2018 NBA Playoffs: (2) Boston Celtics vs (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
Well, this isn’t what we expected. No Gordon Hayward, no Kyrie Irving, no problem, apparently. The young talent of the Boston Celtics announced its arrival via a first-round victory over the Milwaukee Bucks followed by a gentleman’s sweep of the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers. Now, this young, well-coached Boston team faces a new challenge.
The Cleveland Cavaliers disappointed in the regular season. They had the fifth-best offensive rating in the NBA, but only the dreadful Phoenix Suns had a worse defense. The Cavs haven’t upped their defense to another level in the playoffs (their defensive rating has been just 1.1 points better than it was in the regular season), but they have LeBron James, and having LeBron James is a big freaking deal in the playoffs.
The Celtics and the Cavs aren’t exactly postseason strangers; the two teams matched up in the Conference Finals a season ago, with Cleveland winning the series in five games. A lot has happened since then; Celtics hero Isaiah Thomas was traded to the Cavs for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. Funnily enough, neither of those players are present in this series, with Irving injured and Thomas having been traded to the Lakers in the Cavs’ full roster shakeup.
The Celtics are happy just to be here. For LeBron James, this is old hat. The Celts are the underdogs, as they were last round. This time around, though, they aren’t underdogs to an equally young team. They’re underdogs to the best player in the world.
We know who the Cavs are. They have James, who is incredible. They have Kevin Love, who is very good. They have shooters. Tristan Thompson’s ability to be on the floor is matchup-dependant, but his rebounding acumen is dangerous, particularly against a Celtics team that likes to go small with Al Horford at the five.
The Celtics are young but dangerous, and the team’s young talent has come to life in the postseason. The rookie Jayson Tatum has averaged 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Terry Rozier has exploded, averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 39.6 percent from downtown, on an insane eight 3-point attempts per game. Jaylen Brown is averaging 16.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on 41.5 percent 3-point shooting. The Celtics’ young talent has been incredible, and paired with one of the best coaches in basketball, has made this Boston team a lethal opponent.
The Celtics will probably be underdogs to the Cavs in each game this series (the Cavs are already favored to win Game 1 in Boston). The Celtics were also supposed to lose to the Sixers in just about every game, though, so they’re used to being underdogs. This is a matchup between a young and feisty team and the world’s best player. It’s clear which team is supposed to win, but can the Celtics pull off an upset? James hasn’t lost an Eastern Conference playoff series since 2010, so Boston winning would be a pretty remarkable feat.
Between the Celtics, and teams like the Sixers and Bucks, the Eastern Conference’s future is loaded with talent. In this series, we have the future versus the present. Will James complete his annual rampage through the East or pass the torch to the Celtics? We have an extremely intriguing series ahead of us.
Series schedule
(all times Eastern)
Game 1: Sunday, May 13, 3:30 p.m., in Boston on ABC
Game 2: Tuesday, May 15, 8:30 p.m., in Boston on ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, May 19, 8:30 p.m., in Cleveland on ESPN
Game 4: Monday, May 21, 8:30 p.m., in Cleveland on ESPN
If necessary:
Game 5: Wednesday, May 23, 8:30 p.m. in Boston on ESPN
Game 6: Friday, May 25, 8:30 p.m. in Cleveland on ESPN
Game 7: Sunday, May 27, 8:30 p.m. in Boston on ESPN
