Kyrie pushes Cavs one victory away from Finals rematch vs Golden State
CLEVELAND – Kyrie Irving gritted his teeth, tightened up his left sneaker and hopped to his feet.
The pain couldn’t stop him. The Celtics couldn’t either.
Irving took over in the second half and finished with 42 points despite playing on a tender ankle, LeBron James added 34 and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved within one win of an almost inevitable third date in the NBA Finals with Golden State by rallying to beat Boston, 112- 99, on Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
With James in foul trouble, Irving was forced to do more than ever and he delivered, scoring 19 in less than five WITH minutes and 33 in a 19-minute
A hip i njury e nding hi s post s e a s o n , I s a i a h Thomas was left to the sidelines and watched his Celtics team overcome a Cleveland squad with an un- LeBronesque performance from the game’s most dominant player.
Game 4 was yesterday and no matter the outcome, Boston did better in the defensive rotation and ball movement minus their star player. There was too much dependence on the 5-9 Thomas that when the defense collapses on him, he looks like a three-year old kid sandwiched between his mom and dad. Him trying to create scoring opportunities against top quality interior defenders is wishful thinking.
The Celtics were a different team without IT4. Jonas Jerebko, a seldom used athletic and physical stretch four, found his way into the rotation and contributed big. Coach Brad Stevens should have used him in this series more often.
Avery Bradley is a good defender and was l argely responsible for LeBron’s anemic showing. The shooting guard plays tough and can be an effective stopper to Cleveland’s backcourt. Yes, he can score as stretch.
‘’The kid is special,’’ James said. ‘’I was happy to sit back and watch him. He was born for these moments.’’
T h e d e f e n d i n g NBA champions, who shot 71 percent in the second half, opened a 3-1 lead in the series and can wrap up their third straight conference title – and
shown during the last game. Likewise, Marcus Smart who started at point guard. At 6-4, the 23-year-old Smart stands a head above Thomas and thus was not a defensive liability.
We saw a different Celtics in Game 3. Where they used to hang around and watch Thomas dribble above the three-point area before deciding what to do, they did their offensive sets quicker and had no defensive mismatches because the Boston crew on the floor were all above 6-3. They had to scramble help defense when guys twice as big collapsed on Thomas.
So, is Boston better without Thomas? One won game will not decide the outcome of the series but it did show that the Celtics can move the ball better, defend better. The playoffs is all about matchups and any personnel mismatches will be exploited. Sadly, the Celtics are not on the same level as Cleveland. At least with the Game 3 win, Boston made the Eastern Conference Finals a little bit interesting.
We get excited with sub-six footers in the NBA but this is a league for giants and when teams decides to go small, it doesn’t mean to be standing below 6-4. a ‘’ three- match’’ against the Warriors – with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.
But if Games 3 and 4 are any indication, it won’t be easy.
Fighting to keep their season alive, the Celtics aren’t giving an inch despite playing without All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, who may need surgery on a hip injury. (
F i n a l l y, t h a n k f u l l y, mercifully, the passion and agony of the San Antonio Spurs has come to an end. Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors for winning the Western Conference crown. I won’t be saying the victory was impressive because they went up against a severely depleted and overmatched team. With injuries to the Spurs, the demolition was expected. Is this saying that San Antonio could have topped the Warriors had they been healthy? No. Golden State has too much firepower and speed that the most the Spurs could get would have been two wins.
I hope the league will institute something like what’s being done in combat sports where referees can stop matches when opponents are just going thru the motions of the game without even a chance of winning. There has to be a kill switch. Conference Finals are not supposed to be blowouts./