so far this series. Game 1 was close as heck and Cleve was up by two with less than two minutes to go. Considering that the Celts were double digit favs and at home, ANd Cleve almost won outright, Cleve gets the edge in this game. Game two all Celts and game 3 all Cleveland. I think the game 1 edge to Cleveland can give them a little edge. Game 4 will tell a lot, maybe. Prodigy, you out there?
My Cleveland +600 series ticket isn't dead yet. Worst case scenario...I can at least start thinking about hedging if Cleveland wins Game 4.
Ben Wallace is a major, major difference maker for the Cavs. If you remember Game 2 in Boston, the Cavs were up by 12 in the first quarter with him in the lineup...and as soon as Wallace left the game for good, that's when Boston went on their big run. He's a huge defensive presence and also hauls in lots of offensive rebounds (or tips the ball back out to his guards) to give the Cavs second and third chance possessions.
This series isn't over by a longshot. Even if Boston does advance though, they can't win on the road in the playoffs...which is a major problem. They can't count on being completely perfect over the course of 16 home games as the competition gets better each round...
Ben Wallace is a major, major difference maker for the Cavs. If you remember Game 2 in Boston, the Cavs were up by 12 in the first quarter with him in the lineup...and as soon as Wallace left the game for good, that's when Boston went on their big run. He's a huge defensive presence and also hauls in lots of offensive rebounds (or tips the ball back out to his guards) to give the Cavs second and third chance possessions.
This series isn't over by a longshot. Even if Boston does advance though, they can't win on the road in the playoffs...which is a major problem. They can't count on being completely perfect over the course of 16 home games as the competition gets better each round...
Boston is a lock to win this series..
Oh, dear...not that dreaded L-word on the RX again.
Everyone said the same thing about the Cavs when they were down 0-2 to Detroit last year (myself included, frankly...I was pleasantly surprised I was able to cash that Cleveland series ticket as well). Since I think there's a pretty good chance this series will be tied 2-2 in about 24 hours, and the Cavs have shown they can play Boston tough on the road (despite their best player not playing anywhere in the same galaxy of his best level)...I wouldn't call anything about it a 'lock.' Tell ya what though...if you're interested in giving me Cleveland +3000 for this series, get my e-mail address from wil and we can try to set something up.
Btw...if I'm seeing correctly, the Cavs opened at -7 for tomorrow and they're now -2?!? This is pretty similar to the Jazz-Lakers movement today...I had a lean on Utah, but passed. I don't think the Cavs will blow Boston away again tomorrow...but it'll probably be pretty close throughout, and Cleveland will pull away in the final few minutes.
Oh, dear...not that dreaded L-word on the RX again.
Everyone said the same thing about the Cavs when they were down 0-2 to Detroit last year (myself included, frankly...I was pleasantly surprised I was able to cash that Cleveland series ticket as well). Since I think there's a pretty good chance this series will be tied 2-2 in about 24 hours, and the Cavs have shown they can play Boston tough on the road (despite their best player not playing anywhere in the same galaxy of his best level)...I wouldn't call anything about it a 'lock.' Tell ya what though...if you're interested in giving me Cleveland +3000 for this series, get my e-mail address from wil and we can try to set something up.
Btw...if I'm seeing correctly, the Cavs opened at -7 for tomorrow and they're now -2?!? This is pretty similar to the Jazz-Lakers movement today...I had a lean on Utah, but passed. I don't think the Cavs will blow Boston away again tomorrow...but it'll probably be pretty close throughout, and Cleveland will pull away in the final few minutes.
has cleveland outplayed boston? im not sure id go quite THAT far. but i do know that cleveland is ultra confident at home and boston is a mess on the road right now. its not easy for the celts to flip to switch at this time of year (when it comes to figuring out their road woes). to me, this series will go one of two ways.
both resemble cleveland/detroit from the past two seasons.
cleveland, imo, wins game four. i dont want to say its a 'given'. but i dont see boston beating them at quicken on monday.
then, its either detroit '06 or detroit '07.
in 2006, cleveland went down 0-2, evened it up ... and then traded home court wins before getting eliminated in game seven.
in 2007, cleveland went down 0-2, evened it up ... and then stole game 5 which allowed them to come home for game 6 in a game that you just got the feeling there was no way in the world theyd lose.
