playoffs, not game one of the ECF.

To your last point, both teams had massive roster turnover. Cavs only have 5 players back from last year’s team.

[beeshake]

Cavs in 5

[Curmudgeon]

You have to keep changing up defenses, not just defenders. The Celtics have a 2-3 zone that they used to hide Isaiah Thomas' defensive weaknesses. I expect them use that some of the time. As soon as the Cavs diagnose the zone and start using LeBron (or Love) to exploit the weak middle of that zone, switch to something else. Force LeBron and the Cavs to make adjustments on the fly.

[Stadium5]

How bad a Raps fans rooting for Boston to get swept lol

LeBron = Ramsay
Raps = Reek

[drstarheel]

Why is there this myth that Indiana focused on shutting down the supporting cast while Toronto focused on stopping LeBron? Toronto let LeBron operate 1-on-1 all series while faceguarding Love, Korver, etc.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

People underestimate how much of it comes down to simply making shots versus not making shots. Indiana actually allowed more open and wide open shots combined than Toronto did but the Cavs shot far worse on them against the Pacers. Not to mention in the regular season Toronto finished with the 5th ranked defense while Indiana finished with the 13th ranked defense. And Indiana gave up the 16th most threes per game in the NBA while Toronto gave up the least in the entire league.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

JR, Green, Clarkson, Hood and and even Korver are all streaky shooters. And if they're shooting closer to how they did against the Pacers then we don't stand a chance and I think this ends in 6. Fortunately Hill was healthy and playing against Toronto and will be even more rested against Boston. What I will say is that Indiana did a far better job against Love (even though Love's thumb also isn't bothering him as much now) with Young than anyone on Toronto did, and I'm curious to see how Boston does guarding him.

I thought the Cavs were shooting worse on those threes because they were exhausted from trapping Dipo 30 feet from the basket. As soon as he made the pass out of it, a ton of defensive rotations covering a lot of ground were required. It's especially taxing for the guy making the trap (typically Kevin Love) because he has to keep sprinting back to his man.

Toronto may have given up the least 3's in total but they ranked 13th in opponent three point percentage. Indy ranked 4th. Boston ranked 1st. The top 4 teams in this category are very young which would suggest, playing hard and tiring out your opponent effects their three point shooting percentage, even if the shots are open.

Additionally the Pacers won the 4th quarter 5 out of the 7 games. The two times the Cavs won the 4th, they won it by just two points. Pacers outscored them by 32 in the 4th for the entire series. So they were clearly tiring the Cavs out. The Celtics are even younger and I imagine they'll do the same.

[jordb2k7]

Coaches don't play the game man....Stevens is good but not that good. Are we forgetting they almost got swept by the Bulls last year? Are we forgetting the Cavs dominated the Celtics just a year ago? This is the GOAT we're talking about peeps.

Are we forgetting our MVP sister died the day before gamte 1? Are we forgetting the cavs had Kyrie thay averaged 25 ppg on 76% TS and love 22 ppg.

Are you forgetting the 5 players that started last year in ecf for Celtics only 1 starter remain?

No, she died before game 1 of the playoffs, not game one of the ECF.

To your last point, both teams had massive roster turnover. Cavs only have 5 players back from last year’s team.

She did but the previous post mentioned being swept by the bulls which i think he was responding to with the G1 comment. Should be a fun series, can't wait to see how it plays out regardless.

[Karate Diop]

Cavs in 4. First there was LeBronto then there was Bronston.

Let it go, Billy. Let it go.

My name's not Billy it's Karate Diop.

[GrandTheftRondo]

Don’t know what to think. Knew we didn’t have a chance last season or the year before. Haven’t felt like a chance against LeBron since 2010. Back then his supporting cast stunk and the Celtics defence basically let LeBron shoot jumpers and live with the results.

I get a similar feeling about this Cavs team but the difference is they’ve got other players who have constantly given us issues. Love and Thompson specifically.

I worry that Tatum etc may burn out. Been a long and surprising season for them. The Cavs have experience and guys who have been here before.

I think the Celtics in 7, but I say that with very little confidence.

