Playoff Preview/Live Thread: Cavs vs. Celtics, Game 2
2015-04-21
Ready for another one? After an off-day to enjoy the afterglow of their first playoff victory since 2010, the Cavs return poised and ready to try and turn the home court double play tonight at the Q, as they look to take Game 2 against the Celtics.
In game one, Kyrie, Kevin, Tristan and Delly all got to experience their first taste of playoff action, and they did not disappoint. Kyrie’s offensive explosion and awesome handle, KLove’s gritty defense and rebounding, TT’s dynamite energy and garbageman skills, and Delly’s hustle and heady play were all on full display in the Cavs 113-100 victory. Old head, LBJ, orchestrated the action, facilitating for the young fellas and preaching patience on the sidelines.
Yes, it was an impressive win for this group’s playoff debut, however, this is the playoffs, where nothing is given and everything is earned. Consequently, there’s still plenty for the Cavs to clean up as they take the floor for Game 2.
Boston started strong in Game 1, and the Cavs will need to work on finding a way to put the clamps on them early this time around. The Celtics had a degree of success with Isaiah Thomas running the pick and roll with Kelly Olynyk (as well as generally running amok against the Cavs guards). While Olynyk and even Tyler Zeller were active and hit a lot of shots early, Thomas was the straw that stirred the drink for the guys in green with 22 points and 10 assists.
During the off-day yesterday, it was announced that Thomas finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting to “Sweet” Lou Williams of the Raptors, cementing the fact that most teams had trouble staying with this 5’9 waterbug off the bench. Although, if you ask IT himself, he’ll tell you “numbers don’t lie” and the award should have his name on it.
Did Isaiah get robbed?
The Cavs own TnT (the “n” is silent) off the bench finished fifth in the voting. Tristan was pure Canadian Dynamite for the Cavs this season on the glass (eight rebounds per game, 14.4 RP48, and fifth in the NBA at 3.3 offensive rebounds per game), but voters typically show a propensity for giving consideration to more of the instant offense types as 6MOY.
Full results courtesy of NBA.com
The Cavs will also need to work on taking better care of the ball, as they got a bit sloppy in the second half of Game 1. After giving up the rock just four times in the first half, the Cavs turned it over twice as much in the second as the Celtics turned up their defensive intensity and got back to their ball-hawking ways (with five more steals) to claw their way back into the game late. Smart money is on Boston going back to that well in Game 2 with gusto.
I’m thinking of a nickname…
The Celtics are also saying all the right things coming into this one, vowing to execute any bit of insight Brad Stevens can find and exploit on the reels of game film he’s likely devoured since Sunday. Coach Bradley Kent (shouldn’t this guy have a cool nickname by now like “The Thinker” “The Prodigy” or “Zapruder” — feel free to spitball this in the comments and I’ll buy a C:tB t-shirt for whoever comes up with the best one) might also have some extra motivation after finishing a distant fourth in the Coach of the Year Award voting behind Mike Budenholzer, Steve Kerr and Jason Kidd.
Dave cares not for accolades… just wins.
(Cheer up though Brad, at least you got some votes unlike our own David Blatt who received just three third place votes.)
The Celtics also are still playing with house money since many expected them to be gambling in the lottery this off-season instead of rolling the dice in the post-season. And since they went on a hot streak to get here who knows… maybe the Clovers think they’ll have a bit of luck on their side for Game 2.
Although, we all know what can happen when you feel lucky…
Count me in the camp that believes in a Cavs sweep for Round 1, especially since they have LeBron James the greatest player of all time (wanna fight about it?). While this game may be close early, I think the Cavs pull away and win by a comfortable margin.
Prediction: Cavs 114, Celtics 94.
Chime in and give your two cents on Game 2…
Allowing 26 points to the Celtics is a bit too much.
Still less than the 31 on Sunday…
not greatest quarter but think intensity picks up from here and Cavs have advantage…Celtics again are playing very well and getting their looks but can’t see it continuing
why no JAMES jones?
Last game, Blatt saved JFJ for second quarter… maybe that’s the plan?
Seemed almost like a carbon copy of the first game, but Cavs are only down one instead of six…
Not an inspiring first quarter. Neither was Sunday’s first quarter however.
Heads up play by Delly to shoot the ball and draw the foul…
“shot” is a very generous term for that. But good on Delly for making something out of nothing
Wonder if Tyler Zeller will disappear like game 1
I’m surprised Perkins is getting any run.
So are the Celtics I’m sure…
I think they need him against the Bulls and that’s why he is getting some PT.
So far the Cavs are getting the bad JR, let how he turns into the good JR soon.
