Celtics vs. the Lebronaires

DJnVa

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Disclaimer before the next week or two of vitriol: WE ALL KNOW LEBRON IS AWESOME.

That said, fuck him. I wanna see the Lebron face over and over.

 

thehitcat

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"This is what you get for building a ballpark on the ocean." Cleveland, Oil Can don't even know where you are. All he knows is that you are going down.
 

Manzivino

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Lebron’s on a mission and is one of the few guys in the league that you can’t say “let him get his, we’ll shut down everyone else” because he’ll just pay 48 and get everybody’s. I look forward to seeing what Brad can scheme up to attack the Cavs.

It’s going to be great for Tatum/Brown/Rozier to go up against the best in the world and see they belong on the same stage.
 

AimingForYoko

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I mean I cannot possibly say that C's have no chance.

I'm not gonna be delusional and say they'll win or even win the series but even with our holes I think we have a puncher's chance.

One thing in our favour is that unlike the Lebronto Chickens, our dudes don't scare easily and they have some fortitude. Obviously that isn't everything against a beast like Lebron but I don't see anyone (especially the J's & Mahcus) rolling over & dying for the King.
 

LondonSox

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I think they have people who can at least trouble LeBron and the team the Cavs we're until the raptors series is not good.

I have no idea which Cavs team shows so ‍♂
 

Ed Hillel

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Hopefully Baynes can help limit Tristan Thompson on the glass, because that dude has killed us for years getting them extra possessions. I don’t think the Celtics will win this, but I can definitely see them pushing it 6 and getting some great experience.
 

RedOctober3829

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We all know LeBron is going to get 30-10-8 at least. I'd say try to make him a jump shooter but his jumper is as good as it's ever been. The key to this series is to not let Love/Korver/Smith/even Hood go off from the 3 point line.

Al Horford HAS to show up on defense moreso than he did last year. Kevin Love completely roasted him. 32 points with 6 3's in Game 1, 21 points with 4 3's in the Game 2 massacre, 28 points with 7 3's in the Game 3 win, 17 points on 3 3's in Game 4, and 15 points with 3 3's in Game 5. That's 23 3's in 5 games. Can't happen again.

Offensively, try to get Korver switched onto Tatum as much as possible to get him in foul trouble. However, I think LeBron will end up guarding Tatum a lot. Let Smart back down Hill in the post. Try to run offense through Al as much as possible to get Love out on the perimeter.

Defensively, don't leave the shooters. Cleveland gets rolling when LeBron gets others involved and their shooting confidence gets high. Toronto let Love/Korver/Smith get rolling and that was it.

It's going to be an uphill battle every night. As Brad says, they need to hit singles. Play each possession hard and they can't get down when LBJ gets going. Last year they compounded runs into blowouts real easy.
 

BigSoxFan

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Disclaimer before the next week or two of vitriol: WE ALL KNOW LEBRON IS AWESOME.

That said, fuck him. I wanna see the Lebron face over and over.

Not gonna lie. A little sad you didn’t let me start the new series thread :(

But, unlike Joel Embiid, I’ll re-focus and get over it.
 

riboflav

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Disclaimer before the next week or two of vitriol: WE ALL KNOW LEBRON IS AWESOME.

That said, fuck him. I wanna see the Lebron face over and over.

You have to say he's the GOAT or it doesn't count (helps if you knock down MJ a peg or two as well).
 

Manzivino

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We all know LeBron is going to get 30-10-8 at least. I'd say try to make him a jump shooter but his jumper is as good as it's ever been. The key to this series is to not let Love/Korver/Smith/even Hood go off from the 3 point line.

Al Horford HAS to show up on defense moreso than he did last year. Kevin Love completely roasted him. 32 points with 6 3's in Game 1, 21 points with 4 3's in the Game 2 massacre, 28 points with 7 3's in the Game 3 win, 17 points on 3 3's in Game 4, and 15 points with 3 3's in Game 5. That's 23 3's in 5 games. Can't happen again.

