2nd Round: Boston vs. Cleveland - Series BOS leads (2-0)

[thegreatest]

-= original quote snipped =-




JJ has better teammates if you ask me.

No one on Atlanta is as good as big Z, besides JJ.
No on is as consistent either.

Lebron also has better shooters around him.

[Gordon Bombay]

well that was fun

[AmazingJason]

I have not watched any of this series' games, however, I'm going to offer a few suggestions based on my cursory examination of the box scores. Let me know what you think.

1. Bench Ben Wallace. Play Joe Smith significant minutes.
2. Bench Delonte West. Play Daniel Gibson significant minutes.
3. Steadily increase Sasha Pavlovic's minutes.

The basic reason why is because there will not be a drop-off defensively, while the offense will improve by surrounding LeBron with better shooters and more capable offensive players.

[eatyourchildren]

The Celtics are essentially employing a faster and longer version of the defense that the Spurs used against the Cavs last year.

I don't remember who I was arguing with this about, but it was in a thread comparing the offense of LeBron v. Kobe.

But I think we're starting to see a truism here: Offensive versatility DOES matter. At some point, you just have to hit your jumpers.

[Triple M]

What surprises me most isn't Lebron missing Jumpers but the way he is missing them, a lot of them are not even close.

[Icefire10304]

LeBron's gotta improve on that midrange shot

[nightstarstolen]

i think that Hawks >>> Cavs

1. Their weakest position was pg, and they went out and got Bibby, toward end of the year.

2. Atlanta Hawks are young enough to improve over a year's time. Al Hortford, Josh Smith are playing alot better now than at beginning of the year. 2 of there 3 best players.

3. Lets look at the top players on each team:

Josh Smith (20/10/5 blocks on any given night)
Al Hortford (23+/6/3 on any night)
Bibby (Vet PG)
Joe Johnson (All-Star, poor man's Lebron)
+ Garbage

vs

Lebron
Big Z
+ Garbage

4. Boston doesn't play well against young athletic teams. But don't get into a grind with Boston. You will lose to the #1 defense in league. Cleveland just happens to be a half court team.



ALL THIS = 4 GAME SWEEP

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

i think that Hawks >>> Cavs

76ers > Magic

The 76ers won in Detroit.

Wasn't everyone calling sweep on the Hawks when they got blown out twice? I don't seem to remember the Hawks almost stealing a game like the Cavs did.

Amazing that we see time and again the advantage of home court and people still don't believe it, lol.

[celticfan42487]

I can guarantee this:

Lebron will play INFINITELY better as evidenced by the way he got to the basket AT WILL late in the fourth.

Pierce and Allen???? NOT SO MUCH.

Allen was on the freaking BENCH when this was all going down.

Lebron >> Allen + Pierce.

Kobe is CLEARLY >> Allen + Pierce.

Thats just one mans opinion.

Poor Baby, didn't get his caps argument to support his favorite mvp player tonight


And lets stop with the Cavs<ATL argument. Cavs> ATL. If Cavs were facing ATL Josh Smith out foul out everygame against LeBron.

The Celtics are just a half-court team, like SA. And ATL decided in game 3 they are no longer going to play that game and they did well. What's scary is NO can do the same then except much better [hence their 18+ wins over SA]. I'm not quite sure which way LA would play BOS.

[Cevap]

Celtics are so awesome, like German Panzer Tanks.

[celticfan42487]

Celtics are so awesome, like German Panzer Tanks.

Well that analogy only works if LeBron is the Maginot Line, so overrated.

[prekazi]

^^Then let's hope Cleveland is Stalingrad and Cavs are the Red Army.

[celticfan42487]

No..no. Maginot Line is in France. Cavs would be French.

[prekazi]

^yeah I know but I'd prefer being the Soviets. Stalingrad was so tough and brutal it killed the Nazi's powers in both ways mentally and physically. That's why I said so. It'll depict a more clear Cavs victory. Anyway enough of history talk. Let's go back to ugly D-Party.

[Manocad]

Cavs would be French.

