The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Playoff show hits the road for Cavs
The Cavs renew their quest for a third straight Eastern Conference championship in Boston tonight.
Road, schmoad. The Cavaliers’ home-court advantage in the playoffs ended with the four-game destruction of the Raptors. They renew their quest for a third straight Eastern Conference championship May 17 when they face the Celtics in Boston in Game 1 of the conference finals.
The first game of the NBA Finals will be on June 1 in Oakland against the Warriors or in San Antonio against the Spurs, regardless which team wins the East.
“It’s the playoffs,” LeBron James said May 16 after practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence. “It doesn’t matter if you’re starting at home or on the road. You should be focused in. If you’re not, you shouldn’t be part of the playoffs, anyway.”
James, never afraid to tweak the noses of another team — remember that Ultimate Warrior shirt he wore as he disembarked from the team charter plane after the Cavs beat Golden State in the Finals last year? — during practice wore a black, sleeveless Akron St. Vincent St. Mary shirt with a fighting leprechaun pictured on the front. The barb directed toward the Celtics was evident.
Most days, James is relaxed in his post-practice media session.
May 16, though, was not one of those days. He never disrespects an opponent, but this time he went out of his way to describe the Celtics as “a worthy opponent with great players and great coaches.” He did not take the bait when asked whether the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk is a “dirty player.”
Two years ago, Olynyk practically yanked Kevin Love’s shoulder out of its socket in a first-round playoff game. The injury ended Love’s 2015 postseason.
“I’m not about storylines,” James said. “I’m just going to play basketball. You guys are trying to create storylines — I’m not for it. The only storyline is Celtics vs. Cavs and who can win the series.”
The Celtics finished first in the East at 53-29. The Cavaliers were second at 5131. The Cavs were 20-21 on the road in the regular season, but they are 4-0 on the road in the playoffs. They visited Boston on April 5 in Game 78 of the regular season and hammered the Celtics, 114-91. Then they lost the next four games.
That beatdown in Boston will not give an edge to the Cavs in the East finals, James says, even though the Cavs won the season series with Boston, 3-1.
“Two different teams,” James said. “We’re a totally different team, and they’re a totally different team at this point.”
The Cavaliers swept the Pacers by playing suffocating defense on Paul George. They did the same to Toronto sharp-shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.
The challenge this series is neutralizing Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas, 5-foot-9, is averaging 25.4 points and 6.5 assists in the playoffs. No The Cavaliers’ Kevin Love grabs a rebound in front of the Hawks’ Paul Millsap during a November game. After what will be a 10‑day wait, LeBron James and company will travel to face the top‑seeded Celtics in Game 1 on May 17.
other Celtic is close to those numbers. Center Al Horford is averaging 16.1 points, and guard Avery Bradley is averaging 15.8 a game.
Iman Shumpert will start and guard Thomas, Coach Tyronn Lue said. J.R. Smith started out guarding George and DeRozan.
“I don’t want to get into it, but I like Shump,” Lue said. “It’s a different guard. It’s a lot to ask of (Smith).”
The Cavs have a twopronged
attack to use against the Celtics. James is averaging an astounding 34.4 points, nine rebounds and 7.1 assists in the playoffs. Kyrie Irving, even though his shooting is off, is still averaging 23.8 points and 5.8 assists a game.
“We have to be ready for their best shot, and they have to be ready for ours,” Lue said. “LeBron is playing at such a high level, why go away from that? Let’s ride
it while he’s playing great.
“Kevin understands that. Kyrie understands that. All the guys understand. We’ll do a better job getting Kevin involved and getting him more touches, but LeBron is playing at such a high level, it’s hard to go away from that.
“We’re all about winning. In order to win, you have to sacrifice.”
Love is averaging 13.8 points in the playoffs.