[yoyoboy]

Why is there this myth that Indiana focused on shutting down the supporting cast while Toronto focused on stopping LeBron? Toronto let LeBron operate 1-on-1 all series while faceguarding Love, Korver, etc.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

People underestimate how much of it comes down to simply making shots versus not making shots. Indiana actually allowed more open and wide open shots combined than Toronto did but the Cavs shot far worse on them against the Pacers. Not to mention in the regular season Toronto finished with the 5th ranked defense while Indiana finished with the 13th ranked defense. And Indiana gave up the 16th most threes per game in the NBA while Toronto gave up the least in the entire league.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

JR, Green, Clarkson, Hood and and even Korver are all streaky shooters. And if they're shooting closer to how they did against the Pacers then we don't stand a chance and I think this ends in 6. Fortunately Hill was healthy and playing against Toronto and will be even more rested against Boston. What I will say is that Indiana did a far better job against Love (even though Love's thumb also isn't bothering him as much now) with Young than anyone on Toronto did, and I'm curious to see how Boston does guarding him.

I thought the Cavs were shooting worse on those threes because they were exhausted from trapping Dipo 30 feet from the basket. As soon as he made the pass out of it, a ton of defensive rotations covering a lot of ground were required. It's especially taxing for the guy making the trap (typically Kevin Love) because he has to keep sprinting back to his man.

Toronto may have given up the least 3's in total but they ranked 13th in opponent three point percentage. Indy ranked 4th. Boston ranked 1st. The top 4 teams in this category are very young which would suggest, playing hard and tiring out your opponent effects their three point shooting percentage, even if the shots are open.

This is definitely overthinking it though. The Cavs were well rested and didn't trap Oladipo at all in Game 1 and the team shot 8/34 from three (23.5%). Sometimes you just go cold especially when you have a team of streaky shooters. And Love was actually the only one who shoot decently from three in the series despite aggressively trapping. Also giving up fewer made threes is better than giving up a lot of them but at a slightly lower percentage because you're preventing the shot from being taken in the first place. Going off of that, Sacramento ranked 4th in team 3P% but only 26th in 3PM per game. Whereas Houston ranked 13th in 3P% but 1st in 3PM per game. And I don't think anyone would argue against Houston being up there with GS as the best three point shooting team in the team and significantly better at it than Sacramento.

If the Celtics are going to win this, they're going to have to run the Cavs off the three point line and force JR, Love, and Korver to dribble drive, something they did a really job at against Philly's shooters. I don't think hoping they shoot as poorly on open threes as they did against Indiana is a viable strategy.

[AK47MVP]

How bad a Raps fans rooting for Boston to get swept lol

LeBron = Ramsay
Raps = Reek

lol wut? I root for Celtics to win to show just how pathetic inept coach Casey is. Celtics beat Cavs, hopefully Casey is canned. I mean he should have been sacked 3 years ago after 0-4 loss DESPITE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE to WIZARDS.

[fart]

All the Eastern conference teams look good before they play LeBron. LeBron will give them the usual.

[hickfromfrenchlick]

Cavs in 4. First there was LeBronto then there was Bronston.

Let it go, Billy. Let it go.

My name's not Billy it's Karate Diop.

Everyone, please call Billy "Karate Diop" from now on. He's had a rough few years and it's probably best if we indulge this phase.

[drstarheel]

Why is there this myth that Indiana focused on shutting down the supporting cast while Toronto focused on stopping LeBron? Toronto let LeBron operate 1-on-1 all series while faceguarding Love, Korver, etc.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

People underestimate how much of it comes down to simply making shots versus not making shots. Indiana actually allowed more open and wide open shots combined than Toronto did but the Cavs shot far worse on them against the Pacers. Not to mention in the regular season Toronto finished with the 5th ranked defense while Indiana finished with the 13th ranked defense. And Indiana gave up the 16th most threes per game in the NBA while Toronto gave up the least in the entire league.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

JR, Green, Clarkson, Hood and and even Korver are all streaky shooters. And if they're shooting closer to how they did against the Pacers then we don't stand a chance and I think this ends in 6. Fortunately Hill was healthy and playing against Toronto and will be even more rested against Boston. What I will say is that Indiana did a far better job against Love (even though Love's thumb also isn't bothering him as much now) with Young than anyone on Toronto did, and I'm curious to see how Boston does guarding him.