Meaning a surrender is imminent.

[_BBIB_]

Is it time for people to respect what the Hawks accomplished in the 1st round?

All I heard was how they exposed Boston in an effort to give the Hawks basically no credit whatsoever for being a legitimate challenge for Boston.


Well if what they did was so easy, well what gives?

[bstein14]

If Boston beats Cleveland in 4, Detroit in 5, and the Lakers in 6 I think that means Atlanta is the 2nd best team in the NBA.

[Manocad]

Is it time for people to respect what the Hawks accomplished in the 1st round?

Losing?



Just kidding. I don't think there's a single knowledgeable NBA fan that doesn't believe the Hawks have great potential.

[Subliminal Criminal]

The Cavs will not win the championship with the current coaching staff and supporting cast. LeBron has hardly been even serviceable, but to act as if he is completely to blame for the 2-0 deficit is ridiculous. The only player on the Cavs to show up for the series has been Big Z down low.

LeBron has somewhat played right into the Celtics' hand defensively, but his teammates have not given him much choice in the matter either. He is in the worst shooting slump of his career at 1-27 from outside the paint in the series, but his three primary shooters are under 30% from the floor as well. They aren't exactly taking any of the burden off his shoulders. Granted, the entire blame can't be shifted to the likes of Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak either. LeBron has three flaws in his mid-range game that need to be corrected to reach the type of complete offensive potency that Kobe has perfected.

First, his jumper is still streaky, even though he has made improvements since the Finals last season. When he is in rhythm and he has the mid-range jumper dropping, he is unstoppable. When his jumper runs cold and flat against clubs with a great team defensive scheme, it can get ugly. I don't doubt that eventually the jumper will come to him, as he has had some kind of improvement in some aspect since he entered the NBA and his work ethic is dynamite.

Second, he sometimes gets too cerebral and methodical in breaking down a defense. Now, certainly there is an advantage to being cerebral and it is evident that LeBron has a very high basketball IQ. But, if it comes at the expense of being natural, then it needs to be toned down slightly. He will take his time to diagnose the defensive set and allow them ample time to adjust. For example, on the pick-and-roll LeBron will retreat if a double is brought, forcing him to either pull up from mid-range or reset a halted offense. This is what the Spurs did to him last season in the Finals.

Third, he comes off of ball-screens slower if he is not confident in his ability to hit his shot. I think this is the primary factor that he has gotten lost in the shuffle in the first two games against the Celtics. They will send over help and hedge the ball-screen and LeBron is not hyper-aggressively turning the corner to attack, instead opting to retreat toward the sideline and baseline angles that Boston intentionally leaves him. He absolutely needs to be aggressive and turn the corner on hedged ball-screens to get some easy buckets that hopefully get him into rhythm with his jumper.

In addition, Mike Brown's offense - if you could call it that - is awful. It is so stagnant and puts all of the pressure on LeBron to create everything for himself and teammates. Obviously, LeBron has a unique skillset that enables him to do it, but against elite defenses such as the Spurs and Celtics, it makes him easier to game plan against. If LeBron had a better flow offense with an additional reliable ball-handler, he could move off the ball more and attack before the defense can hunker down.

I know LeBron has not looked good in the first two games and it is easy to have short-term memory, but let us not forget the breathtaking talent that he is capable of being. He is near impossible to stop with a full head of steam toward the basket because of his jaw-dropping athleticism at 6-9, 260 lbs. He is a lethal ambidextrous finisher that has gymnastic body control which he uses to create contact, get the basket, and the foul. He is a point forward that has unbelievable court vision and passing ability. On defense, he has all the tools to develop into a pitbull on-ball defender and he has become comfortably above average on the defensive end already.

The kid still has a deep well of potential that he can tap into as his career moves forward. Just enjoy it instead of trying to marginalize his abilities or else you will miss out on someone that should go down as one of the all-time greats.

[Truthiracy]

If Boston beats Cleveland in 4, Detroit in 5, and the Lakers in 6 I think that means Atlanta is the 2nd best team in the NBA.