Cavs expect tougher Game 2
J.R. Smith was thinking about the next game in the afterglow of last night’s convincing 117-104 victory against the Celtics in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Cavaliers twice built leads of 28 points in the third quarter and their domination exceeded the 13-point margin of victory.
Smith expects the Celtics to find their inner fury when the series resumes tomorrow night at the Garden.
“I expect them to come out swinging, plain and simple, and playing scrappy like they do and like they have been playing all year,” Smith said.
The physicality intensified as Cleveland’s lead ballooned through the first three quarters. The bodily give and take subsided some as the C’s rallied in the fourth, but Smith expects it to resume with greater urgency in Game 2.
“Whenever they have their backs up against the wall they do play better, just like we do,” Smith said. “We have to expect that and understand there might be dirty plays and cheap shots or whatever coming from the other side. That’s just because they are fighting for their lives at this point, so we just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Kyrie Irving figures the Celtics will offer a tougher response after being embarrassed on their homecourt to start the series.
“I know I’m going to be fighting for my life,” Irving said. “I would expect the same thing from the other team, but we never take anything for granted. It is just one game and we have to come out in Game 2 with a higher expectancy of what they are going to throw at us. I know Brad (Stevens) is going to make some adjustments. He’s an incredible coach, so we have to be prepared for that.”
The Celtics beat out Cleveland for the No. 1 seed in the East, an objective that gained the respect of the defending NBA champion. The Cavaliers are a self-assured band that had their confidence reinforced with an easy win, but Smith insisted that being confident never leads to overconfidence in their locker room.
“When you are playing against anybody, especially in this league, you can’t get overconfident and we know that better than anybody,” Smith said. “Whether you are down 3-0 or whatever the case maybe, when we have them down we have to keep you there until the clock says :00. We have to watch film and there are still things we can work on and improve at. We have to stay the course.”
The Cavaliers were led by notorious Celtics killers LeBron James and Kevin Love. James was hot and flashy on his frequent-flyer trips to the rim, Love cold and efficient from behind the 3-point stripe. Their contrasting styles were good for a combined 70 points and 21 rebounds.
“There was a point there where Kevin had four wide open 3’s in a row pretty much,” Smith said.