|
Post by Admin on May 25, 2018 23:59:19 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by kivancb on May 26, 2018 14:03:54 GMT -5
Kevin Love will miss this game as he is in concussion protocol.
|
|
|
Post by puddin on May 26, 2018 14:38:10 GMT -5
CBS uses weasel words.
Cutting thru to the chase....
Yes, Scary Terry has exceeded expectations... by a very wide margin.
Pud
|
|
|
Post by Cabutan on May 26, 2018 15:03:01 GMT -5
Kevin Love will miss this game as he is in concussion protocol. those are easily 11 rebounds. Cant let Nance or Thompson grab any more than their average.
|
|
|
Post by petey62 on May 26, 2018 16:13:34 GMT -5
Lebron is still playing though.
|
|
|
Post by croc on May 26, 2018 16:28:28 GMT -5
Kevin Love will miss this game as he is in concussion protocol. That and fatigue...LeBron, ESPN etc have an out.
|
|
|
Post by cole on May 26, 2018 16:51:00 GMT -5
Wonder how that shin looks today?
|
|
|
Post by kyceltic on May 26, 2018 16:59:41 GMT -5
Wonder how that shin looks today? I don't think he was touched!!
|
|
|
Post by fierce on May 26, 2018 18:41:14 GMT -5
Lebron is still playing though. Lebron is super human, true. But still human. Don't expect another 46-point game from Lebron in Game 7. If the Cavs are going to beat the Celts in Game 7, it will be because of the other Cavs players.
|
|
|
Post by fierce on May 26, 2018 18:43:39 GMT -5
Celts will win Game 7.
|
|
|
Post by cole on May 26, 2018 18:47:32 GMT -5
Nance has played well... Maybe better than love anyway except for shooting, and LeBron is shooting anyway or kicking out to korver.
|
|
|
Post by fierce on May 26, 2018 18:49:19 GMT -5
Nance has played well... Maybe better than love anyway except for shooting, and LeBron is shooting anyway or kicking out to korver. Brad Stevens will not allow that to happen for a second time.
|
|
|
Post by kyceltic on May 26, 2018 19:11:14 GMT -5
Win or lose it's been a great ride!! I'd really like to play in June!! Like Smart said, gonna be down and dirty, no pretty boys allowed!! Bloody noses, bloody mouths, whatever it takes. Damn, he's a warrior!!
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 26, 2018 19:12:11 GMT -5
Tatum Out-Smart's Cavs using his head against the one that Love's to shoot threes ...
Kevin Love out for Game 7 Entered concussion protocol, per Joe Vardon, and will not play Sunday night in Boston. By Bobby Manning Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Love will not play in Sunday’s Game 7 between the Cavaliers and Celtics, he entered the NBA’s concussion protocol on Saturday according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Love exited Game 6 in the first quarter after colliding with Jayson Tatum and falling to the floor. He left with help from George Hill and trainers looking dazed, but the Cavs did not immediately diagnose a concussion.
Even today Ty Lue indicated they were preparing as if Love was playing, but a team source indicated that he will not play Sunday night.
“Right now our mindset is Kevin is playing,” he said.
The Cavaliers flourished without Love in smaller lineups in Friday night’s win. Larry Nance and Jeff Green stepped up, scoring in the front court and helping Cleveland win the rebounding battle by 13.
Despite that, Cleveland’s struggled to score in Boston in three losses so far this series outside of James’ 27 and Love’s 17 points per game.
PS:
|
|
|
Post by kivancb on May 26, 2018 19:13:15 GMT -5
I have a problem with Jaylen Brown not sticking it to Korver on offense. He should have been abusing Korver, which definitely is not the case up to now.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 26, 2018 19:14:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 26, 2018 19:18:56 GMT -5
I have a problem with Jaylen Brown not sticking it to Korver on offense. He should have been abusing Korver, which definitely is not the case up to now.
Not according to Kobe Bryant.
Kobe said Korver was a much better defender in the lane than on the perimeter and Brown needs to put a move on him (head fake. crossover, etc) or find the open man in those situations.
Check out the Game 6 thread for Kobe's analysis of Brown.
|
|
|
Post by petey62 on May 26, 2018 20:14:40 GMT -5
Lebron is still playing though. Lebron is super human, true. But still human. Don't expect another 46-point game from Lebron in Game 7. If the Cavs are going to beat the Celts in Game 7, it will be because of the other Cavs players. Fierce, you do realize the Cavs are better when Love IS NOT on the court. Their +/- is much better when Love is not playing so before we count this one, remember they really did not lose a step once Love left the game. This is going to be a dogfight and we will have to play a great 48 minutes to win this one. It's in us and I hope we bring it all tomorrow night.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 26, 2018 20:15:53 GMT -5
Boston Celtics front court has to dominate with Kevin Love out by Joshua Bateman
The Boston Celtics’ front court has to take advantage of Kevin Love’s injury
The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced that Kevin Love has entered the concussion protocol and is going to miss game seven against the Boston Celtics. Nobody is going to try and claim this is a death sentence for the Cavaliers, but it creates a new advantage that the Celtics must exploit.
