Make it four-straight NBA Finals trips for the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. After a grueling seven-game war that finished with a grind-it-out 87-79 victory over the Boston Celtics, the Cavs will once again represent the Eastern Conference.
LeBron did not miss a single second of the game, remaining on the floor for the entirety of the contest. He finished just one assist shy of a triple-double in his 100th game of the season. After playing in every game this year, LeBron continued to excel above the competition place in front of him.
What else is there to say? Here’s our three takeaways as the champagne gets uncorked inside the visitor’s locker room from inside TD Garden.
1. LeBron Continues To Build His Legacy- Playing forty-eight minutes in the first few games of the season is impressive. Heck, maybe even after the All-Star Break the feat would get some publicity.
Try in your 100th game of the season.
After playing in every game during the regular season, James started to show some signs of fatigue during this series against Boston. He was drained emotionally and physically but still put on another legendary performance in a long list of them. James finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists and did an excellent job containing Jayson Tatum late in the game when it mattered.
So what else is there to say? LeBron James has once again claimed the Eastern Conference as his own. That’s eight-straight trips to the NBA Finals. Are you not entertained?
2. Green Provides The Love- No one would’ve predicted the two games Jeff Green would have in Games 6 and 7 based on his play in February and onward. But man, the veteran delivered.
Green had nineteen points in the game on 50% shooting from the floor. The forward had eight rebounds tallied as well, battling in the trenches with Al Horford, Marcus Morris, and Aron Baynes. Rebounding was an area of concern going into Game 7, but Green answered the call when he was called upon.
Jeff Green was viewed as unplayable a few series ago. Now, he’s one of the guys Ty Lue should look to more, especially when he’s playing like this.
3. Tatum Provides Glimpse Into The Future- Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum was unbelievably good this series against Cleveland. Without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, Tatum and Jaylen Brown picked up a majority of the slack. But the rookie had Boston just one win away from the NBA Finals.
Tatum was named to the All-Rookie First Team earlier in the week and put up 24 points in a huge game for the young Celtics. He falls just one point short of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most postseason points by a rookie with 251.
If you want a look at the future of the NBA, look no further than the former Duke star.
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