Even Eastern
Series back in Boston with Cavaliers, Celtics tied 2-2
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics expected to see a different version of LeBron James in Cleveland after the Cavaliers fell into a 2-0 hole last week in the Eastern Conference finals.
Two games and back-toback wins later, James has reminded everyone exactly why he has been to the NBA Finals seven years in a row.
The Celtics will be back in the embrace of their raucous fans at TD Garden tonight for Game 5 of the best- of- seven series. But a team that has thrived on youth this postseason suddenly looks disoriented without a go- to player and opposite a more veteran squad that has found a new attitude thanks to the fuel being provided by its biggest star.
“My teammates are putting me in position and wanting me to be in attack mode and trusting me to put our guys in position to be successful,” James said. “It’s not about me. It’s about the collective group, and I’m one of the by-products of that.”
While the Cavs are rejuvenated, coach Tyronn Lue said it hasn’t changed their sense of urgency.
“We’ve still got to play,” Lue said. “We have veteran guys who have been there and know what it takes, but (Boston) is a young team, a good team that’s playing at home, so experience is not going to be a factor. We have to come in there and have the same mentality that we had in Game 3 and 4.”
Two games ago, the numbers seemed to all be on
the Celtics’ side. They had moved to 9- 0 at home this postseason and taken a 2-0 series lead, which has been a magic number for a franchise yet to surrender such an advantage during its storied history. (Boston is 37-0 in such situations.)
Over the past 96 minutes, though, the Celtics have been outscored by 39 points, have dropped to 1-6 on the road this postseason and are suddenly facing a must-win game to maintain home-court advantage.
At the start of the playoffs, Boston coach Brad Stevens said he believed there was value in the greenness of a young group that had several players getting their first tastes of postseason basketball. He was proven right when Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and rookie Jayson Tatum thrived as first-time postseason starters.
Their success had the cumulative effect of masking the absences of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, who were injured during the regular season and won’t be back before next season. Now, the lack of an alpha player capable of creating his own shot — such as Irving — is sticking out with every 40-point game James produces.
Al Horford, Boston’s only healthy All-Star, was never a dominant scorer but more of a facilitator who worked well in a finely tuned system. He started off the series strong, but his scoring and assists have declined the past two games.
Lue’s move to reinsert Tristan Thompson back into Cleveland’s starting lineup in Game 2 is a huge reason. Thompson has not only helped things move better on the offensive end for Cleveland, he has combined with Larry Nance to make things difficult for Horford.
Horford had just four shots and seven points in 30 minutes in Game 3. He scored 15 points in Game 4 but was just 5-of-13 from the field with one assist.
If the Celtics are going to get back to the by-committee style that has worked so well for them this season, it must begin with his leadership. To that end, Horford said they’ll focus on correcting their mistakes without dwelling on them.
“As a group, we’re excited to be back, going back home,” he said. “Obviously we understand the challenge of it. We can’t think about the past. We just have to worry about this opportunity. We have a Game 5 at home, and we have to make the most of it.”