OT: BOSTON CELTICS vs. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (Eastern Conference Finals)

[bormio]

...hit the rim 5 times on the way down...

I don't care if LBJ goes off for fifty on Tuesday, as long as we come home 2-2

You just had to go and say it. I was hoping if we refused to acknowledge the possibility - it somehow might happen.

 

[Bartmac36]

Could we be seeing a possible "Patrick Ewing effect" happening with the Celtics without IT?

 

[shmessy]

Could we be seeing a possible "Patrick Ewing effect" happening with the Celtics without IT?

We certainly are experiencing it here the past hour or so without vuuduu,,,,,

.

 

[bormio]

I think the point about defense without IT is a valid one - better matchups all around. But consistently scoring 100+ points a game will be a challenge - and it will take that to have a shot.

 

[Froob]

Worst LeBron game in a long time, totally unengaged. Let's enjoy this one, I don't want to think about what will happen next game.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Could we be seeing a possible "Patrick Ewing effect" happening with the Celtics without IT?

IT was hurting those first two games; I still want to see more bench guys playing for Boston on Tuesday...Celts will sleep soundly tonight...

 

[deroc5050]

2 things stick out to me, IT is a major mis match against the cavs. He is a bad defensive liability and with Clevelands height they can keep him in check. Now whether that was due to injury or a bad match up its tough to say. Maybe a bit of both. Regardless the Celtics sucked in game and 1 and 2 no matter how you slice it.

My last thought is.. Did Lebron even try tonight? When he did decide to go to the rim he didn't have that same explosiveness. Its almost like somebody in the NBA said to Lebron "try not to beat down the Celtics tonight, let it go 5 or 6 games so we can drum up more excitement and make some more money"

lol I am joking but honestly if you watched him he was not the same player tonight. Passing it off even at the end of the game, he didn't try to take over.

 

[Jackson 2]

The guards' defense was clearly improved in IT's absence, but no one should forget that without his performance this season, this team is likely not even in the playoffs.

 

[bormio]

It was not just winning, or winning on the road versus a superior team. It was winning from 21 down on the road. #gutcheck

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Its 28-10 now......

28-9, should be

 

[StockingAnarchyNumber12]

Celtics were embarrased.

Never mess with a team witha chip on their shoulder. Even if we lose 4-1, they earned their respect back.

 

[BobDigital]

They won a game in their house. That is almost enough for me to be happy. But they can't be blown out in the next 2. Keep them competitive please. If they could win 1 more that be even better.

 

[Betterthanmost]

We certainly are experiencing it here the past hour or so without vuuduu,,,,,

.

I am going to stop watching. It may help.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I am going to stop watching. It may help.

Yep. I shut it off with 7m to go in the 3rd.

I thought that up to that point they played with more feist. Clearly that was the case.

 

[1960Pats]

BTW, Russ would have stuffed Jordan and James - check some of the old highlights and see Russell was no slouch athletically

Bird stuffed Jordan more often than not. If you watch a promo for Jordan they'll show you MJ scoring against Bird, but in truth it actually didn't happen much.

What I don't understand about the Russell deniers is how they look at his success and just brush it aside. Maybe his incredible athletic achievements are so incomprehensible to modern fans that they just can't accept them and have to have another reason.

One of the many things that was so impressive about Russell was the way he never seemed to get faked out on an up-fake, like every other shot blocker would. When asked about that he said that he didn't jump to block the shot until the ball left the shooters hand. It sounds so simple but really takes a lot of quickness to pull off. It also enabled him to often block the shots and direct them to his teammates.

 

[Froob]

Yep. I shut it off with 7m to go in the 3rd.

I thought that up to that point they played with more feist. Clearly that was the case.

Turning games off after this year's Super Bowl?

 

[Sfpat]

2 things stick out to me, IT is a major mis match against the cavs. He is a bad defensive liability and with Clevelands height they can keep him in check. Now whether that was due to injury or a bad match up its tough to say. Maybe a bit of both. Regardless the Celtics sucked in game and 1 and 2 no matter how you slice it.

My last thought is.. Did Lebron even try tonight? When he did decide to go to the rim he didn't have that same explosiveness. Its almost like somebody in the NBA said to Lebron "try not to beat down the Celtics tonight, let it go 5 or 6 games so we can drum up more excitement and make some more money"

lol I am joking but honestly if you watched him he was not the same player tonight. Passing it off even at the end of the game, he didn't try to take over.

Not sure this is a joke. ESPN is bleeding cash and needs a few extra games to get some more ad revenue. It would not surprise me if Lebron was told to take it easy last night.

 

[1960Pats]

As I mentioned earlier, Lebron has the potential to put up stinkers in big games. This was just another one.

Lebron also whines constantly even while getting the star treatment from the refs.

He sucks as a passer too. I saw plays this game where he threw a bounce pass that went way over the other players head and another that hit a player in the face.

He's certainly a fine physical specimen, but he's not as great as he's been built up to be by Nike or his own ego.

 

[1960Pats]

Not sure this is a joke. ESPN is bleeding cash and needs a few extra games to get some more ad revenue. It would not surprise me if Lebron was told to take it easy last night.

They must ask Lebron to take it easy a lot. He did a great job of it this time.

 

[The Gr8est]

...hit the rim 5 times on the way down...

I don't care if LBJ goes off for fifty on Tuesday, as long as we come home 2-2

Did anyone else think that all that bouncing around before finally falling though, killed just enough clock to completely remove any chance Cleveland had to get a good tying shot?