Ok, the predictions are out and the Celtics have converted 2 of the guys from ESPN to become believers. That's two more than the last series where every one of them picked the Cavs. I feel pretty smart picking the Celtics in 6. I'm picking them in 6 against the Magic as well.
It's pretty sad that almost every article I have read about the Cavs/Celtics series talks about how the Cavs lost rather than the fact that the Celtics won. There are theories out there from LeBron's elbow to Delonte sleeping with his mom as reasons for the Cavs demise. The only one saying that the reason the Cavs lost is because the Celtics played so well is Stan Van Gundy who is not under estimating the Celtics in the least.
I'm still sticking with my parallels with this team and the 1969 champs. That 1969 team was considered too old and came into the playoffs without home court in any of their series. They were counted out by just about everyone. But, that team was also finally healthy in the playoffs and went on to win the championship. This team is also finally healthy and surprising a lot of people.
It cracked me up how everyone was saying the Celtics were too old to beat the Cavs, when the Cavs may have actually been the older team. The
three oldest starters for the Cavs are Jamison who is 33, Parker who is 34 and and Shaq, who is 38. On the other hand, Pierce is 32, Garnett is 33 and Allen is 34.
And our best player, Rondo (24) is younger than their best player (Lebron is 25). The Celtics are truly the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA.
Cleveland and the state of Ohio are pulling out all the stops to get LeBron to stay. Witness this video that is, in my opinion, just plain sad. The whole state is grovelling at his feet. Can you picture Boston doing that for ANYBODY? I would hope that they would have too much pride to embarrass themselves this way.
I like our chances against the Magic. Nelson has been coming up big for the Magic, but hasn't really faced any tough competition. I give Rondo the edge in that matchup. With KG healthy and playing like KG again, I say Lewis has a much tougher time. Perk has always had success against Howard. He is one of the very few in the league who can guard him one on one. That leaves the Carter/Ray and the Barnes/Pierce matchups. The Captain is due for a big series. They are going to start Barnes on Ray and Carter on Pierce. That's like giving Pierce a green light. The benches are going to be key for both players. Sheed vs Gortat, Tony vs Pietrus or Redick, Big Baby vs Anderson. I'd like to see Finley come up with some big games in this series also. Hopefully the Celtics' bench continues to come up big for them.
We knew going into the series against the Cavs that they would be getting preferential treatment from the refs. Stern wants a Kobe/Lebron puppet finals so bad he can taste it. And, in the first 4 games, the Cavs did get a lot of the calls going their way. But I have to say, in games 5 and 6, the refs were pretty much fair, even giving some of the questionable calls to the Celtics. Now with the Golden child out of the playoffs, Stern's best bet is to hope for another Celtics/Lakers finals. The Magic/Lakers finals last year were pretty ho-hum. So, maybe, just maybe we get some love from the refs this game. At least, if Stern was smart we would.
I say Celtics steal one of the first 2 games in Orlando and then win the 3 on their home court to end the series in 6. Orlando has had 2 easy opponents and have been sitting around alot. The Celtics hit this series in stride after dispatching 2 tough opponents that everyone picked to beat them. I like our chances.
A lot of fans blaming this one on the refs. I was yelling all night about calls they missed on the Celtics. But they missed a lot on the Cavs too. I think the last two games were fairly evenly called and after getting the benefit of ALL the calls all season, the Cavs just weren't used to not getting ALL the calls. It was pretty funny because they would complain about the officiating being one sided but at the same time talk about how all the Celtics were in foul trouble (while none of the Cavs were). I can't believe how many Cavs fans really hate the players on their team. They hate Parker, Jamison, Mo, Shaq, and now apparently a lot of them have added LeBron to that list. These comments are always way more fun to gather when we win! Enjoy!
Not looking forward to this. I can't believe this could be it. So sad. If this team has ANY heart whatsoever, they won't go down easy.
1-point loss. Brown is fired, LeBron leaves, Gilbert sells the franchise, JJ becomes our franchise player, Cleveland goes next 100 years without a championship...
It's not important to fearless leader and I got an exam to study for on Friday so it's not important enough for me to watch the end of an era.
After yeasterdays shitty performance and a waste of time, I will NOT be watching game 6 simply to be let down by lack of emtion, effort, and willingness to win on LBJ's part. IF LBJ decides to actually play and win game 6, then LBJ will have EARNED my time as a fan to participate in the viewing of game 7.
I'm feeling very confident, just look back at D-Wades game 4 vs the Celtics where he could of got eliminated, LeBron won't quit on us... I know it.
What are the chances that Bennett Salvatore will be a ref in this game?
Just curious. I'd hate to think that NBA is somewhat fixed, but I just want to see Cavs to redeem themselves in Game 7 at home. It's so sad to go out like that as their last game in the Q for this season.