Offensively, try to get Korver switched onto Tatum as much as possible to get him in foul trouble. However, I think LeBron will end up guarding Tatum a lot. Let Smart back down Hill in the post. Try to run offense through Al as much as possible to get Love out on the perimeter.

Defensively, don't leave the shooters. Cleveland gets rolling when LeBron gets others involved and their shooting confidence gets high. Toronto let Love/Korver/Smith get rolling and that was it.

It's going to be an uphill battle every night. As Brad says, they need to hit singles. Play each possession hard and they can't get down when LBJ gets going. Last year they compounded runs into blowouts real easy.
The big difference between this year and last year is Al doesn’t have to hedge to protect against Kyrie toasting everyone, and can play 4 instead of 5. Plus on offense they have the personnel to exploit the mismatch with whoever Korver is guarding. I’m with you, my gut says most likely scenario is lose in 6, much more competitive than last year. Not bad missing two all-stars.
 

ifmanis5

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Don't see an official schedule anywhere but ESPN scoreboard has Game 1 as Sunday 3:30pm.
Game 2 Tues, Game 3 Sat 8:30pm, Game 4 Monday. So, good amount of rest coming up.
 

Greg29fan

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Game one Sunday at 3:30
Game two Tuesday at 8:30
Game three Saturday at 8:30
Game four May 21 (Monday) at 8:30
Game five May 23 at 8:30
Game six May 25 at 8:30
Game seven May 27 at 8:30
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Cs are better than last year; Cavs not as good. Cs will give Cavs everything they want. Series will be decided by Cavs defense or lack thereof. Cs are going to have to score like 110+ to win games. They have the firepower - can they execute consistently enough?

There are mismatches all over the floor for BOS if they are patient enough to find. One good thing about the way the series are progressing: Cs opponents are getting less long and less athletic with each passing series.
 

JCizzle

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Cs are better than last year; Cavs not as good. Cs will give Cavs everything they want. Series will be decided by Cavs defense or lack thereof. Cs are going to have to score like 110+ to win games. They have the firepower - can they execute consistently enough?

There are mismatches all over the floor for BOS if they are patient enough to find. One good thing about the way the series are progressing: Cs opponents are getting less long and less athletic with each passing series.
I still have nightmares about Thompson destroying us on the boards. I feel like he and Love are a bad matchup for Horford/Baynes. Love always seems to trouble Al more than the less agile bangers that can't shoot.
 

RedOctober3829

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The Cavs are still not good on defense. In the sweep of Toronto, their defensive rating was still 110.1. They survived that because their offensive rating was an insane 121.5.

For everybody talking up Thompson, the C's didn't have anyone who could match up with him last year. This year, they have Baynes.
 

lovegtm

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Zach Lowe did a good article on the Korver-Love two-man game off-ball:
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23445056/zach-lowe-kyle-korver-kevin-love-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-playoffs

The Celtics are a lot more switchable than the Raptors in terms of guys who can run with Korver and also bang with Love in the post, so hopefully they can at least limit the task to finding a way to slow down LeBron. I'm mainly concerned about what happens to the help defense and stunting if they have to have 2 defenders 100% locked in on weakside actions.
 

Ale Xander

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If Cavs go big (Lebron, Love, Tristan) we can match them with Mamo on LJ, Horford on Love, Baynes on Tristan. If they go small, we just send Baynes to the bench.
 

bosockboy

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Gotta have a loose, house money mentality. They made the ECF without Hayward and Irving. That’s still hard to believe. This will be a very tight series, minimum 6 games.
 

Reverend

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Gotta have a loose, house money mentality. They made the ECF without Hayward and Irving. That’s still hard to believe. This will be a very tight series, minimum 6 games.
I love this team.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I still have nightmares about Thompson destroying us on the boards. I feel like he and Love are a bad matchup for Horford/Baynes. Love always seems to trouble Al more than the less agile bangers that can't shoot.
TT destroyed us on the boards last year because when the bigs switched out, the Cs had IT, AB, and Jae trying to defend bigger people. This year, we have TRoz, JB, and JT.

