Celtics/ Cavs

AJ:
In what was one of the less surprising developments of this year’s postseason, the Celtics finished off the Hawks Sunday afternoon with one of the more brutal ass-whuppings in recent memory, smothering the Hawks’ offense before they developed any kind of rhythm. The resulting bad passes, forced jumpers and Celtics transition buckets killed a team that was, based on expectations and their play on the road both this series and throughout the regular season, doomed from the get. Give Atlanta credit where they’re due; they took this series 2 or 3 games further than anyone thought and for the first time in ages they made significant strides back to respectability this season. This time next year, after another season of growth, this squad could be on right end of a Game 7.

But for now it’s Boston moving on to face Lebron ‘n Friends, who surprised me with both their consistency and intensity in the first round. They weren’t phased by the lame attempts at psychological warfare; scoring well and playing stingy D against the high-octane Wizards. As good as they were, they need to be even better against the Celtics, who responded to the pressure of a seventh game by absolutely obliterating the Hawks and will come into this series tired, but fired the f*** up. What should worry the Cavs, of course, is Boston’s D; the best in the league and the kind of solid-as-a-whole unit that can give Lebron problems (see: NBA Finals, 2007, Games 1-4). Cleveland got huge games from Daniel Gibson and Wally Sczerbiagsdhak to close out the Wiz, and they’ll need to keep shooting well to keep the D on its toes. As was true in the clinching game of the last two series they’ve won, it’s when their shooters are keeping defenders honest and allowing Bron to operate that the Cavs are at their best. The battle on the boards will also be crucial; Boston dominated the glass against a thin Hawks frontcourt but will have to make adjustments against the best offensive-rebounding team in the L. Although both teams can play a physical game, I can see Boston struggling if Lebron can attack the basket and draw fouls. Their bench has stood up but Leon Powe’s not KG and Eddie House is no Jesus Shuttlesworth. Needless to say the King needs to play carefully if guarding Paul Pierce; Cleveland can’t stay in a game if he can’t stay on the court. So what’s this series coming down to? Offensive execution. If the Cavs can move the ball and hit open shots with consistency they’ll give themselves a better chance than the requisite two games James gets them against any East team. I think they can do it; just not well enough to win.

Celtics in 7


Christian:
Celts/Cavs…I’d like to hope it will be highly contested. Both teams have lacked consistency at times; Boston more recently in their surprising seven game series with Atlanta, and the Cavs..well, all season. Cleveland looks to finally be in stride, for perhaps the first time since that 11 player swap that went down. While Larry and Drew pray Mike D’Antoni will get the Bulls’ job, Delonte, Joe, Ben and Wally are ready for this post-season push. The Celtics are capable of playing impeccable defense and have the star power required to have reliable offensive outputs. The Cavs are more of a wildcard in both respects; some nights Lebron can play sick and they’ll still get trounced, and other nights an unlikely hero like Gibson will lead the charge for a win and their defence has never been a sure thing in the King James era.
At times, Cleveland gives us flashes of brilliance, but they still maintain several glaring weaknesses; perimeter defence (Ray Allen will get those open looks), a Jekyll and Hyde fast break attack (often favouring a ‘touch and go’ halfcourt game over the ‘get out and run’ easy points game) and a far inferior supporting cast. Would I rather have the Celts starting 5? Yes. Would I rather have the Celts’ bench? Yes. Can one player change the entire outlook of this series? An overwhelming yes. The 2006-07 Detroit Pistons could certainly tell you about that last question. Detroit was hands down a better overall “team” last year, but the efforts of Lebron James can be enough to outwill and outperform any team in the L if he’s feeling it. If the rest of the Cavs can play above average, then the Celts could be in trouble. I believe this series will come down to Boston’s ability to lock down the Cavs and slow the game down to a pace they’re comfortable with. The Celts are a more sound basketball team and there is often a certain predictability to the performance you will get from there. Cleveland could get worked by 30 in the first two games and still pull this one out if Bron’ remained pissed. Against what I really want to happen, I’ll take the Celtics because they probably will win. I am also quite interested in the KG vs. Ben Wallace match-up…maybe Big Ben will finally pay some dividends.

Celtics in 6


Let's see what Bron has done to this "defensive powerhouse" in the regular season..