We're winning this one. This team will come running like Secretariat at the derby
The Cavs got this one. Book it. No way in an elimination game do they come out with anything less than 100% effort. The Celtics can't win if we bring our A game. And the A game will be there. No doubt about it.
I say we win this game by blowing em out. Feeling good for some totally inexplicable reason. It's all depression if we lose for the summer so I'm going to keep myself delusional till then
I'm not watching this garbage. I'm not watching this Cavs team go down as the next entry on a list of epic sports disappointments
Really disappointing end to the LeBron era. Nothing else to add. I wonder what's the real problem of LeBron but who cares Cavs are losing and that's the only thing that matters.
It's over. Ship LeBron and his oh so convenient injury outta Ohio. Choke...
Celtics got lucky in the games they won but their luck has run out along with their legs. They are too old to win 3 in a row. Cavs win in a blow out.
This is the first game in many years, I've been uneasy about our chances of winning
One of the reasons the Cavs won game 1 is because they got a lot of their players in foul trouble.
I don't think that Rondo is as good as the Cavs (and Mo's defense) is making him look.
I have no reason for optimism, based on the last two outings, but I think we get it done tonight. I don't care if it's by one or one hundred, just get it done.
We'll see a repeat of game 3
No you won't. Not unless the Celtics fail to show up, like they did in game 3. The Celtics played very lackadaisically and played almost no defense in that game. Watch the first quarter to see which Celtics team shows up. If they're aggressive and playing tough defense, as they did in games 1, 2 (first 3 quarters), 4, & 5, then I see no way the Cavaliers can win. I hope I'm wrong, but if the Celtics bring their A-game, we're done.
One thing you can count on this game is that the Celtics will bring their A game. They are looking at this as a Game 7 and will play like it tonight. Unfortunately, you can't count on anything else, particularly when it comes to the Lebrons.
At least LeBron is not being passive to start this one. He has the highest PPG average in elimination games.. But man the C's look like they want to close this one out.
Jamison destroying the Cavs franchise one defensive mishap at a time.
Good news... When LeBron comes out rebounding aggressively like he did on that free throw, he's usually very aggressive offensively. All 8 of his game 3 rebounds were in the first half.
Shaq cant guard KG its a horrible idea
No adjustments except for a horrible one.Vintage Brown
OF COURSE Garnett's not gonna dunk against shaq... He'll just create space and nail the jumper. Because he doesn't suck.
Mo Williams is so bad and Browns cure is to double his minutes.
Why cant anyone guard KG
Man there is no way their shooting is going to keep up like this... If it does this will be the worse loss in the history of the NBA
When LeBron actually drives, it looks like he is just throwing the ball at the rim, knowing it won't go in.
HOw lucky can Boston get on their jump shots?
I think the reason we can't match up with Boston is because 4/5 of their starters are all potential first options. They have too many weapons
Lebron is getting fouled so much
Cavs vs. Refs and Celtics....
Celtics are going to have major foul problems in the second half.
Celts shot 56%, Cavs 40% in the quarter and the deficit is only 3.
Rondo is the greatest PG in NBA history after playing the cavs
Rondo is amazin... . Stil hate him though
No one wants the cavs to win that is not a foul.... And another foul who is paying these refs off
Is Boston really this good or are we just that bad??????? This is AWFUL!!!!
Rondo ALWAYS gets a foul call such a flopper.
I'm not worried yet...I've seen enough out of LeBron to see he isn't going to let this game get away from him.
And the refs start calling them the other way..
Awww Sheed. I can always count on you to get that tech.
Fouls are going to hurt the C's.
Doc Rivers doing us a favor not playing KG
Rondo is outplaying LBJ in every way this series.
I would be destroying Rondo every time he was in the paint. Knock him out.
I hate Jamison. He sucks in crunch time.
We're getting out worked. Gotta step up and run this team into the ground.
James has been passively awful
Rondo with 3 fouls, nice!
I hope Rondo picks up his 4th in the last minute.
I hope Rondo picks up his 4th in the last minute. Hey Doc....Mike Brown would never let a player tell him what to do.
Wow some questionable calls
When the DMV asked Mike Brown if he wanted to be an organ donor, he told them all he had was a piano.
LeBron's awful defense on Allen, gives up the dunk
Cavs are going to win this one.. Book it... No way they lose. A motivated cavs team is the best team in the league... Even against the refs.
This defense is unreal.
I seriously can't believe they're going to let Rondo go into the lane time and time again, and no one is going to lay him out, old-school style. Pathetic.
I don't want to think Lebron is really throwing this series.. But its looking more and more like it.. This is very frustrating..
Is it bad that I just got happy at the idea of Shaq hurt? That's a bad thing right? I'm a horrible person. I mean he seems like a nice person, but...