LeBron James is going to put on so much pressure in so many different ways, and you cannot afford to pass up on any opportunities to get an advantage. Love has been nothing spectacular in this series, but he is still the definitive second best player on the Cavaliers, with not much depth to replace him.
After one of their worst performances of the entire season, the Celtics front court knows that they have to give a huge boost in this one, and have an opportunity to really make the Cavaliers feel the absence of their big man.
Al Horford and Aron Baynes combined for a pathetic six points and 13 rebounds in game six, and that is unacceptable against the worst front court in the NBA. Horford’s struggles against Tristan Thompson have reappeared, but the Celtics need him to figure things out, and put even more pressure on James to be absolutely perfect if he wants to get a win.
The Cavaliers really do not have a proper replacement for Love, and certainly no option that can score the way he does. The Celtics need to make sure they exploit the lack of front court depth, and they need to make sure the Cavaliers cannot get comfortable.
They do not need scoring from Baynes, but he needs to do things to help neutralize Thompson inside. They need to be boxing out properly, and Baynes needs to be the one keeping Thompson off the offensive glass.
Horford, on the other hand, absolutely has to be scoring. The Cavaliers are not going to get much of any kind of scoring from their front court, so Horford has an opportunity to give the Celtics a massive advantage.
The Cavaliers do not have a front court option that can come in a[nd] neutralize Horford’s scoring with their impact on offense, but that is why Baynes is also so important. Baynes needs to be making sure Horford gets the help he needs to be in the positions he can score in. From there, Horford should be able to handle it himself, because he should never have another game as bad as that pathetic display in game six.
Horford has been too important to the Celtics, for them to expect to win without him playing well. When you add on Love’s injury, the Celtics might need him to be their best player to get a victory in this one.
No individual player is in a stronger position to get a distinct advantage from Love’s injury, and if the Celtics squander that opportunity, you know James is going to punish them.
The Celtics will never win with one individual, but they need a collective effort to overcome what James is going to do. It is absolute essential that Horford is a part of the collective contributions, especially considering the impact he has on the players around him.
When Horford struggles it also hurts the players around him, and there is no reason Thompson should be able to destroy the front court battle against Horford and Baynes without any real option beside him.
The Celtics know they are capable of winning despite a difficult loss in game six, but it is hard to imagine that happening if they do not take advantage of Love’s injury by exploiting a far too weak front court.
PS: In each game, the team that's won the rebounding battle has won the game ... C's MUST rebound MOAR than the Cavs!
|
|
|
Post by fierce on May 26, 2018 21:10:29 GMT -5
Lebron is super human, true. But still human. Don't expect another 46-point game from Lebron in Game 7. If the Cavs are going to beat the Celts in Game 7, it will be because of the other Cavs players. Fierce, you do realize the Cavs are better when Love IS NOT on the court. Their +/- is much better when Love is not playing so before we count this one, remember they really did not lose a step once Love left the game. This is going to be a dogfight and we will have to play a great 48 minutes to win this one. It's in us and I hope we bring it all tomorrow night. You also said the Celts will have trouble getting past Philly. It's not rocket science, Pete. Kevin Love is the Cavs' 2nd best player behind Lebron. Saying that the Cavs are better without Love is simply not true. Just because the Cavs played better without Love for one game, it doesn't mean the Cavs are better without Love for Game 7. No Kevin Love means less 3-point shooting and less rebounds from the Cavs.
|
|
|
Post by cole on May 26, 2018 21:14:48 GMT -5
Win or lose it's been a great ride!! I'd really like to play in June!! Like Smart said, gonna be down and dirty, no pretty boys allowed!! Bloody noses, bloody mouths, whatever it takes. Damn, he's a warrior!! That is psychological warfare
|
|
|
Post by fierce on May 26, 2018 21:16:39 GMT -5
Cavs will most probably insert Nance in the starting 5.
It's a more traditional lineup for the Cavs as Thompson and Nance are not 3pt shooters.
Celtic bigs will be able to help out more in the paint when Lebron drives to the basket.
Maybe it will be a dogfight, maybe it will not.
Again, Lebron is super human, but still human.
I think the Celts will win and it will not be that close of a game.
