How do we beat the Cavs in the ECF?

[vjcsmoke]

The 89 Pistons won with their defense and team play.  They're not a bad team to emulate or compare to.  The Celtics right now have no single superstar player.  But they have a lot of good to very good players.  Usually an 'ensemble cast' doesn't win championships.  But there have been famous exceptions... like the Detroit Pistons.

If you want to go way back there were the Seattle Super Sonics in 1979.  Their two best players in the playoffs were Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams.  Not a single superstar on the roster, but they won it all, how?

[TA9]

Underdogs once again. Only 3 out of 22 ESPN experts believe that we will beat the Cavs in the ECF.

[Moranis]

Underdogs once again. Only 3 out of 22 ESPN experts believe that we will beat the Cavs in the ECF.

I'm honestly surprised 3 people think Boston will win.

[The One]

Just watched Game Time...one theory is to put Smart on LeBron and pick him up 94 feet.

LeBron would be tempted to pass off to a wing and post Marcus up down low.

But at least he has his back to the basket and perhaps the defense can trap/double and dictate who LeBron would pass out to.

The Game Time crew emphasized that if LeBron has time and the ability to see everything in front of him...he will pick your team apart with pick and rolls.

This is going to be a hard series.

[Eddie20]

series will be a defining moment for Marcus Morris .

Will he hvae the fire in his belly to muscle up against Lebron and push him around .

He can make a career statement defending Bron.   I think this was part of DA thinking .

Yep, this is exactly why Ainge traded for him, for this series, this moment, against LeBron.

I like the way these Celtics compare to the 89-90 Pistons and the 04 Pistons, the way those offenses were evenly distributed, the defensive beast like Rodman or Wallace being the guard version in Smart, the star power they had to overcome to win. If we play like those Pistons teams we could beat whoever comes out of the West, too.

Warriors are a different level with three of the sharpest shooters in the world and an energy fella.

Those Pistons teams beat the Jordan Bulls, the Showtime Lakers, and the Shaq/Kobe Lakers.

Yeah, Pistons beat better teams. Especially those Laker squads

With the exception of the 86 Celtics, imo, those Pistons teams with The Microwave, Aguirre, and Salley as reserves probably had the best bench in NBA history, although the 85 Lakers were loaded, too, iirc.

Why do you think the 86 C's had such a good bench? Sure, they had Walton, Wedman, and Sichting, but those players, in Walton's case as the stage of his career, weren't as good as other benches. What happens is that the starters of the 86 C's and 87 Lakers (which was Magic's best squad) was so dominant that it makes it seem as though their benches were better than they actually were.

Instead you'd have to look at teams that aren't as dominant, some not even winning titles, but they were very deep throughout. For example, take the 00-01 Blazers who had 3 guys be primary starters (Stoudamire, Rasheed, and Pippen) and then a bunch of other guys rotate in and out of the starting lineup based on match-ups. Players that included Sabonis, Steve Smith, D. Davis, Bonzi, and Augmon. Then you still had veterans like Schrempf, Kemp, and Greg Anthony providing additional depth. That team was extremely deep, so players numbers weren't as good because MPG were so spread out. However, you'd be hard-pressed to find a team with the talent the Jailblazers had off the bench.

[td450]

I don't know how anyone can really have a handle on this one. The Cav's have been very inconsistent this year, and don't play defense like they have in the past. Judging how the C's will do based on past seasons makes zero sense. We are much bigger, tougher and more athletic than last year.

LeBron is still the best athlete in the NBA, but the rest of the Cav's are going to have problems. They don't trust their younger guys. Korver, Love and JR Smith are going to look like they are stuck in cement playing against Rozier, Brown and Tatum.

To me this boils down to Kevin Love and Al Horford. If we win that matchup, or even get a draw, we have a great chance.

[Big333223]

Which Cleveland team is going to show up?

