Are We The Underdogs versus the Cavs?

[jdpapa3]

I am surprised to see that we are ridiculous favorites in this series.

We are -800. That means you would have to put 800 bucks up and would only get 100 if we won.

That's wild.

Cavs are +600 for the record.

This is according to TheGreek sportsbook, a reputable source. It was put up just today, too.

[chrismcc13]

It will be interesting to see Ray and Wally's corpses chasing each other around.  Ray is definitly on the decline, but we'd all be fools to think our team could work without him.  His off-court influences are huge, and he spaces the floor quite well, not to mention he can still knock it down when his legs are with him.  He may be on the decline, but I'm hoping to see some vintage Ray we haven't seen yet in the playoffs (trying to erase the memory of his two clunked freethrows that could have clinched a game in Cleveland early in the season).
On another note, I think the Perkins/Ilgauskaus matchup will be very very crucial.  Zydrunas is a hired goon.  What is he, 7'3"? I loved what I saw out of Perk in Game 7 versus Atlanta, let's just hope he can keep it up on the road.  That goes for our whole team.  I don't think any of our bigs will have trouble with Ben Wallace's coffin.  As for LeBron, WE NEED YOU POSEY!!! This is where we  need Doc's coaching and substitutions more than ever.  We need Posey a lot more in this series.  I wouldn't mind seeing a little Tony Allen as well, if only to get his confidence up (not a lost cause quite yet?), and to rest Ray's legs.  But knowing Doc and his antics, Tony, Eddie and Big Baby will have master degrees in towel waving.
While some people say this will be Ray's series, I think we will be lucky if he plays Robin to Pierce's Batman (What does that make Garnett? Iron Man?) I'd watch the LeBron/Pierce matchup over any other matchup in the league.  Celtics in 6.

[clover]

The new look Cavs.  Is this a variation of the same issue we had with Atlanta?  That there lesser wing (Wally) is too big for Ray, but Ray's not really up to guarding their stud (LeBron) either?

On the flip side, Wally shouldn't be able to guard either Paul or Ray.  The challenge will be to keep from getting into a shootout.

[crownsy]

why would ray guard lebron? ray will guard wally, pierce and posey will be the main defenders on james, probley with double team help.

[Yakmanev]

I don't know about matchups and all of that but we are the favorites vs Cleveland.

The only reason Atlanta won three games vs the Celtics was because the league wanted to revive basketball in the city of Atlanta. (Who coincidentally had the longest absence from the playoffs,as you all know)

This is evident in the near 750 free throws the Hawks took when they were at home.

[mainevent]

reading a good majority of the links in the "daily links" section, its easy to see that now we probably will be the underdogs to a lot of "experts". We were pushed to the brink against the lowly(yet playoff eligible) Hawks and there's no way we will get past the Cavs. Hopefully we will embrace this role and go out with a chip on our shoulder with something to prove. We are not the Mavs of last year. Fact is we were embarrassed to lose not just one game but three to the Hawks now all of a sudden our regular season was just a fluke. I'd rather everyone believe the Cavs and the Pistons are now the team to beat. Takes some of the pressure off....although all of the world who's not a Celtic fan wants to see us get blasted!

[PRIDE]

I think its better for this team to be the "underdogs". I think its better to say "ok lets knock them down" instead of "we're the best and we need to prove it". It should keep the intensity up.