featured-image

KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 5

var opponent = "celtics"; //used in image formatting opponent-dateCode-page.jpg var dateCode = "170525"; var pageSelectorTag = "div" var pageSelectorClass = "article-section" var pageTitleTag = "h4"; var pageTitleClass = "key";

Key: Back to Beantown

On Thursday night, the Cavaliers can wrap up the Eastern Conference title for the third straight season – traveling to Boston for Game 5 after getting back on track and pulling past the scrappy Celtics on Tuesday.

After thumping Boston in the first two games of the series, the Wine and Gold had designs on going “fo’, fo’ fo’” in their collision course with the Warriors. But the Celtics stole Game 3 on Sunday night, changing the complexion of Game 4 at The Q. Cleveland struggled through the first half, trailing by as many as 16 points in the second quarter, before bouncing back with a vengeance after intermission, shooting 71 percent from the floor – with Kyrie Irving scoring 21 of his Playoff career-high 42 points in the third period.

The Wine and Gold – joining Golden State as the only team in the postseason to score at least 100 points in each of their first 12 games – got 93 combined points from the Big Three. Cleveland is averaging 115.3 points during their current Playoff run and, even with Sunday’s clunker, is averaging 116.3 ppg in the Eastern Conference Finals.

And they come to Boston with recent history on their side. Since 2009, the Cavs have won each of their last 12 potential series-clinching games, tying the longest such streak in NBA Playoff history (Lakers, 2000 to 2004).

Key: The Deuce is Loose

Through the first two-and-a-half rounds of the 2017 Playoffs, Kyrie Irving had shown bursts of his explosive offensive game. But on Tuesday night, Uncle Drew put it all together – finishing with a postseason career-high 42 points, going 15-for-22 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from long-range and 8-of-9 from the stripe.

The four-time All-Star – who was 9-of-10 from the floor in the third quarter, 10-of-12 in the second half – added four assists and three boards as the Wine and Gold pulled away for the crucial Game 4 win.

Kyrie re-discovered his shooting stroke in Game 4 against Toronto and has carried momentum right into the Eastern Conference Finals – averaging 26.3 points on .627 shooting, including an even 50 percent (11-of-22) from long-range and .909 (20-of-22) from the stripe.

After Isaiah Thomas went down with a hip injury, Marcus Smart has taken over point guard duties for Boston. But after having a huge game on Sunday night – leading the Celtics with 27 points, going 7-for-10 from deep – the rugged point guard came back down to Earth in Game 4 – going 1-for-9 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from long-range.

Key: Rare Air

It’s a simple postseason principle: LeBron James never has two bad games in a row. And that was exactly the case earlier this week when the four-time MVP struggled to find his rhythm in Sunday night’s surprising loss at The Q – netting only 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting – and bounced back with a 34-point effort two nights later in Cleveland’s Game 4 win on Tuesday.

James was slow out of the gate on Tuesday night, but he went on to score 24 points after intermission – going 15-for-27 from the floor overall to go with a team-best six assists, five boards, a steal and a blocked shot.

Lebron, who prides himself on efficiency, would love to clean up his turnovers as the Cavs return to Boston; he’s had 11 over this last two outings.

If the King posts a similar performance on Thursday night, he’ll do more than notch his 11th 30-point night of the 2017 postseason – he’ll become the top scorer in NBA Playoff history, passing Michael Jordan (5,987) to reach the zenith.

Once again Jae Crowder will get the start against James and once again, Brad Stevens will try to mix up his coverages to keep LeBron guessing. Crowder was solid again for Boston on Tuesday night – finishing with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Key: Love Broker

In the Cavaliers’ two previous series, their bench gave them a huge lift. Against Boston, the recipe has been a heapin’ helpin’ of the Big Three (with a dash of Tristan Thompson). And on Tuesday night, Cleveland’s All-Star trifecta teamed up for 93 points – the highest point total they’ve produced in a single Playoff game.

Kevin Love might have been off-and-on against Indiana and Toronto, but he’s been laser-focused against the Celtics – the team that ended his postseason run two years ago.

In Tuesday night’s Game 4 win, Love finished with 17 points and postseason career-highs in rebounds (17), defensive boards (15) and assists (5). The four-time All-Star has posted double-doubles in all four games of the Eastern Conference Finals – averaging 24.5 points, 12.9 boards and 1.3 blocks per, shooting .508 from the floor, .556 from beyond the arc and .857 from the stripe in the series.

Kelly Olynyk got the start for Boston in Game 4 and was relatively effective, finishing with 15 points and five boards, going 7-for-14 from the floor. Jonas Jerebko was solid for his second straight game – coming off the bench to notch nine points and five rebounds in the loss.

Key: Center of Attention

Although any reserve can step up on any given night, it’s been a starter-centric series for the Wine and Gold. And on Tuesday night, Tristan Thompson showed that he can affect the series whether he’s grabbing rebounds or not – with Boston putting two and three bodies on the sixth-year big man to keep him off the boards.

Thompson didn’t post huge numbers, finishing with just seven points and seven boards one game after his 18-point, 13-rebound night in Game 3.

But despite the pedestrian numbers, the attention Boston paid to Tristan allowed Love to snag a Playoff career-high in rebounds while posting a game-best +14 number in his 37 minutes of action.

Tristan has grabbed more offensive boards than anyone in the 2017 Playoffs and has tallied double-digit rebounds in 10 of Cleveland’s 12 postseason contests.

Al Horford is not your typical big man, but he has been solid for the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals – averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 boards over the previous two contests.