I thought the Cavs were shooting worse on those threes because they were exhausted from trapping Dipo 30 feet from the basket. As soon as he made the pass out of it, a ton of defensive rotations covering a lot of ground were required. It's especially taxing for the guy making the trap (typically Kevin Love) because he has to keep sprinting back to his man.

Toronto may have given up the least 3's in total but they ranked 13th in opponent three point percentage. Indy ranked 4th. Boston ranked 1st. The top 4 teams in this category are very young which would suggest, playing hard and tiring out your opponent effects their three point shooting percentage, even if the shots are open.

This is definitely overthinking it though. The Cavs were well rested and didn't trap Oladipo at all in Game 1 and the team shot 8/34 from three (23.5%). Sometimes you just go cold especially when you have a team of streaky shooters. And Love was actually the only one who shoot decently from three in the series despite aggressively trapping. Also giving up fewer made threes is better than giving up a lot of them but at a slightly lower percentage because you're preventing the shot from being taken in the first place. Going off of that, Sacramento ranked 4th in team 3P% but only 26th in 3PM per game. Whereas Houston ranked 13th in 3P% but 1st in 3PM per game. And I don't think anyone would argue against Houston being up there with GS as the best three point shooting team in the team and significantly better at it than Sacramento.

If the Celtics are going to win this, they're going to have to run the Cavs off the three point line and force JR, Love, and Korver to dribble drive, something they did a really job at against Philly's shooters. I don't think hoping they shoot as poorly on open threes as they did against Indiana is a viable strategy.

I agree, you definitely want to run those guys off the line first. It's not a viable strategy to just tire a team out and then intentionally let them shoot open threes hoping for misses. But missed open threes are fairly common, especially once you're tired. Darren Collison led the league in 3 point shooting this year and missed a ton of open threes against the Cavs. It's an unfortunate variable that going to happen to players on both teams.

But if I had to put money on it, I'd bet the Cavs three pointers made and three point percentage will be lower against the Celtics than it was against Toronto.

[Triple M]

Baynes needs to be in there anytime TT is in the game, so probably comes off the bench but not enough is being said that by the Celtics adding more beef, length, and athleticism that TT might be held in check relative to last year

Smart and Rozier are probably better getting around screens so i think we see them try to chase around JR and Korver. which probably leaves Brown or Tatum the one not guarding Bron on Hill.

How do people assess Love vs. Horford??

Are people expecting that Love finds a great success in this match up because Horford has been amazing defending Antetokounpo, Simmons, and Embiid so far in these playoffs. However, Love might be the most complete offensive player with the addition of playing off LeBron which makes it a difficult task for Horford.

On the other side of the ball the Celtics cant afford to go on their usual 3-4 min droughts in quarters but i feel the Celtics might have some success due to the Cavs not having a rim protector.

[Blaze4G]

Coaches don't play the game man....Stevens is good but not that good. Are we forgetting they almost got swept by the Bulls last year? Are we forgetting the Cavs dominated the Celtics just a year ago? This is the GOAT we're talking about peeps.

Are we forgetting our MVP sister died the day before gamte 1? Are we forgetting the cavs had Kyrie thay averaged 25 ppg on 76% TS and love 22 ppg.

Are you forgetting the 5 players that started last year in ecf for Celtics only 1 starter remain?

No, she died before game 1 of the playoffs, not game one of the ECF.

To your last point, both teams had massive roster turnover. Cavs only have 5 players back from last year’s team.

He brought up bulls almost beating Celtics...so I mentioned IT sister passing away. So you're staying something I already knew.

Correct, so my last point still stands. They are both very different teams. So you can't use last year performance to judge what will happen this year.

[bb22]

How do people assess Love vs. Horford??

Are people expecting that Love finds a great success in this match up because Horford has been amazing defending Antetokounpo, Simmons, and Embiid so far in these playoffs. However, Love might be the most complete offensive player with the addition of playing off LeBron which makes it a difficult task for Horford.

I would say Love's ability to spread the floor is the obvious answer. So drawing Horford out of the paint is key. He has choked against Lebron's teams in recent years, but man I have been so impressed with what he's done on both ends this year that I don't know what to expect. His playmaking will be key.