Links To The Present: April 5, 2010

“LeBron James appeared to be taking an Easter stroll until anger at officiating woke him up and he imposed his will by scoring 20 of his 42 points on the then helpless-looking Celtics (48-28) in the fourth quarter.” [Brian Windhorst’s Game Recap]

“Somewhere between Tony Allen trash-talking in his face and Kevin Garnett grabbing his crotch while issuing LeBron James a sort of invitation Sunday afternoon, James decided he did indeed want a rematch with the Celtics in the postseason.” [Brian Windhorst’s Beat Blog]

“As a result, Cleveland earned home-court advantage through the NBA finals despite losing 117-113 at Boston earlier in the day.” [Spurs Win, Cavs Clinch HCA]

“The way it did play out — with LeBron going off late and bringing his team back from a deficit of over 20 points — it forced the Celtics to dig deep and a find a way to hang on for the victory. It might not mean that the Celtics are capable of beating a full-strength Cavaliers team in the post-season, but it may be a huge step in the team getting its collective swagger back in time to make the early rounds of its trip to the postseason very, very interesting.” [Brett Pollakoff:  Cavs’ Big Comeback Couldn’t Have Been Better for the Celtics]

“Is there such a thing as a heartbreaking victory? Sunday’s near fold against the Cavs definitely makes you wonder.” [Marc Stein’s Power Rankings]

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t try. If you defend LeBron like an average NBA player—if you don’t pull out some unique strategies—he could score 50 points. So over the course of the day, we’ll look at different strategies the Celtics used Sunday to try and contain the best player in the game.” [Celtics Hub Look at Defending LeBron]

Chris Sheridan Resurrects The “LeBron doesn’t get called for fouls b/c he’s a superstar” meme.

LeBron starting to fade a little in his PER chase of MJ.  Also, Pau Gasol dangerously close to overtaking Kobe in PER.

“Let’s say you are the Cavs or the Pistons (the two worst foul shooting teams), I wouldn’t recommend they foul up three, because as the game continues to be extended, there is a better chance that the team misses a foul shot and end up with a 2 point game instead of a 3 point game.  In addition, if you are playing a team like the Nets (one of the worst three point shooting teams and a team that can’t really run a play late), you don’t want to foul up 2, because it is more than likely they won’t get a good game tying shot attempt up.” [NBA Playbook on Fouling When up 3]

“When I talk about players coming here, obviously LeBron is the guy,” McGrady said. “My honest opinion, I don’t see it happening. I really don’t. It’s set for him right now [in Cleveland].” [Marc Berman – NY Post]

Tweets To The Present:

“Ps tweeting with my left hand is almost as painful as my injury…almost.” [Andrew Bogut]

“If Andray Blatche misses out on a triple double because of rebounds, I will laugh maniacally for a solid hour.” [Noam Schiller]

“LeBron said he would like to get some rest over last five games. Look for it this week w/Shaq maybe back in final week.” [Brian Windhorst]

“Enjoy home court Fanatics!…the title comes thru Cle….” [Fred McLeod]