JR not only falls for the banana in the tailpipe, but also somehow injures himself in the process…
J.R. Smith continues to struggle in the playoffs. Can’t hit a shot, making some bone-headed plays defensively.
Also has 3-4 steals and/or tipped passes already in this one. His shot is way off and fouling the 3 point shooter was dumb, but he’s playing good defense so far tonight.
Two fouls on Ky is not good…
Not that big of a deal when your PG picks up early fouls. More concerned that Love has 2.
When your backup is Delly, you’ve got to be careful…
Not a knock on Delly, just an acknowledgement that he’s not built to play extended minutes in the playoffs…
WHAT A MOVE BY KYRIE! Kyrie is MAGIC!
JR kind of killing us right now…
He’s playing good defense but man his shot is way off.
And then he fouls the 3 point shooter…
Who predicted Perk would see minutes in the first quarter of this one?
Love plays 5 minutes and sits the rest of the 1st quarter?
Why is Perkins in? He’s on the court for three seconds and turns the ball over.
I absolutely do not understand. This is absurd.
Perk just knockin mofos down…
Jae Crowder can shoot as many threes as he wants…
Sully is now canning threes regularly?! Wt…
MT. MOZGOV has ERUPTED!
IF THEY ALL DIE THEY ALL DIE
Playing with some INTENSITY! Smith has had 4-5 tips on passes on defense.
Mozgov playing well! LeBron with some big passes early on in this one!
took cavs 6.5 min to drive to hoop and pick up intensity….funny how zeller looks incredible in two games haha
I don’t know if I’d say incredible… he’s been good early in both games…
I’d love him for a backup center. But I’ll take the tradeoff (landing all of the guys we have now)! Haha
timo with 3 blocks already. want him to go for the unconventional triple double
If they keep testing him he’ll get it. He’s reading them all perfectly
CWebb just called Rachel Nichols Rachel Ray
i have ac and fred on the fox app. at least webber has a sense of humor
I’m watching on both. The Fox App is about 45 seconds behind.
crap. i had no clue
MOZ DUNK!!!
Seller tried to punk the world there…good lord be strong and don’t cheat
MOZGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
that was absolutely ridiculous
turned it around in 1 minute. where is cols???
HOW BOUT THEM APPLES!
holy smokessssssssssss
Holy crap that was like 11 seconds
There’s a drive!
Seems like the Celtics are trying to punk the Cavs. Let’s see how the Cavs respond.
It seems this series is about to get very physical.
not best start not sure what Cavs are trying to do on either side of the ball
They do look very out of sorts to start. After the KLove and LBJ threes, not much has fallen…
Broken play turns into tough three by Smart…
Yeah JR hasn’t been playing well these past two games.
gotta take care of the ball, celtics very aggressive on defense
kyrie just a bit late on the block. i thought he might swat it
Cavs have no intensity right now. What’s with this sloppy dribbling and standing around?
CAVS turning over the ball way too much.
We’re getting outplayed in every single aspect of this game early on. Same thing happened in Game 1. What are we doing?
Mainly hustle and defense. Also no reason to keep settling for early jumpers. There hasn’t been a single drive by LeBron or Kyrie yet.
Yep. Playing into Celtic’s gameplan at the moment.
C-web seems to really like the celtics for some reason. We are running weird offense…go down low to Mozgov while he has the advantage
Trying to keep audience into it I think…
Two quick fouls on Bradley…
JR needs to find his range…
Yep he’s been off. Needs to hit a couple.
Down 5 to a sub-.500 team. Stupid.
Once again we start the game and look bad. Kind of annoying that our offense refuses to attack early.
Moz got fooled by TZ there…
That Moz block was awesome… just a bad bounce to TZ
I think we should call him Metric System. “Look at the big brain on Brad. That’s right Brad, the metric system.” Please tell me you all aren’t to young to know that.
I like that one!
Great pass inside to Moz!
And that’s the dagger! game over.
Comin at CtB nation live from the Q! Check out my instagram @cwzagger for updates coming soon, with pics and hopefully good vids from row 2 midcourt! Go CAVSSSSSSSS!!!!
Way to be cwzagger!
I predict jr smith scores 24 on 8 of 15 from three, we win by 17, and that by the end of the game We find a suitable nickname for Stephens.
Baby Pop?
Not bad, not bad
KLOVE!! That was quick!
No switch to Olynyk in starting lineup…
How’s the crowd Cory?
Listening to the TNT brain drain crew makes me want to puke in my soup.
But they make such good use of the word “ass” don’t you think?
Everybody ready?!
Here’s to a blowout tonight. I’d like to see a 15-20 point W tonight, with the game not being close at halftime.
