5 Factors to Watch in Game 2 of Eastern Conference Finals

2. Will the Celtics make someone other than LeBron have to beat them?

Even when teams intentionally go out of their way to try to make “the other guys” have to beat them, LeBron still seems to find a way to impose his will.

If the Celtics are finally able to make LeBron have to defer to teammates to do the bulk of the scoring, who would be the next guy to pick up the slack?

Kevin Love scored 32 in Game 1, but that was a Playoff career high and if he were to have another game like that again in Game 2, it’d be a surprise to say the least.
The player who’s had a relatively quiet postseason altogether is Kyrie Irving. He scored 11 points in Game 1 and one of the side effects of LeBron’s dominant stretch in the 2017 Playoffs has been a somewhat underwhelming nine games for the All-Star point guard.

Game 2 could be a prime opportunity for Irving to step up, but it seems like we’ve been waiting for that kind of performance for a month now.

A couple guys to keep an eye on in Game 2 include J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver and Channing Frye. Their sharpshooting from three-point range would seem to make them the logical next choices in line to have big nights.

Few people would expect Tristan Thompson to have another 20-point game and Smith only scored two in Game 1.

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