Also, I still have nightmares watching AB or KO trying to guard LBJ after switches. Not that they were bad defenders, but it's going to be much more interesting seeing how this year's team handles the Cavs.

One thing about the new NBA. Offenses are so sophisticated (or well coached) that they can basically get any matchup they want on the court. NBA teams can get away with maybe one guy like IT or Valanciunas or DeRozen who can't guard multiple positions, but you can't play two of them at the same time (as PHI learned).
 

BillMuellerFanClub

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The key to this series is going to be Marcus Morris. The entire reason he was acquired was for bench scoring and his ability to body Lebron. If he can rediscover his stroke from the last two weeks of the regular season and shoot 40% and pull his head out of his ass on defense, I give the Cs a puncher’s chance.
 

Red Averages

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Good post WBCD. Any thoughts on how Cleveland matches up with the Celts? Would have to think they will have at lteast one defender to pick on - the Cavs are really poor defensively. That would be huge as it will hopefully limit the transition attempts for Cleveland.
 

Soxfan in Fla

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Good post WBCD. Any thoughts on how Cleveland matches up with the Celts? Would have to think they will have at lteast one defender to pick on - the Cavs are really poor defensively. That would be huge as it will hopefully limit the transition attempts for Cleveland.
Korver would be my first target.
 

Soxfan in Fla

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This team is built so much better to go against the Cavs this year even without Hayward and Kyrie. JT, JB and MaMo in particular make a huge difference. Having Rozier instead of the pint sized IT is huge too.

Just like the Philly series I think you guard Lebron straight up, no help. Lebron will get his, the key is don’t give Love, Korver, Smith, etc get rolling from 3. Shut them down and make Lebron score 50. Lebron will quite often get to the rim and forego a layup for the pass to an open 3. Don’t allow those open 3’s.

The other key is to keep Thompson and Love off the offensive glass. They have killed us in the past.

The possibility that they wear Down Lebron in a long series exists as well, which will hopefully help to neutralize his 3 point shot. They can run MaMo, Smart, JB, JT and even Horford occasionally at him.

I think this is a 6 or 7 game series. The Lebrontos probably end up winning but I think the Celts have a decent shot.
 

Montana Fan

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I think the Celts are going to have a tough time with the Cavs and it's mainly due to how Lebron is playing. The Celts would have to noticeably outplay the rest of the Cavs to defeat Lebron. He's so mentally strong now but I think back to his first run with the Cavs and him giving up as he realized his supporting cast couldn't match up with the Celts. Much different teams but kicking the hell out of the supporting cast has to be the strategy.

The Celts' rotation will be much different in this series. I expect to see Moose out there against Tristan Thompson. He sat for most of the Sixers series but he and TT will be pushing each other around as well. Semi will get more playing time too. Even if it's just to bother Lebron for 6-10 minutes per game.

Regarding the schedule, there are 3 games scheduled over the next 11 days. As much as I wish they played every day, giving the players plenty of rest during the NBA playoffs is a good thing. Christ I wish Kyrie, Gordon and Theiss were healthy. I would LOVE to see what Brad and the team could do against the Cavs and then the W's with a healthy, well rested team with plenty of time to scheme, watch film and put in wrinkles for use against specific defenders.

Cavs in 6.
 

joe dokes

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Lebron’s on a mission and is one of the few guys in the league that you can’t say “let him get his, we’ll shut down everyone else” because he’ll just pay 48 and get everybody’s. I look forward to seeing what Brad can scheme up to attack the Cavs.

