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**remy23** · 05-05-2008, 03:23 PM

Game #1

VS

Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0) @ Boston Celtics (0-0)

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Time: 5:00pm PT, 8:00pm ET
TV: TNT
Radio: WTAM 1100
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

HEAD COACHES

Quote:

Potent Celtics will test Cavaliers

East's top seed brings physical defense, plenty of star power to series

INDEPENDENCE: When LeBron James first walked into the Boston Celtics' arena, then called the FleetCenter, five years ago, he had to listen to a bunch of stories about the famous Celtic mystique and the genius of legendary coach Red Auerbach.

The teller was Paul Silas, James' first head coach, who loved to point to the rafters and the two banners he helped win as a member of the Celtics in the 1970s.

James has a sense and a respect for the history of the game, but that's not what he's focused on as the Cavaliers gear up for their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Celtics, who finally dispatched the Atlanta Hawks 99-65 Sunday to advance to meet the Cavs. The series begins Tuesday in Boston at 8 p.m.

They have renamed the arena the ''Garden'' again but these aren't Auerbach's, Silas' or Larry Bird's Celtics. And not just because there's a dance team now and the new victory cigar is a wildly popular video clip from American Bandstand with a dancer nicknamed Gino who is now a cult hero in New England.

These Celtics don't thrive on tradition. They are blowout artists armed with physical defense and plenty of star power. That is what James and his teammates are now preparing for, a 66-win powerhouse with three All-Stars in Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Although the Celtics were pushed to the brink by the Hawks, who had 29 fewer wins in the regular season, the Cavs know what faces them.

''It's going to be a really good matchup,'' James said Sunday. ''They play great team basketball.''

The Cavs' first order of business will be to prepare for the stresses of playing on the Celtics'
floor. The Celtics thrived on routing teams at home in the regular season, 14 times winning by 20 points or more as they went 35-6 at home, the second best in the NBA. During the season, their average margin of victory was 10 points, the highest in the NBA.

They were a perfect 4-0 against the Hawks at TD Banknorth Garden and won those games by an average of 25 points. The Cavs lost twice in Boston this season, though they beat the Celtics twice at home, once by 10 points without LeBron James and once by five points after their February trade.

The reason is the Celtics' defense, which was the best in the NBA this season. They gave up just 90.2 points a game, the second lowest in the league, and held opponents to 41.9 percent shooting, which was the league's best.

Their defense is very physical and very aggressive, they pressure the ball on the outside and often use mixes of zones and man-to-man, sometimes on the same possession. By getting loads of defensive stops, the Celtics became famous for going on large runs early in games and never looking back.

''They try and hit people early a la a lot of heavyweight prize fighters who try to knock people out in the first round,'' said Wally Szczerbiak, who played two years with the Celtics before being traded last summer. ''I don't think we can get down when they make their runs. This team has a lot of solid veterans that are able to do that.''

From the Cavs' perspective, their greatest weapon is of course James. The Celtics have always had trouble dealing with him. He has scored 30 or more points against them in nine of the past 10 meetings. Also, James is at his best in the postseason as a finisher in close games. Against the Hawks, the Celtics had trouble handling star Joe Johnson as he made plays down the stretch to lead his team to victory in each of the three close games in the series. The Celtics resorted to aggressive double teams that didn't always work.

So the Cavs' goal will be to keep things close and let James try to be the difference-maker in the end.

''We're going to approach it like we approach every series. We're going to try to get stops and execute on the offensive end,'' James said. ''If they double-team me, it won't be something I haven't seen before. It may have caught Joe off guard but it won't catch me off guard.''

And so it begins: the series we've all been waiting for. Can LeBron James lead the Cavaliers past a potent Celtics squad? If Cleveland wins this series, it would rank up there with dethroning the Pistons. It would take a tremendous effort from the bench players to consistently contribute (and not disappear every other game).

futuristxen · 05-05-2008, 03:50 PM

Cavs will want to win the battle of the boards, get out to Bostons' 3 point shooters, and make their own 3's to keep the defense punished for tilting toward Lebron. Limiting Turnovers will be huge because the Celtics defense is geared towards forcing turnovers.

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 09:44 AM

Preview

Quote:

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP )— Doc Rivers got a chance to see another side of LeBron James in February, when the Celtics coach was running the Eastern Conference All-Star team and the Cavaliers forward was winning the game’s MVP award for the second time.

It wasn’t the shooting: Rivers has seen James score 30 points just about every time he’s played Boston. Or the rebounding that led Rivers to dub James “Shaq-at-guard.” Or the passing the coach compared to a Nolan Ryan fastball.

“His focus in the timeouts,” Rivers said after practice on Monday. “It actually caught me off guard. His eyes were like beaming at me. You don’t see that often. Especially not at the All-Star game.”

Rivers will have to watch James work from the other bench on Tuesday night when Cleveland comes to Boston for Game 1 of their second-round playoff series. Unfortunately, he didn’t pick anything up while coaching James that will help him coach against him.

