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Key: Back to Beantown
After 82 regular season contests and the first two-and-a-half rounds out of the way, the Eastern Conference Finals have come down to a best-of-three series to see who’ll punch their ticket for a showdown with the Warriors or Rockets.
Following a pair of frustrating losses in Beantown, the Wine & Gold have bounced back off the mat – winning both contests in Cleveland, going wire-to-wire for a 30-point victory on Saturday night and keeping Brad Stevens’ squad at arms’ length for nearly the duration on Monday.
In that Game 4 win, LeBron James went off for his sixth 40-point outburst of the 2018 season, and the Cavaliers were once again very sharp on the defensive end – holding the Celtics to 41 percent shooting on the night, besting Boston on the boards, 47-37, and forcing 10 turnovers that the Cavs converted into a dozen points. After taking a double-digit first-quarter lead, the Cavaliers weren’t especially sharp the rest of the way – handing out just two assists after intermission in the victory.
Cleveland won its sixth straight while the Celtics fell to 1-6 on the road this postseason. That all changes tonight, however, as the Celtics look to “protect the parquet” – where they’ve gone 9-0 so far in the Playoffs.
The Cavs are 5-2 in Game 5s since 2015 – and they’ll look to steal one on Wednesday and give themselves a chance to win the East on Friday night in Cleveland.
Key: King of the Road
For all his postseason brilliance over most of the last decade-and-a-half, LeBron James is reaching another strata during this Playoff run – a story that’s still being written with a critical chapter about to be written against his Eastern archrivals on Wednesday night.
On Monday night at The Q, the four-time MVP led everyone with 44 points, going 17-for-28 from the floor and 9-of-13 from the stripe while adding five boards, three assists and a steal.
With his sixth 40-point game, James tied Allen Iverson (2001) for the most such performances in a single Playoff run – with Jerry West (eight in 1965) and Michael Jordan (seven in 1989) leading the way.
James also made more history in the victory – passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time Playoff leader in field goals made.
In the first two games of the series, LeBron struggled in Game 1 before notching a 42-point triple-double in Game 2. James – who didn’t register an assist in the second half of Monday’s win – would probably prefer something closer to his Game 3 effort on Wednesday night when he turned in a 27-point, 12-assist effort as Cleveland got even scoring up and down the lineup.
Key: Changing of the Guards
One of the low points of the ECF for Cleveland came in Game 3 as the Cavaliers’ starting backcourt combination of JR Smith and George Hill were outscored by their Boston counterparts – Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown – 41-3.
Cleveland’s duo has since closed the gap – outscoring the Celtics tandem, 24-23, in Saturday night’s win before combining for 22 points (to Boston’s 41) on Wednesday.
If any Celtic has looked like a different player at home and on the road in the series, it’s Brown – who led Boston with 25 points in Game 4 after a 10-point showing in the previous contest.
Rozier also rebounded from a tough outing on Saturday night, doubling-up with 16 points and 11 assists in Game 4.
For the Cavs, George Hill bounced back from a rough start to the series – scoring 13 points for the second-straight game, going 6-for-9 from the floor to go with four boards, three assists and a pair of steals.
After missing his first seven triples of the Eastern Conference Finals, JR Smith has canned three in each of his last two outings – averaging 10.0 points per in Games 3 and 4 after combining for just four points through Games 1 and 2.
Key: Center of Attention
The argument could be made that Tristan Thompson has been the Wine & Gold’s second-best player in the Eastern Conference Finals.
His numbers haven’t been huge – but that’s not always an accurate measure of his performance. After picking up three DNP-CDs in the Indiana series, Thompson has stayed the course and looks like his old self against Boston – posting a pair of double-digit scoring performances and a pair of double-digit rebound games.
In Monday night’s victory, the seventh-year big man from Texas doubled-up – finishing with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, going 6-of-10 from the floor, adding two assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.
As important as his production on the offensive end has been, he’s been even more valuable defending Al Horford, who dictates much of what Boston does offensively.
After a red-hot start to the series, notching 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting and finishing with 21 points in the series opener, Horford hasn’t made much noise. The five-time All-Star doubled-up with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2 but added only seven points on 2-of-4 shooting in Game 3 before finishing with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting to go with seven boards on Monday night.
Key: Bench Boost
When it comes to bouncing back after a difficult stretch, it doesn’t get any more inspiring than Kyle Korver – who’s still recovering from a devastating personal loss and has elevated his game as the postseason rolls on.
On Monday night, the 15-year veteran was rock-solid on both ends, posting his second-straight 14-point game – drilling his first four shots of the night and finishing 4-of-7 from the floor, including 2-of-5 from long-range. The 15-year veteran was solid on both ends of the floor, leading both squads with three of Cleveland’s eight blocks on the night.
Over his last eight outings dating back to May 1, Cleveland’s sharpshooter is averaging 12.8 points per – shooting 58 percent (36-of-62) from the floor and 52 percent (23-of-44) from beyond the arc.
The 15-year veteran was solid on both ends of the floor, leading both squads with three of Cleveland’s eight blocks on the night.He’s not the only Cavalier reserve to emerge in the Boston series, however, as Larry Nance Jr. has begun to make his mark after an uneven start to his first postseason foray.
After going scoreless in limited minutes in Games 1 and 2, the second-year man from Wyoming is averaging 7.5 points per over the last two contests – going a combined 5-of-5 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the stripe. In Saturday’s win, Nance led everyone with three steals; on Monday night, he finished with a pair of blocks and a steal.
After getting off to great starts in the series, Boston’s Marcus Smart and Aron Baynes were relatively quiet in Cleveland. After finishing +21 in Game 3, Smart was a -19 in Game 3 and -4 on Wednesday night.