Without Kyrie and Hayward, I think the Pacers are better. In Oladipo they have a legit go to guy who can create his own shot, and most importantly, is experienced in the playoffs. Neither Philly nor Milwaukee had a player like this and because they didn't, suffered greatly in crunch time. Having HCA against two really inexperienced teams made Boston's home court look pretty formidable. But its not going to mean as much against the Cavs who I think, are capable of winning at least one game in Boston. Question is, will the Celts be able to win one in Cle if they have to. If Boston had not been the top seed in the east I doubt they'd still be playing, however, one of the reasons for fighting for the top seed is so you get the (presumed) easier road to the conf finals.
Yeah but Oladipo didn't have the best statistical game and Rozier looks to break out. Plus Stevens might well be the wild card as the coach. Cavs SHOULD win. But then they SHOULD have dispatched Indy sooner too. We will be entertained!
^ Oops, you're right. Boston just lucked out then, being in the easier bracket, also determined by regular season record. I think Boston was the top seed in the east season, so I guess I was thinking of that.
^Extremely. I don’t imagine Brad Stevens is happy with him for saying that. Why poke the bear the day before the series?
This was either a fluke or Boston has a good chance. I guess it depends on whether Bron's cryogenic chamber was properly serviced.
^The next two games will tell us a lot. Cleveland will almost certainly play better than they did in Game 1, and while Boston won’t necessarily play worse than they did today, they’ve yet to show they can withstand an explosion by James (which may come as soon as Game 2). Boston has also played played much better at home than on the road, so they really need to approach Game 2 as though they’re behind in the series and play with the same urgency as they did this afternoon.
In a 7 game series game 1 is the least important. If the Celts win game 2, then they're not going to "have" to win a road game for a while if at all. And it will force the Cavs to win 2 in Cle. But if Cle wins game 2, Cavs put pressure on a young team to win a road game in the conf finals. They're going to need more than great coaching to do that.
Boston needs to take a 7 game attitude and make James want to think about retiring. Throw the kitchen sink at him and dare the role players--Love included--to step up 6 games in a row.
I'm thinking with all that rest and cyrogenic treatment, Bron will will the Cavs to a game 3 victory, but the Celts will run him and the other Cavs players ragged. I'd rather see Boston versus (looks like) Golden State anyway, even if it's a gentleman's sweep for the Dubs.
I think Rockets/Warriors is closer than other people do, but yeah Warriors probably win. Cavs have very good chance of evening up 2-2, putting on the pressure for Celtics to keep winning at home. But it's going to be very hard for Cavs to steal any in Boston.
What a Jekyll-Hyde series that Eastern Conference playoffs just became. I'm thinking that Boston has overachieved and Cleveland has underachieved thus far.
If Cle can hold service at home it still boils down to whether or not they can get a win in Bos. Cle should be able to accomplish this as they have an advantage with experience and with LeBron. But the key word is "should". Right now though, they've got to win game 4 or it is over.
I don't hate them, but I do hate the fact that superteams and tanking have turned the regular season into a joke.