Cavs, Celtics set for a conference finals rematch

by Mike Holzheimer

The rest and the wait nearly is over.

For the fourth consecutive season and eight time in franchise history, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in another Eastern Conference Finals as they travel to take on the Boston Celtics Sunday afternoon from TD Garden at 3:30 p.m.

This series will mark the eighth postseason confrontation between the Cavs and Celtics, and the third time both squads have met in the Eastern Conference Finals. Cleveland has triumphed over Boston in the last two playoff series including last year’s conference finals. This year, the Cavs also held an advantage over Boston during the regular season winning two of the three contests played.

But that all gets thrown out the window as this critical series is about to unfold. Both teams certainly went through their share of regular season hardships. For the Celtics, such adversity surfaced immediately on opening night, ironically against the Cavs when key free agent pickup Gordon Hayward suffered a grusome leg injury. Hayward never saw the game floor again for the Celtics in 2017-18 but is on the road to recovery.

Late-season knee surgery has also put Kyrie Irving on the bench for the entire postseason. So the much desired LeBron James versus Irving postseason showdown will have to be put on hold, at least for one playoff season.

Still, without two key players, one shouldn’t believe Boston won’t be a formidable opponent, and a major hurdle for the Cavs to clear so as to defend and repeat as Eastern Conference champions.

“There was a lot of turnover there but with the Celtics, they’ve proven to be extremely resilient,” the Cavs Kevin Love said at Cavs practice on THursday.. “They have a lot of guys who can do a number of things. Whether it’s been a rookie or (Terry) Rozier playing the point, (Al) Horford  who is playing out of his mind, and also Jaylen Brown. They are all playing at a high level. Some may look at their play as a surprise but they’ve just stepped up. A lot has happened with us as well during the regular season, but both teams are here now and ready to put everything on the line.”

As far as the “lot” of turmoil that surrounded Cleveland this regular season to which Love eluded to, one can simply go back prior to the big trade that saw Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Iman Shumpert trade uniforms. Many will say that such a big and bold move orchestrated by Cavalier General Manager Koby Altman may have rescued the season, and steered the ship back on course towards another deep postseason run.

Cleveland got a lot younger and more athletic with the players they received through these trades. Youth and athleticism may be the right combination when taking on the Celtics during these conference finals. The Celtics starting five presents a few problems for the Cavalier defense. Jayson Tatum, the rookie out of Duke, is quick to the rim and can shoot the basketball as evident by his 28 points scored in Game 1 of Boston’s semifinal series with Philadelphia.

Rozier, who Love singled out, is a definite threat, and must be checked at all times defensively. The former Shaker Heights standout is currently second in scoring for Boston averaging 19 points a game behind Tatum. His rebounding strength is also very much on display averaging over seven caroms a contest. Jaylen Brown is also a quick, athletic guy on the floor who might draw the defensive attention from Cleveland’s Kyle Korver. Horford has seemed to rediscover the “Fountain of Youth,” and his playing his best basketball to date. A threat both on the blocks and on the perimeter, Horford’s versatility will be another area of concentration for Cleveland’s defense. Forward Aron Baynes is your basic “bruiser” inside. The Celtics’ “X” factor, if you will, could be Marcus Smart. A quick player with tremendous hustle and a solid worker around the glass, Smart comes off Boston’s bench providing the ultimate spark.

The Game 4 clincher in the Toronto series, however, showed the Cavs versatility as well. The starters were more than contributing pieces and a major help to James. George Hill, speaking of sampling the waters from that youth fountain, was going to the basket like a young rookie. J.R. Smith and Korver were doing what they do best, scoring from behind the arc. Love was masterful down low and on the perimeter.

And speaking of answers, nobody has yet to find a solution to effectively guard James. As always seems to be the case, James will be the key to this series and the Cavaliers returning to the NBA Finals. As Celtics head coach Brad Stevens put it during a post-game interview following his team eliminating the 76ers, “what LeBron is accomplishing is just ridiculous.”

Stevens may also be a key in this series. Ainge has brought in the players who want to be coached and taught Stevens’ winning ways. A solid strategist and communicator, he has his team again knocking on Cleveland’s door hoping to take the conference title.

James has much praise for the Boston coach as well.

“Boston is one of the more well-coached teams,” James said following Friday’s practice. “Coach Stevens gets the most out of the guys he has. A lot has been made about the injuries to Gordon and Kyrie, but it doesn’t matter who plays or has played for him. He prepares them and gets what he gets from them. He does a good job, especially out of timeouts putting his guys in good situations.”

With James at the wheel of the Cavalier ship, the situations and destinations have all been good with pleasant arrivals. Cleveland, though, will need to keep providing its captain with consistent efforts at both ends of the court if another Eastern Conference championship is to be celebrated.