“I wish,” Rivers said with a laugh. “As a matter of fact, I saw things the other way.”

Before being held to a mere 26 points in their final regular-season matchup, James scored 30 or more in nine straight games against the Celtics—something only Wilt Chamberlain can match. Seven of those performances came before Boston put together its Big Three, though.

In three games this season, James averaged 32 points, seven rebounds and just under 10 assists.

“You’ve always got to keep an eye on him wherever he is on the court,” said Paul Pierce, who will be primarily responsible for guarding the person he called “arguably the best player in the NBA.”

“I’m not trying to turn this into a one-on-one. I know that I don’t have to get 35 points and 15 rebounds for us to win.”

That’s because while Cleveland is largely LeBron and his supporting cast, the Celtics can boast three legitimate stars in Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Pierce and Allen also joined James at the All-Star game; Garnett sat out with an abdominal strain after finishing first in the NBA in fan voting.

Allen obviously enjoyed being James’ teammate: The Celtics guard scored a game-high 28 points and made three straight 3-pointers in the last 3:15 to lead the East to victory.

What did he learn from playing with James?

“If I’d taken two more shots,” Allen said with a smile, “I probably would have won the MVP.”

Boston plays lip service to worrying about the rest of the Cavaliers, but Cleveland really has to spread its defense to cover the three All-Stars.

“I think with (Garnett), Ray and Paul, they feel like it’s their time,” Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “They had such a great regular season and they feel like this is their shot at winning it all. Because the longer you stay in the league, you realize how few and far between they are. They feel like this is their year.”

The Celtics won an NBA-best 66 games in the regular season, then needed seven games to put away the upstart Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Cleveland needed six games to dispatch the Washington Wizards in the first round, winning the clincher when James scored 27 with 13 rebounds and 13 assists.

The Celtics and Cavaliers split their four games this season, with James and Garnett each sitting one out. Both teams won both games at home—a bad sign for Cleveland, which would have to win at least one in Boston to advance.

Although they couldn’t beat Boston, the Hawks did give the Cavaliers some hope.

“They kind of had that arrogance about them all season by winning so many games that you were kind of not wanting to face them,” Cavaliers guard Devin Brown said after practice on Monday. “But after seeing what we saw, I think we’re ready to go.”

AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this story from Independence, Ohio.

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 09:49 AM

Cavs search for Celtics' weaknesses

Quote:

Players review series with Hawks for pointers on exploiting flaws

By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sportswriter

INDEPENDENCE: The Cavaliers could end up sending the Atlanta Hawks thank-you cards and presents should the Cleveland team win its playoff series that begins tonight against the Boston Celtics in the TD Banknorth Garden.

The would-be upstart Hawks stretched the boys from Boston to seven games in their opening-round series and might very well have left a blueprint for the Cavaliers to follow.

''We were able to watch and see how Atlanta defended some of their sets and some of their players, and we were able to use some of Atlanta's ideas and watch and say that's probably not the way we should do it,'' Cavs
coach Mike Brown said. ''Atlanta and our team, we defend differently. We have different personnel so it's hard to take a whole bunch.''

Guard Devin Brown said watching the Hawks extend the Celtics provided the Cavs an indirect mental lift.

''They played well; they just didn't get it done in Boston. That's all you can say about that series. We definitely saw some things. And now, [the Celtics] kind of had that arrogance about them all season, winning all those games all season, that you didn't want to face them.

''After seeing what we saw, I think we're ready to go.''

Indeed, if the Celtics suffered from an abundance of confidence going into the series, it could have taken a hit, however small, by the way the Hawks battled them.

What is noticeable, however, is that in all of those games the home team won. Whichever team wins on the other's court will likely gain a definite advantage in the series.

The Cavs have had problems in that area this season going a sub-par 18-23 on the road during the regular season and going 9-17 on the road against Eastern Conference rivals.

In the four-game season series, each team won its home games.

The Cavs were 2-1 in road games in April and took two games in the Washington Wizards' Verizon Center, and that success will have to continue.

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said that the Cavaliers have to take at least one game in Boston to win the series and that closing out the Wizards on their home court might help.

''I think more than anything, winning on the road helps. It shows you that it's possible and you can do it, so it gives us confidence. But each game is so different it gives us challenges,'' Ilgauskas said. ''We know that throughout the series we're going to struggle, whether it's as individuals or a team, and there are going to be some tough times.

''It's how you deal with it that's going to determine whether you advance or not.''

Devin Brown said that the key is not making the same mistakes the Hawks made while in the TD Banknorth Garden.

'There's no doubt we have to play well. Atlanta was going eight, nine, 10 possessions without scoring a basket,'' he said. ''You can't rely on your jump shot on the road. You've got to attack the rim. And that's what this team does. So if we don't get into that . . . if we stay in attack mode, we'll be fine.''

Given their performance in Game 5 against the Wizards, that's not entirely a given.

Flash back if you will: with the chance to close the Wizards out at home, the Cavs missed more than 20 jumpers and seemed all too willing to settle for them. In that game, they shot a paltry 36 percent from the floor.