Ray Allen needs to get thrown out of one of these games for intentionally tripping people
Fouls really piling up for the C's
Perkins is an enormous human being and Shaq just pushed him like a little girl.
Now James drives to the basket and is aggressive. This guy is such a quitter. Be careful what you wish for NY or Chicago.
Garnett is a beast in the post!!!!!
I hope this team loses, I'm not even joking. All this team is, is a bunch of cry babies when they don't get their way. Its so pathetic
I'm now convinced that Lebron threw this series. The Lebron I knew would have taken control. Instead he is passing, missing free throws, playing not so good defense and just playing sloppy. Wow. I didn't want to believe it but I'm a "witness" .
We were overrated. Jamison is a scrub at this point and the rest of the guys are simply role players outside of Lebron while they have legitmate stars.
Their defense is just too good, we look like a pile of headless chicken...
Now Sheed is gonna get hot? This is just ridiculous
Refs bad both ways tonight.
The story is gonna be Lebron was hurt since Chicago series but did not want to make a big deal out of it.
As I said earlier this week on the board, I no longer want to resign LBJ . Anyone that comes up so small in the biggest game of his and the franchise's history doesn't deserve to be rewarded.
Why don't thjey play 10 feet off the Alien Rondo EVERY TIME .. He cannot shoot.
Doc Rivers has coached a masterful series and continues to do so.
I want superstars that play to win, not play to get money and be BFFs with Jay Z
Our coach calls timeouts when the lead gets to double digits. There coach calls timeouts as soon as we get a good offensive flow.
LeBron doesn't get any calls, he's no superstar, he's a scrub. At least in the eyes of NBA refs.
I don't want to hear about his elbow. His elbow was sure fine game 3 and game 1. His elbow is sure fine when throws a pass at 80 mph instead of driving the ball.
Torn ligament?!? Hahahahaha!!!!! Here comes Mr. 4th quarter!
Stern manipulated spacetime, warping the gravitational field to alter the ball's path into the basket. Only explanation.
Guys Delonte just talked to Bugs Bunny. I guess they all beat the monstars down in loony toon land. Anyways. Lebron just got his talent back.
I wish MB was as good as Rivers
Refs just took it away on 2 possessions
Refs just screwed us again, you CANNOT tell me this league isn't fixed. The NBA wants the bigger market to move on, simple as that.
This is a joke. The referees are stripping us of our momentum.
Its so ridiculously blatant at this point. The officiating in this series has been horrid, with the officials getting calls wrong to the detriment of both teams. Now the pendulum has swung over to the Boston side
Why is Rondo allowed to knock the ball out of LeBron's hands while he's out of bounds? That's an instant technical. Yet these 2-bit refs refused to call it. Andy gets hacked BADLY and they refuse to call it. You CANNOT tell me these refs don't have an agenda.
Stop blaming the refs. We flat out played like shit the entire game. We don't deserve to win this.
Varejao is a total pansy. I mean honestly if you were a ref would you give him calls? He whines the whole freaking game.
The league stands to make far more by us winning, regardless of what LeBron does next year. So let's ease off the "fix is in" talk.
Boston is in for a rude awakeningin the next round. They don't have to worry about much with us, just build a wall in front of Lebron. Orlando will torch this team and make Allen and Pierce be worn down at the end of games.
Boston fans screaming NY Knicks... Lovely.
At least six of LeBron's "misses" tonight have been on obvious fouls that have not been called. These refs are clearly on the take. Somebody's got to make an issue of this.
LBJ - 1 turnover away from a quadruple double.
Take a machete to this team. And everybody that slobbered over the trade deadline move for Jamison can savor another tremendous February failure.
AJ was still a brilliant pickup for peanuts.
But one of the Celtics may have been allergic to peanuts and gotten such a reaction that it would've been more useful than Tawn has been this series.
I have a newfound respect for the Celtics after this series*. They play as a team and just get it done when it matters. Doc Rivers' timeout speeches are inspiring.
The only drama left is whether Bron shakes hands or not
Lebron isn't going to go to the knicks where every game will feel like this
KG looks closer to old KG
Lebron will never win a championship if he can't win it with a team of this caliber.
Jameer/VC against Rondo/Rayray.. I give edge to Jameer/VC
The way Celtics are playing in the post season, they will win it all. But I hope the Suns win.
I hope either the suns or Celtics win it. Since I was little I hated the lakers and the C's but I would rather see the Celtics win over the Magics. I can't stand Howard and his arrogance.
I underestimated the Celtics. Everyone said they were too old and counted them out because of their regular season. But just like the Spurs of a few years back, they are built for the post season. They play as a team and win as a team. One man bands like the Heat and Cavs are regular season teams.
