After yesterday’s big win against the Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics have now officially clinched the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers. The season series was split at 2 games apiece, including last week’s home-at-home where both games were won by the Celtics. But keep in mind, LeBron James sat out for the last 5 quarters of the games, and Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith all sat out for the second game.
So the real question comes into play: how do we beat the powerhouse that is the Cleveland Cavaliers? They are a strong team, and even though they started the season poorly, they have been one of the best teams in the league since January. They have their Big 3 of Love, Irving and James, all who can score 20+ a night and even have Kyrie or LeBron score 40+ if needed. Plus they have former 6th Man of the Year J.R. Smith, along with Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson and Kendrick Perkins. With all of these weapons, it seems like a hard team to stop, especially with LeBron hungry to bring a title back to his hometown team.
But I think we have a chance against this Cavs team. I guarantee no one expect the Celtics to win this series, let alone one game. How can we do it? We have to play as a team. All 15 guys need to step up and play the best basketball they can.
Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Evan Turner must continue to shoot the ball well and play strongly on both ends of the court. Tyler Zeller and Brandon Bass have to continue to stay strong inside and make it difficult when the Cavs try to drive to the basket, which happens a lot. And our bench has to continue to stay consistent and stay as a huge factor in the game. Bench players like Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk and especially Isaiah Thomas have to continue to be key players coming off of the bench and putting in good minutes.
Let us not forget one of the biggest reasons for our success. A lot of the success has come from our Head Coach Brad Stevens, and he must continue his successful coaching techniques. He has coached this team well, especially as the season was ending. He knows how to coach this team well, and has shown it with the recent success.
If Stevens makes the right decisions, and every guy on the team steps up to play their best, I believe that we can beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. It will take a lot of hard work and correct play calling, but I have faith in our young team.
The Beantown Buzz 