bottom line: cleveland is going to have to win a game in boston to advance. the cavaliers have shown they will protect home court. but they let games 1/2 slip away last year vs. detroit. and they let game 1 slip away vs boston this year. you only get a few good chances to win on the road in the nba playoffs. you cant squander them.
both resemble cleveland/detroit from the past two seasons.
cleveland, imo, wins game four. i dont want to say its a 'given'. but i dont see boston beating them at quicken on monday.
then, its either detroit '06 or detroit '07.
in 2006, cleveland went down 0-2, evened it up ... and then traded home court wins before getting eliminated in game seven.
in 2007, cleveland went down 0-2, evened it up ... and then stole game 5 which allowed them to come home for game 6 in a game that you just got the feeling there was no way in the world theyd lose.
bottom line: cleveland is going to have to win a game in boston to advance. the cavaliers have shown they will protect home court. but they let games 1/2 slip away last year vs. detroit. and they let game 1 slip away vs boston this year. you only get a few good chances to win on the road in the nba playoffs. you cant squander them.
My bad...I should never have trusted scoresandodds, who still has the opening line at -7 on their overnight page. They've been way off on some (their opening series line was Boston -1400 and Cleveland +900...I couldn't find anything close to either of those two anywhere).
cleveland, imo, wins game four. i dont want to say its a 'given'. but i dont see boston beating them at quicken on monday.
then, its either detroit '06 or detroit '07.
So you think Cleveland will win Game 5 on Wednesday and go up 3-2, prod? They won Game 5 on the road in both Detroit series' the last two years.
I read the Celtics put in a pretty rigorous day of practice on Sunday and they seem hell-bent on breaking their road losing slump. I wonder if they'll get a little dejected if they lose again tomorrow...which I think they will, partly because Cleveland's crowd will be in their usual frenzy (and will be out of their minds for Game 6 if the Cavs do indeed get up 3-2).
Again, I have to think LeBron will go off in at least one game this series. He showed some signs of coming out of his shooting slump in Game 3...he's not totally out of the woods, but I seriously doubt we'll see another 2-for-18 out of him again. He basically carried Cleveland to a Game 5 win last year in Detroit...and he's just too good not to have a breakout game at some point here.
cleveland, imo, wins game four. i dont want to say its a 'given'. but i dont see boston beating them at quicken on monday.
then, its either detroit '06 or detroit '07.
So you think Cleveland will win Game 5 on Wednesday and go up 3-2, prod? They won Game 5 on the road in both Detroit series' the last two years.
I read the Celtics put in a pretty rigorous day of practice on Sunday and they seem hell-bent on breaking their road losing slump. I wonder if they'll get a little dejected if they lose again tomorrow...which I think they will, partly because Cleveland's crowd will be in their usual frenzy (and will be out of their minds for Game 6 if the Cavs do indeed get up 3-2).
Again, I have to think LeBron will go off in at least one game this series. He showed some signs of coming out of his shooting slump in Game 3...he's not totally out of the woods, but I seriously doubt we'll see another 2-for-18 out of him again. He basically carried Cleveland to a Game 5 win last year in Detroit...and he's just too good not to have a breakout game at some point here.
Like your style Deuce. Hard to say what will happen. Cleveland has the best player on the court and if the game is close that is huge. First Cleve has to take care of business in game 4. West had a big game. He is a scrappy decent player. Rondo had a big first half of game 1 and has been MIA since. James is doing a great job on Pierce. Pierce has gotten his points but James is covering him as well as anybody ever has. If Lebron starts hitting his outside shot, then look out.
arty::toast:
Both teams looked like shit for the entire game, and series
A big fucking joke this year.. taking selfish shitty shots.. I thought LBJ was going to cost them the game..
my coaches told me to shoot through my problem.. yeah! maybe when you have an open shot!!
I'm all over the Celtics in the next game and the under I dont care if htey post the line at -8' and a 176
A big fucking joke this year.. taking selfish shitty shots.. I thought LBJ was going to cost them the game..
my coaches told me to shoot through my problem.. yeah! maybe when you have an open shot!!