Maybe Celts by 5 points or 10 points max.
|
|
|
Post by petey62 on May 26, 2018 21:21:54 GMT -5
Fierce, you do realize the Cavs are better when Love IS NOT on the court. Their +/- is much better when Love is not playing so before we count this one, remember they really did not lose a step once Love left the game. This is going to be a dogfight and we will have to play a great 48 minutes to win this one. It's in us and I hope we bring it all tomorrow night. You also said the Celts will have trouble getting past Philly. It's not rocket science, Pete. Kevin Love is the Cavs' 2nd best player behind Lebron. Saying that the Cavs are better without Love is simply not true. Just because the Cavs played better without Love for one game, it doesn't mean the Cavs are better without Love for Game 7. No Kevin Love means less 3-point shooting and less rebounds from the Cavs. Fierce, who said anything about one game? I'm sure you predicted the Celtics would beat the Sixers in five too. But then again, that has nothing to do with tomorrow's game 7, does it? " The Cavaliers have played some of their best basketball this series when Love is off the court. Cleveland is minus-20 in point differential with Love in the game but plus-18 when he's off. In fact, the team's offensive efficiency spikes 11.8 points per 100 possessions without Love." (http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23613755/kevin-love-cleveland-cavaliers-game-7). Maybe you ought to check your facts when you suggest the Cavs played better in "one game" without Love. It's the entire series. My main point is that we cannot let up because we think the Cavs are not as dangerous with Love out of the lineup. Milwaukee, Philly and, now Cleveland, made that mistake against the Celtics without Kyrie in the lineup.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 26, 2018 21:35:54 GMT -5
Game 7: 'We got to be ready to come up with our nose bloodied' By Tom Westerholm
CLEVELAND -- Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Boston Celtics rallying against the Cleveland Cavaliers and with plenty of time to complete a comeback, Jaylen Brown missed a wide-open 3-pointer that would have cut the lead to four.
The Celtics had other chances. They could have gotten a stop on the other end and had an opportunity, but they didn't -- J.R. Smith made a layup and pushed the lead to nine. They could have stopped the Cavaliers when two free throws by Brown cut the lead back down to seven, but they didn't -- LeBron James found Larry Nance Jr. for a dunk around the basket. James could have missed his two highly contested step-back 3-pointers against Jayson Tatum, but he didn't, and his scowl as he walked to the bench capped a frustrating night for the Celtics, who fell 109-99 as the Cavaliers evened the series at 3-3.
Over the next 24 hours, Brown may look back to that shot a few times. After all, it was a golden opportunity to give the Celtics a chance down the stretch. If he makes that three, it's impossible to say what happens next, but the Cavaliers felt briefly like they were teetering.
"That's gonna really bug me. (Expletive)," Brown said, and he sighed deeply, taking a moment to collect himself. "Yeah, it felt good. I mean, I have to make that."
Brown's frustration seemed to be shared across the board. Jayson Tatum, who is already light on words with the media, answered one question simply by shaking his head. Al Horford, who is always polite, responded with a little more force than usual when asked why it took him a while to get established.
"If you were watching the game, I was getting doubled as soon as I caught the ball," Horford said. "Every time, I didn't really have one on one position. So they did a good job of really doubling me and making it hard."
In Horford's defense, that was exactly what was happening. The Cavaliers were trying to take the ball out of his hands, and the Celtics got great shots as a result -- one pass from Horford got the ball away from the double, and extra passes around the perimeter put the Cavaliers into rotation and led to open shots.
But the Celtics stopped going to those post-ups after a successful first quarter, and no one was entirely certain why.
"I'll have to go back and see," Horford said. "But we just weren't looking for them as much as we were earlier. I'm sure we'll address that and try to be better."
"If (Horford's) touching the ball and making plays out of the double, then his number of field-goal attempts is going to be less," Brad Stevens said. "The question about did we go to him enough, probably a good question, and one that when we review it, we'll look at it and figure out if we need to do more."
But a big part of what took the Celtics out of their offense was the sheer brilliance of LeBron James, who played 46 heavy minutes, most of which were without Kevin Love, who was sidelined and evaluated for a concussion early in the first quarter. James mixed together one of the more brilliant offensive performances imaginable -- burying 3-pointers, getting to the rim at will, knocking down a variety of tough fall-aways and dishing out nine assists. His 44-point evening added another bullet point to his long list of elimination-game brilliance.
Tatum was asked if he could have done anything better against James on his step-back 3-pointers.
"I don't think so," he said. "That was a great shot."
The Celtics are still in the driver's seats. James played 46 exhausting minutes, and he will have about 43 hours to rest and recover for yet another exhausting elimination game. The Celtics are undefeated at home in the playoffs, and Game 7 will be played in front of a raucous TD Garden crowd. James got a combined 34 points from George Hill and Jeff Green, both of whom have struggled at the TD Garden.
