I think at full strength this Celtics team would annihilate Cleveland.Cavs in 5. Full strength they'd have a shot. Going to be too much LeBron.
I endorse the entire content of this post.I think at full strength this Celtics team would annihilate Cleveland.
I have Cavs in six; but could easily see the Celtics winning this series; first few games will tell us a lot.
I don't think the Celtics need to play perfect to beat this Cavs team. They almost lost to the Pacers. His co-workers aren't that good.Needing a perfect game against the Cavs is one thing. Needing to play a near-perfect series with our current roster is a Herculean task. At best this is Leonidas's valiant last stand at Thermopylae. King James and his co-workers are too good, too much and justifiably favored. Cavs in 5.
If Brad and Co. can find a way to re-write history, it would be an incredible accomplishment.
This is a fair point. I've made the case elsewhere over the course of half a dozen posts or so how effective Cleveland's offense is now that Hill is at full strength and the Cavs have added additional sets and actions to what they had done previously (they clearly hold back in the regular season, btw). Korver with Love screening for one another plus Hill PnRs are a nightmare for the Celtics - Rozier is godawful defending these.Because of how badly Toronto shit their pants, people seem to be forgetting how bad Cleveland's defense is. Celts will win this in 7, or maybe 6, depending on the fouls.
I hope you are right. I want you to be right.I don't think the Celtics need to play perfect to beat this Cavs team. They almost lost to the Pacers. His co-workers aren't that good.
We went to the line 41 times in the last game against Philly, and won by 2.I hope you are right. I want you to be right.
One stat I noticed about Game 7 of the Cavs/Pacers series: The Cavs went to the line 40 times. (They won the game by 4, iirc.)
I do think this is a good point. Toronto just pulled off one of the worst pants-shitting performances in NBA playoff history. So it may be clouding our judgement a little. LeBron played crazy good, but he did in the Pacers series too and they were lucky to escape that series.Because of how badly Toronto shit their pants, people seem to be forgetting how bad Cleveland's defense is. Celts will win this in 7, or maybe 6, depending on the fouls.
I wonder if people (including the pundits) would have a different prediction if the TOR and IND series were flipped.I do think this is a good point. Toronto just pulled off one of the worst pants-shitting performances in NBA playoff history. So it may be clouding our judgement a little. LeBron played crazy good, but he did in the Pacers series too and they were lucky to escape that series.
Toronto was literally clueless out there. The defense was shitastic in leaving guys like Korver and JR Smith wide open and they completely nutted up on offense.
That said, I'm taking Cavs in 6. If Kyrie were healthy, I honestly think the C's would stomp these guys. I still have concerns about the road Celtics. It wouldn't shock me though if the C's won in 7. They have a shot.
In case people missed it, in the Brad Stevens thread, TSC posted a great article about the Cs from Lowe; I thought I'd cross post it here.http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23465885/zach-lowe-boston-celtics-toughness-nba-playoffs
Tremendous article by Zach Lowe on the culture of the Celtics that mixes reporting and analysis.
True. But Hill has a back injury and he's going to be chasing players around screens all night.This is a fair point. I've made the case elsewhere over the course of half a dozen posts or so how effective Cleveland's offense is now that Hill is at full strength
Lebron is playing out of his gourde. League wants Lebron in finals. Cleveland in 5
This is where I am. If the Celtics win Games 1 and 2 I think they will win the series in 5 or 7, but I suspect the Celtics will drop one at home and, given their road struggles this postseason, won't be able to make that game up. (That's also the reason I think the least likely outcome is Celtics in 6 because I can't see this Celtics team winning a clinching game on the road against LeBron.)I've got Cavs in six, but man, with the long layoff between games 2 and 3, if the C's can hold serve at home, I really think Cleveland will completely fold.
I had the exact same feeling watching that. But as a metaphysical counter to that: anyone who spent the last few years taking bets against the inevitable is rich by now. Cubs won a World Series. The 73-win Warriors fell. Brady won and lost Super Bowls in unthinkable fashion. Trump. These are weird times.Cavs in 6. I might have felt otherwise if I hadn't been watching the game last Sunday against TOR. With three seconds on the clock and the game on the line, LeBron took the ball inbounds and even though there was so little time left, and everyone knew he was taking that shot, he was still unstoppable. My buddy made 2 bets right before the final play that the Cavs would win in regulation, and found two suckers who didn't think so. There was never a question in my mind that LeBron was gonna hit it as he dribbled up the court. He's on fire right now, and will not be denied.
It was an amazing shot for sure that immediately goes into the LeBron career highlights, but it shouldn't go unnoted that the Raptors totally botched that sequence. Casey apparently wanted his players to try to trap LeBron, but they somehow didn't get the message and everyone just kind of ran away immediately when LeBron got the ball, allowing him to build up a huge head of steam. Then, when LeBron got close to the basket, Lowry inexplicably stayed in the paint instead of at least trying to affect the shot in some way. I have a lot more trust in Brad and the Celtics players that they would have defended LeBron considerably better in that stretch.I might have felt otherwise if I hadn't been watching the game last Sunday against TOR. With three seconds on the clock and the game on the line, LeBron took the ball inbounds and even though there was so little time left, and everyone knew he was taking that shot, he was still unstoppable.
Absolutely correct. I'm not going to deny that there is a little emotional hedging/jinx attempting going into my voting process, in fact, I'll cop to it. But on a visceral level, LeBron in these playoff games scares me as much as anyone since Jordan back in the day. He can just turn it on and dominate games at any time, seemingly. In Brad we trust, for sure, but he is going to have his hands full containing that one-man wrecking crew.I had the exact same feeling watching that. But as a metaphysical counter to that: anyone who spent the last few years taking bets against the inevitable is rich by now. Cubs won a World Series. The 73-win Warriors fell. Brady won and lost Super Bowls in unthinkable fashion. Trump. These are weird times.