It’s going to be great for Tatum/Brown/Rozier to go up against the best in the world and see they belong on the same stage.
Thinking back to Opening Night......after the game, Tatum admitted that Lebron was more everything than he realized--bigger, stronger, faster, better. It's just great sports theatre that they're at it again.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Thinking back to Opening Night......after the game, Tatum admitted that Lebron was more everything than he realized--bigger, stronger, faster, better. It's just great sports theatre that they're at it again.
Interesting that the two matchups the league decided to start the season off with on opening night - Boston/Cleveland and Houston/Golden State - are the conference final matchups at the end.
 

BigSoxFan

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Interesting that the two matchups the league decided to start the season off with on opening night - Boston/Cleveland and Houston/Golden State - are the conference final matchups at the end.
WHAT DID THEY KNOW?!?!

I agree with the poster on Morris. He is going to be key and that scares the crap out of me. He shot 31% against Philly and sucked out loud on defense. If we get a repeat performance like that, we’re toast. He needs to be much, much better. I also agree with playing LeBron straight up. Make him score 40 a night on mostly 2’s. If the Korver’s of the world get going, we’re toast.

On offense, LeBron is going to take away one of Tatum or Brown. Whoever he’s not guarding has to go off. Horford and Rozier will need to shoulder a big offensive load this series. They’ll have favorable matchups that they need to win.
 

chilidawg

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This team is built so much better to go against the Cavs this year even without Hayward and Kyrie. JT, JB and MaMo in particular make a huge difference. Having Rozier instead of the pint sized IT is huge too.

Just like the Philly series I think you guard Lebron straight up, no help. Lebron will get his, the key is don’t give Love, Korver, Smith, etc get rolling from 3. Shut them down and make Lebron score 50. Lebron will quite often get to the rim and forego a layup for the pass to an open 3. Don’t allow those open 3’s.

The other key is to keep Thompson and Love off the offensive glass. They have killed us in the past.

The possibility that they wear Down Lebron in a long series exists as well, which will hopefully help to neutralize his 3 point shot. They can run MaMo, Smart, JB, JT and even Horford occasionally at him.

I think this is a 6 or 7 game series. The Lebrontos probably end up winning but I think the Celts have a decent shot.
IT barely played last year against the Cavs, so I don't think we can pin their defensive struggles then on him. I think most of us would have been pretty happy if he had been healthy for that series.
 

The Social Chair

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IT barely played last year against the Cavs, so I don't think we can pin their defensive struggles then on him. I think most of us would have been pretty happy if he had been healthy for that series.
Kyrie eat Bradley alive in game 4. Love also did really well against Horford.
 

benhogan

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If the Cavs start Lebron/Love/Korver/JR/Hill, I wouldn't be surprised if Brad matches up on defense with our starting unit. He may start Semi Ojeleye instead of Baynes. Use a physical Semi on Lebron the first 5-6 mins in the 1st and 2nd halves with MaMo coming in for Semi to cover Lebron. I think Horford and Smart will also cover Lebron, to change things up (if Lebron is an oak tree, I want to use four sharp axes to cut him down)

I like these defensive matchups: Semi on Lebron / Horford on Love / Rozier on Hill / Jaylen on JR / Tatum on Korver

We have enough offense in our starting lineup to cover for Semi.

Bench would be Smart, MaMo (comes in with fresh legs to guard Lebron) and Baynes (match him up versus Tristen Thompson).

Any word on Larkin's availability for this series?

It gets mentioned incessantly that we miss Kyrie/Gordon (which is true) but we will really miss Daniel Theis in this series. He could have added some defense on Love and helped protect the rim with a driving Lebron.

Limit the turnovers on offense and take away the 3pt line on defense (no help on Lebron)

Cavs are the favorites but so were the Sixers.

Celtics all the way in '19.
 
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Eddie Jurak

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If Semi plays extended minutes against LeBron is it going to be a short series. I like Semi a lot, but he’s one dimensional and even the Sixers were able to exploit that.

I think the best we can hope for with Semi vs LeBron is that that one on one matchup occurs infrequently enough that LeBron doesn’t turn his mind to exploiting it.