Why the Celtics will beat the Cavs

[houseonfire09]

I hope you're right.  The Celtics can win in 6 if they somehow take the first 2 at Cleveland, but the refs are the X factor.  If the Celtics go up 3-1 or 3-2, expect one, two, or three games to be eerily similar to Game 6 of Lakers-Kings.  Yes, I'm a little paranoid about that, but if Stern wants the conspiracy theories to stop, then he would do something about it instead of telling the players to shut up or get suspended.

[Mr October]

Pierce - Sorry, when the Celtics played the Cavs in the playoffs last Pierce relied on Posey to cover Lebron to save his stamina for 7 games.  There's a reason Lebron averages almost 40 pts/game against the C's.  Lebron has a huge advantage over Paul.  Pierce will limit Lebron's help defense, which will help the Celtics.

Woah, do you not remember the Celtic Cavs playoff series in 2008? Pierce was easily the best defender the C's had to throw at James. Did the Celts also use Posey to help wear James down? Yes. But you make it sound like only Posey was on him. So when Pierce was averaging 36-40 minutes a night in that series, who exactly was Pierce guarding then? Give me a break. Your memory isn't usually this clouded. You're better than that, MMacOH.

Sure, Lebron is going to get his, and I hope the C's use mostly single coverage on the perimeter, collapsing only when he gets a toe in the paint. The more Lebron shoots, the less his teammates shoot. If all his teammates get 10 or less FG attempts regularly, the Celtics will have an advantage.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Pierce was easily the best defender on LeBron in our championship year. But I have to say, Posey was great against  LeBron in the first two games of the series. The rest of the way was Pierce.

[MMacOH]

Pierce - Sorry, when the Celtics played the Cavs in the playoffs last Pierce relied on Posey to cover Lebron to save his stamina for 7 games.  There's a reason Lebron averages almost 40 pts/game against the C's.  Lebron has a huge advantage over Paul.  Pierce will limit Lebron's help defense, which will help the Celtics.

Woah, do you not remember the Celtic Cavs playoff series in 2008? Pierce was easily the best defender the C's had to throw at James. Did the Celts also use Posey to help wear James down? Yes. But you make it sound like only Posey was on him. So when Pierce was averaging 36-40 minutes a night in that series, who exactly was Pierce guarding then? Give me a break. Your memory isn't usually this clouded. You're better than that, MMacOH.

Sure, Lebron is going to get his, and I hope the C's use mostly single coverage on the perimeter, collapsing only when he gets a toe in the paint. The more Lebron shoots, the less his teammates shoot. If all his teammates get 10 or less FG attempts regularly, the Celtics will have an advantage.

My memory may be a bit foggy concerning this.  My son was 5 months at the time so he tended to keep me occupied.  I may have overstated.  Sorry about that.

[MMacOH]

Pierce was easily the best defender on LeBron in our championship year. But I have to say, Posey was great against  LeBron in the first two games of the series. The rest of the way was Pierce.

This may be more how I remember it.  I know Pierce checked Lebron for all of game 7.  Those 2 were great that game.

[Donoghus]

My concern there is that we have the 2010 Paul Pierce now, not the 2008 Paul Pierce.  

I'm not sure its fair to have the same expectation concerning his defense on Lebron.  I know its only been two years but its been a loooong two years for his body.  Plus, Lebron has improved since those playoffs.

[slamtheking]

Nice write-up Nick. TP for you.

A couple of extra thoughts.
Keys to C's winning this series:
* Defensive Rebounding.  C's need to keep the Cavs from getting offensive rebounds pure and simple.  When they play defense well enough to get Cle to miss a shot, they need to keep it a "1 and done" possession for Cle as much as possible.  The chances Cle (Bron) have to score, the more likely the C's are to give up points and lose.  Everyone in green needs to hit the boards all the time, especially the frontcourt players.  Neutralize the one advantage the CLE frontcourt has---activity on offensive boards. 
* Offensive rebounding.  C's actually need to apply some pressure here besides BBD.  Make Cle hang back for a couple of seconds to secure their own boards to cut back on their fast break opportunities.  Pressure the rebounder too to prevent or delay outlet passes for fastbreaks.
* Bench play.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, has got to contribute when they're in the game.  If only the starters produce, they're doomed.  Sheed has got to step up and produce on offense and defense.  TA, Finley and Daniels (if he gets time) have got to play solid defense and be threats on offense.  Nate needs to play solidly on both ends if he gets time---particularly on offense where he needs to be the outside threat that could wreak havoc on Cle's defensive schemes.
* Turnovers. Force them whenever possible and hang onto the ball when they have it.  No more stupid/fancy passes resulting in turnovers.  No more moving picks.  The big man needs to stand still and get the guards give the big men time to set position and then rub by the pick man rather than leave space for the defendor to squeeze through.

Smart, basic fundamental play from everyone will result in a win.  Anything less and we'll all be screaming at our TV's in frustration.