I'm all over the Celtics in the next game and the under I dont care if htey post the line at -8' and a 176
Both teams looked like shit for the entire game, and series
Disagree.
What you're seeing is two very good defensive squads trading punches. Hell...when either team gets into their half-court set, they have nothing even close to an open look until they make 2 or 3 good passes first (and the shot clock is almost expired).
It's not that the offenses suck...both of them are simply getting contained for the most part by very good defensive schemes. It'll be the same way in the next round with whoever against Detroit...although I think the winner of Boston-Cleveland will win the east.
Cavs have covered 3 of 4 in this series btw...I'd be careful before putting the ranch on the Celtics in Game 5. I may even play Cleveland on the money line...
TB#1 is right....If LBJ hits his outside shot in Game 5, my series ticket has some real potential to cash.
Disagree.
What you're seeing is two very good defensive squads trading punches. Hell...when either team gets into their half-court set, they have nothing even close to an open look until they make 2 or 3 good passes first (and the shot clock is almost expired).
It's not that the offenses suck...both of them are simply getting contained for the most part by very good defensive schemes. It'll be the same way in the next round with whoever against Detroit...although I think the winner of Boston-Cleveland will win the east.
Cavs have covered 3 of 4 in this series btw...I'd be careful before putting the ranch on the Celtics in Game 5. I may even play Cleveland on the money line...
TB#1 is right....If LBJ hits his outside shot in Game 5, my series ticket has some real potential to cash.
Big 3 vs James tonight
Big 3, 16-40 FG, 9-10 FT , 2-7 3pt, 43 pts, 21 Reb, 10ast, 0 stls,2blks, 4th quarter pts 6
James 7-20 FG, 5-8FT, 2-5 3pt, 21 pts, 6 reb, 13ast, 3stl, 2blks, 4th quarter pts 6 ( 4 assists )
Yea, not the greatest game for James, but where were the Big 3? James dominated down the stretch... and Celtics dissapeared. ( much the way Cle did against Boston in the final minutes of game 1.) We got a good serires on our hands now. I can't wait for Game 5 .....
Big 3, 16-40 FG, 9-10 FT , 2-7 3pt, 43 pts, 21 Reb, 10ast, 0 stls,2blks, 4th quarter pts 6
James 7-20 FG, 5-8FT, 2-5 3pt, 21 pts, 6 reb, 13ast, 3stl, 2blks, 4th quarter pts 6 ( 4 assists )
Yea, not the greatest game for James, but where were the Big 3? James dominated down the stretch... and Celtics dissapeared. ( much the way Cle did against Boston in the final minutes of game 1.) We got a good serires on our hands now. I can't wait for Game 5 .....
The Celtics have no excuses. That game was their for the taking. If you want to win in the playoffs, you have to make it happen. This was the Celts chance to take control. They failed. They are putting it all on the line in game 5 and anything can happen in 1 game...especially when your team has the best player on the court. The Celts got a little lucky in game 1 when they were trailing with less than 2 minutes left and still won. That was a nice break and you need to take advantage of that and they didn't. Losing every game on the road is not what champs do. Good series and the last few game should be fun to watch. I am not so sure the Celts are the better team.
when you let Wally Scerbiak (sic), Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Anderson Vierjo score points at crucial points in the game, your in trouble.
The Celtics in ability to guard these guys is whats killing them. Moreso, it's I think it's their effort in guarding them. They put zero effort into doing it seems. How many wide open three's can you let Scerbiak hit? How many times can you let Joe Smith take wide open 10 ft's, or Ben Wallace get easy pts around the rim.?Lack of hustle imo. Lebron is going to score his points, but these guys??
pathetic.
The Celtics in ability to guard these guys is whats killing them. Moreso, it's I think it's their effort in guarding them. They put zero effort into doing it seems. How many wide open three's can you let Scerbiak hit? How many times can you let Joe Smith take wide open 10 ft's, or Ben Wallace get easy pts around the rim.?Lack of hustle imo. Lebron is going to score his points, but these guys??
pathetic.
Hmmmm, I wonder what player is allowing all this to happen. Maybe Lebron? The Celtics are so concerned with stopping him ( and have been to an extent) that they aren't focusing on his role players because if they do, Lebron might just drop 35+ on em ...Its a catch 22 for Boston ...