''A lot of guys who are here have been here. We've been through these kind of buildings and these kind of situations,'' Ilgauskas said. ''We know we have to limit our turnovers and execute defensively because if you make a lot of turnovers and let them get out on the break, their dunks and everything will fuel the crowd noise.''

The Celtics will present altogether different challenges in the forms of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Garnett presents some particularly unique problems in that he's an athletic big man who can score and pass. When the Cavs made the trade that included Ben Wallace, many said that the team was built for the playoffs. Wallace gives them flexibility in defensive schemes, especially with respect to Garnett, whom they won't have to constantly double-team.

''Garnett is a tough cover. It would help a lot if we could limit our double-teams on him as much as possible because he's a great passer,'' Ilgauskas said.

Coach Brown agreed, but said that they would still have to mix things up.

''[He] is a terrific, terrific passer especially out of a double-team, so in order to keep a great player like Kevin Garnett off balance, we're going to have to mix in some double-teams,'' he said. ''We're going to have to pick and choose our spots to do that.''

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 10:05 AM

Cavs ready for Round 2

Quote:

When the Cavaliers and Celtics take the floor tonight in Boston, you can expect the same passionate play that fueled Cleveland past Washington in the first round of the playoffs.

The major difference, though, will be the increased star power when the defending Eastern Conference champions visit the team with the NBA's best regular-season record.

It starts with the highly competitive nature of Cavs veterans LeBron James, Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, and Celtics vets Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Players from both sides were a little chippy during their four-game split in the regular season.

Pierce and James also have some history that goes back to an exhibition game three years ago in Columbus. The two stars got into a heated argument after the game as the teams headed for the locker room.

That exchange has since been smoothed over, but the Celtics, especially since the addition of Allen and Garnett, have helped turn this Eastern Conference semifinal into a budding rivalry.

Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas expects a highly competitive series, but without the sideshow distractions that dominated headlines during the series with the Wizards.

"Obviously you have competitive guys, but I don't think the series will be that entertaining, with pizza companies getting involved or players bringing [rappers] to the game," Ilgauskas said, referring to the Papa John's "crybaby" shirts and attention given to rappers Soulja Boy and Jay-Z. "I'm sure there will be some elbows and some words exchanged."

These two teams have had a special bond since Pierce and James traded words in 2005. Though there is no blatant hatred between the two players, their intensity has brought out the best in each other and their teams. James averaged 34.5 points in his previous 10 games against the Celtics, while Pierce scored a career-high 50 against the Cavs two years ago.

Throw in the fact that Cleveland is the defending conference champion, and that Boston finished with a league-best 66 wins, and there's little doubt this series should be competitive from the opening tipoff.

"When you have a team that dominated the regular season, you want to play them well," Ilgauskas said. "But something usually happens in every series. The tempers will flare. Every series is competitive. It's always something. It's always fun."

Fun is hardly the description used by teams forced to match up with Garnett, the league's Defensive Player of the Year and still one of the top players in the game. He demands plenty of attention, and that task falls on Wallace. How well he defends Garnett could decide the series.

"Garnett is a tough cover, but it will help us a lot if we can limit our double teams as much as possible because he's also a great passer," Ilgauskas said. "One game during the regular season before the trade [that brought in Wallace, Smith and Delonte West], we tried to double team him right away and he had six assists in the first quarter. We'll let Ben play him straight up and see how it goes."

Stealing one: The Celtics were one of the best teams at home this season, and the Cavs often struggled on the road. Since the Celtics hold home-court advantage, the Cavs must win at least one on the road. Guard Devin Brown said that won't be easy.

"We're going to have to play well, but we can't, like Atlanta did, go eight, nine and 10 possessions at a time without scoring," Brown said. "You can't rely on your jump shots. On the road, you have to attack the rim. If we stay in attack mode, we'll be fine."

Impressed: Despite the rivalry -- and unlike some of the Wizards -- Pierce praised the Cavs.

"You're talking about a veteran team," Pierce said. "A team that has been to the finals. A team that is Eastern Conference champs. A team that has been to the playoffs . . . Cleveland has some guys who have been through the rigors of the playoffs, which is going to be difficult for us as a group knowing we've only played one round of basketball [together]. I think it's going to be tough. We got our work cut out."

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 06:55 PM

With LeBron shooting so poorly and turning the ball over a lot, it's amazing Cleveland is in the game, let alone have the lead. This is ugly, slow basketball but it suits Cleveland. This slow, drawn out pace is about keeping the game close until the end.

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 07:33 PM

Big 3 from Wally. This game is going to be razor thin (provided Cleveland doesn't blow up).

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 07:45 PM

Oh my goodness, what a scary, scary game this is turning out to be. The Celtics get the ball back with 1 second remaining on the shot clock.

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 07:52 PM

Big tip in by Ilgauskas.

**remy23** · 05-06-2008, 07:52 PM

Then Kevin responds immediately with a nice shot.

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