If the King wants a ring he needs to forget going to NY or Chi town or south beach. He needs to sign with LA or Boston for the mid level. They're the only teams allowed to win these days.
at Cleveland Cavaliers (2-3) at Boston Celtics (3-2)
Thursday, May 13
8:00 PM ET
Round 2, Game 6
TV: ESPN
TD Garden
Today's Referees: Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Eddie F. Rush
The series now once again shifts back to Boston with the Celtics one game away from eliminating the Cavs. So far, this series has been totally unpredictable with home court meaning little.
After blowing out the Cavs in Cleveland in game 4, the Celtics now have two chances to get one win to close out the series and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. They were in this same spot last year, up 3-2 on the Magic, and lost game 7 on their home court. But,there is a major difference between that series and this one. KG is back and playing well.
The Celtics are saying that they are looking at this like game 7 and don't want to go back to Cleveland. Of course, they also said that they were looking at game 3 like it was game 7 and then allowed the Cavs to hand them their worst home playoff defeat in Celtics history. Let's hope they play like it really is game 7 and not come out flat like they did in game 3.
They can't take a chance on what might happen if they go back to Cleveland and have to play a game 7 on the Cavs home court, even though they have won there twice. The Cavs are bound to wake up, and Lebron is due for another big game. The Celtics have got to come out focused and finish this off now. Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Mo Williams
Shooting Guard vs
Ray Allen vs Anthony Parker
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
Power Forward vs
Kevin Garnett vs Antawn Jamison
Center vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Shaquille O'Neal
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Mo Williams
Rondo's aggressiveness and all around play continues to be the key for the Celtics. The Cavs have thrown everyone on their team including LeBron James at Rondo in an effort to stop him. In game 4, their efforts were focused so much on trying to stop Rondo that they let everyone else on the Celtics go off. Rondo has been a thorn in their sides and hopefully he will continue to control the pace of the game and dominate in this game as well.
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Antawn Jamison
KG has been shooting the ball well this matchup favors the Celtics. We are seeing the KG of old in this series, rather than the old KG. This is a matchup that the Celtics need to exploit because KG has been able to get his shot off over Jamison pretty much any time he wants.
Honorable Mention vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
Paul Pierce finally broke out and had a very good game in game 5 while LeBron had a terrible game. Limiting LeBron's production will be a team effort but the bulk of it falls on the Celtics' Captain and he has done a good job so far. Hopefully Pierce's offensive game will continue to be on track in this game.
vs
The benches continue to play a big part in this series. The Celtics' bench has been coming through for them with Big Baby, Sheed, and Tony all coming up big at one time and others contributing as well. The Celtics need to continue to get good production and defense from their bench.
Keys to the Game DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE! I can't say it enough, defense has been the key to the Celtics 3 wins so far and it is the key to winning this game and the championship. The team that plays the best defense most consistently will win the title. Everyone is wondering what has been wrong with the Cavs and it can be explained in two words: Celtics Defense.
Rebound It's no coincidence that the team that has won the rebounding battle in each game has won the game. Rebounding is the result of desire and effort and the team that wants it most will end up grabbing more rebounds. Let's hope it is the Celtics that want this game more and will crash the boards to give themselves second chance points and limit the Cavs fast break opportunities.
Focus for 48 Minutes - The Celtics must come out focused and be aggressive right from the start of the game. They can't allow bad calls and no calls to affect how they play. Just like in game 5 they have to keep pressing from start to finish. On the offensive end they have to focus on running the plays, moving the ball and playing team ball. On the defensive end, they have to keep their focus and play the lock down defense that has left the Cavs dazed and confused more than once. With a team like the Cavs, they have to focus from start to finish with no let up.
X Factors
Focus and Officiating
Once again, the X Factors become the Celtics ability to come out focused, especially on the defensive end and to remain focused throughout the game with no let ups. The officiating in game 5 was the best I've seen in the playoffs so far. They missed some things on both ends, but for the most part they called the game fairly. In game 2, the officiating was terrible, but the Celtics stayed focused and were able to come away with a win. The key will be whether the Celtics can stay focused even if the officiating is one sided. If they can stay focused, especially on defense, they will win regardless of the way the game is called.
![[image]](http://images.footballfanatics.com/productImages/_298000/FF_298303_s.jpg)
at ![[image]](http://images.footballfanatics.com/productImages/_297000/FF_297791_s.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/4149.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3750.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3080.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3171.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3253.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3704.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3007.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3247.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3730.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/847.jpg)
![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/boston/RondoBos.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/cleveland/MoCle.jpg)
![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/boston/KGBos.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/cleveland/JamisonCavs.jpg)
![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/662.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/1966.jpg)
![[image]](http://www.1888toys.com/productimages/kc-g114-guidecraft/KC-G114-G12007-thumbnail-image.jpg)
vs ![[image]](http://www.1888toys.com/productimages/kc-g114-guidecraft/KC-G114-G12006-thumbnail-image.jpg)