"It's not going to be pretty," Marcus Smart said. "You got to be able to get down and get dirty. You can't go out and try to look pretty. You have to be ready for a dog fight. We got to be ready to come up with our nose bloodied, we got to be ready to come out with our mouth bloodied, we have to be coming out ready to fight."
The Celtics have fought all year. They've been smacked in the nose and mouth, both metaphorically with injuries and adversity, and also literally at times (both Daniel Theis and Kyrie Irving got their faces broken at various times). But bringing down LeBron James on Sunday will mean taking a bloody mouth and giving back as good as they get.
"Got to get ready to play at a high level, just like every other game, and then it's win or go home," Stevens said. "It's an absolute blast to prepare for as a coach and play in as a player. It'll be a heck of a challenge, playing a really good team with obviously a tremendous individual player who put on a tremendous show tonight."
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 26, 2018 21:48:22 GMT -5
The Celtics have reason to be optimistic after Game 6 loss Boston should be able to clean things up before an epic Game 7 with LeBron By Michael DePrisco
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Friday’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals was there for the taking for the Boston Celtics. After struggling in the first quarter in Games 3 and 4, Boston came out with a deliberate offensive showing and stifling defense that forced Cleveland into contested mid-range jumpers. The Celtics were up 25-20 after the first quarter, which felt like a small victory after falling into 32-17 and a 34-18 holes in the previous two games at Quicken Loans Arena.
Then the second quarter happened. The Celtics committed three turnovers and gave up four offensive rebounds, but their main issue stemmed from taking too many bad shots. Boston was picking the Cleveland defense apart in the first quarter, only to bail them out with less ball movement and contested jump shots in the second frame.
The Cavs ended the half outscoring the Celtics 34-18 en route to a 109-99 win. LeBron James scored 46 points leading some to believe that the Celtics are toast in Game 7. LeBron is 5-2 in Game 7’s during his career, averaging about 35 points per game. He has not lost a Game 7 since 2008 when the Celtics defeated him and eventually hun Banner 17.
Boston fans have plenty to be optimistic about after the Celtics did everything humanly possible to lose Game 6. The sky isn’t falling just yet, even though most hot-take television and radio shows will say the contrary.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Rebounding
The Celtics had the ninth best defensive rebounding percentage during the regular season, contributing towards their league-best defensive rating. In the Celtics’ three wins in this series, the Cavs averaged 6.6 offensive rebounds per game.
In Game 6, the Cavs pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, leading to a 44-31 rebounding advantage for Cleveland. It’s hard enough to defend an offensive led by LeBron, and allowing that many second chances on possessions is a death wish, especially when you fall behind like the Celtics have on the road. Defensive possessions don’t end until you secure the rebound.
Turnovers and Free Throws
The Celtics ended Game 6 with 14 turnovers, an uncharacteristic number that Boston only repeated in the Game 3 blowout. Their defense was doing well in forcing the Cavs into the mid-range shots they wanted, but the Celtics allowed the Cleveland role players to develop a rhythm by turning the ball over time and time again.
Boston ended up shooting 51% from the floor Friday night, but couldn’t capitalize because of the rebounding discrepancy and turnover troubles.
Free throws were also a problem, especially during the failed comeback. The Celtics are typically a good free throw shooting team, but missed nine of their 20 attempts in Game 6. This might not have been a big deal had the Celtics taken care of the ball and the defensive glass, but you have to make your free throws in a single-digit game. Nine missed free throws in a 10-point loss stares you in the face a bit.
Poor Performances
Other than Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown, who combined for 55 points on 21-34 shooting, the Celtics had some rough individual performances from key players. Jayson Tatum ended up with 15 points on 7-13 field goals, but it took him too long to get himself going only scoring two points in the first half.
Al Horford struggled all night to find a rhythm, scoring six points on 2-8 shooting, while Marcus Morris just couldn’t do anything right. He took bad shots, threw some terrible passes, and stagnated the offense during Cleveland’s second quarter run.
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
LeBron’s success in Game 7 is undeniable, and I’m sure he will have a terrific game on Sunday, but the Celtics could not have done more to keep themselves from winning Game 6. They’ve already withstood a 40-point triple double from James in Game 2, a game that they committed five turnovers and limited Cleveland to just eight offensive rebounds.
In front of their home fans, where they’re 10-0 this postseason, expect the Celtics to correct their unforced errors in areas that they can control in order to clinch their first NBA Finals berth since 2010.
PS: No word yet regarding Larkin but I have a feeling he'll be a game time decision and a positive one
|
|