Everyone seems to think they turned the corner in the Raptors series. Maybe they did or maybe they just match up really well with a team that was already scared to death of Lebron. Maybe that sweep had more to do with the Raptors crumbling than the Cavs going to another level.

They are the team that swept the Raptors, yes, but they're also the team that almost lost to Indiana in 7 games. That's the same team. Boston matches up better than Toronto did and they are much stronger, mentally, than Toronto. These Celtics don't fear anyone.

I don't feel confident about this series because the Celtics have exceeded all my expectations so far. If they can keep it up, I can see them in the finals.

[Phantom255x]

Underdogs once again. Only 3 out of 22 ESPN experts believe that we will beat the Cavs in the ECF.

In the Celtics-Sixers series, only 3 of 22 ESPN experts chose Boston.

Two of them were Forsberg and Spears, and they chose Boston again this series. 

I don't blame ESPN to be honest this time, as the truth is Lebron is a different beast in the playoffs and we're just injured. Will be much harder than the PHI series.

On another note, it is funny because 9 of 22 chose Toronto > Cleveland, and no one saw a sweep happening at all that series lol.

And wow... Houston also only getting picked by 3 of 22 ESPN experts... 

[TheTruthFot18]

Lebron is getting his 30/10/10 no matter what. Deal with it.

So don't double him (maybe 1-2 times).

Stay on guys like Love, Korver, Smith, Clarkson, Hill, Hood. If they all of a sudden get 3-4 3's in a row.

When those guys go 0-5, 1-7, they lose everytime.

[BringToughnessBack]

1.Morris needs to come up big next series!
2.Terry needs to be scary 48 minutes a game
3.Don't lose at home
4. Tatum 20 a night needs to continue
5. Brown needs to be healthy and explosive
6. Need to find a way to rattle Love and Smith- put everything on the kings back until all of the weight shatters his spirit
7. Stevens need to be his usual, magical self!
8. last but not least, Al needs to find his big boy shoes in this ECF  vs Cavs- he has to assert himself like he has done so far- the cavs have not been his best matchup over the years/ the time to rise is now!

My Ohio friends told me they are upset Sixers did not make it over is. They think they would have destroyed Sixers much easier then is- interesting ....

[SHAQATTACK]

we needed ten pages of advice on stopping Lebron

still won't be enough ...LOL

[albas89]

Underdogs once again. Only 3 out of 22 ESPN experts believe that we will beat the Cavs in the ECF.

To be fair, all but one believe this is a 6-7 game series, which is kinda all I can expect from ESPN experts anyways. Earlier today I was listening to Dunc'd on podcast and Duncan picked Cavs in 4... What's wrong with this guy's anti-Celtics bias?!

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

we needed ten pages of advice on stopping Lebron

still won't be enough ...LOL

pound lebron hard

make him score 70 points from beyond the arc

no double teaming him

shut down all others

pound him with semi, morris, baynes, monroe, yabu, whoever if he drives to hoop

if he drives pound him some more and make him shoot free throws.

[footey]

Underdogs once again. Only 3 out of 22 ESPN experts believe that we will beat the Cavs in the ECF.

I'm honestly surprised 3 people think Boston will win.

Same number who thought they’d beat Sixers. Good sign.

[Phantom255x]

My biggest fear is that Tristan Thompson is suddenly going to look like Prime Shaq against us (AGAIN). Hopefully Baynes can limit him and Love in post-up situations. Going up against Embiid was a nice test and Baynes did well on him.

Really, we got to hound their shooters (JR Smith, Korver, etc.) and limit our own turnovers.

Like folks have mentioned above, Lebron may get his 30/10/10, but as long as we *contain* the other guys, we got a shot.

The Horford-Love match up is key. Even if it's a draw, I like our chances. But historically, Love and Thompson have dominated Horford (even dating back to his day in ATL). Baynes should help with Thompson, but we need Al to continue his stud play and keep Love in check as well.