So Zapruder (I’m going to call him this until someone comes up with a better nickname) decided to cancel the Celtic’s shootaround…
First of all, that is very curious and perhaps sinister.
Secondly, I kind of hate to do this to you, EG, but Evil Genius might be the right nickname for him. I mean, he’s regarded as a genius, and he coaches Boston, one of the most evil sports cities of all time. And if he makes Boston a powerhouse again while we’re trying to win our LBJ championships…I, mean…
Well, I’m not going to give up my nickname that easily (mostly because I’d be too lazy to change it)…
So how about Braniac? (starts with a B, supersmart villain, and is green)
Not sure if you guys saw this: http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-cavaliers/post/_/id/729/cavs-supporting-cast-steps-up-in-game-1 One of the points I found interesting was how Kendrick Perkins totally understands his role. We may make occasional fun of Angry Smurf and his slo-mo on-court play, but this is why we signed him: —- Kendick Perkins, who didn’t check into the game, also had a part in the victory as he was the last player to address the Cavs in the tunnel before they took the court with team-centric message. “I think he’s going to be a big part of our success both on and off the floor,” James said… Read more »
pumped for this game….as predicted (cols like) i see this as a blowout, 20+ point win…be surprised if its similar to game 1 lebron will have ‘quiet’ near triple double kyrie will shine and good bounce back game from JR and Mozgov! GO CAVS!
I’ve never been so delighted to listen to Riley quotes. I hope he never gets over it. Can’t wait to see what he tweets if LBJ wins a ring without him.
Riley can go #*@% his tampering self.
Yeah, he can bejewel his fist with rings and ram it up his *(*#(*$@
LBJ in Zero Dark Playoff mode…
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12734949/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers-not-aware-pat-riley-veiled-jab-cites-social-media-blackout
Zero Dark playoff mode is good. Nice one.
I stole it from LBJ’s own last tweet from Saturday night before the playoffs started, but yeah, I liked the terminology…
Loved the KLove quote from the article too…
Like James, Love hasn’t tweeted in days and plans to keep that up.
“I’m not going to turn off my phone, but no social media, no,” Love said. “I won’t be throwing up any of my chocolate milk ads for a couple months. No BodyArmor, no. Starter, no. I might be wearing the jackets though.”
Love shoots a little better, JR has a good bounceback game, the Cavs improve on defense and cruise to a 105-89 win.
Gotta like the early start on the live thread. These games count!
I want Stevens to be coaching the Cavs very Bradley
Cavs should win this game again, but I think it’ll be close again. I think Stevens might start ollynyk at center for his ability to knock down perimeter shots and pull Mozgod outta the paint. Bron should have continued success in the post and JR, if out of foul trouble, will get back to spraying home threes. This is sort of leftover from Sundays game, but when Kyrie goes Uncle Drew, Lebron needs to let him run the offense completely. Go Cavs
Amadeus Stevens?
Brad Geekykins?
How about Math Coach?
Know this:I’ve said this from day 1…David blatt has no business coaching in the NBA(muchless high school basketball).He was the worst possible choice for the head coaching position in the first place…that said ,if the Cavs don’t star playing a more physical type of “playoff”style of basketball it’s going to be a short series against a more experienced and physical team like Chicago(depending if they get past Boston of course).Bt the way as I was commenting on my original premise…what coach sits there with his arms crossed(looking like the idiot he is)and lets a opposing team score 12 straight points… Read more »
Not convincing. We came out physical and the refs pushed back. We can’t afford to have guys in foul trouble. While the 12-0 run was unfortunate, there really wasn’t cause for concern. You better believe Blatt calls that timeout against the Bulls or Hawks.
Games 2-7 are actually better for judging playoff coaching because each coach knows the other’s general approach to the series and makes adjustments. Let’s see how good Blatt is at chess…
Cavs 101- Celtics 99. LeBron is going to have a bunch of turnovers and get that game out of the way now, so he can rev his tank into the rest of the Eastern Teams in the coming weeks.
Nah. I think we see a settled, more purposeful first quarter from the Cavs, which will generate a large lead. I think we see more bench action (which will diminish the lead) with a misleadingly competitive scoreline 105-97.
Yeah. Should be another easy win. Sad that the Celtics lack all talent. Brad Stevens with talent is going to scary.
Cols I know your biting your nails as you await the Bulls. Are you ready to get trolled by Noah?
Haha. Nope. I watched the Bulls last night. They looked pretty bad. I don’t think they win more than one game against us.
I actually agree with you cols.
If we get past the Bulls I think we win the ECF. If I had to choose I’d much rather face the Hawks over the Bulls.