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The Celtics and Cavaliers split their season series 2-2.
Both LeBron James and Kevin Garnett missed one of those games to injury.
James averaged 32 points per game in the three contests he played in. The Cavaliers won two of those three games.
In Boston’s lone regular season victory over the James led Cavaliers, the Cetlics held LeBron to 26 points on 7-for-26 shooting. The Celtics won that game 92-87 on February 27th.
Keys for Boston
1. Stop LeBron James
The San Antonio Spurs held LeBron to 22 points per game and 36% from the field in their NBA Finals sweep over James’ Cavaliers last season.
How did they do it?
By making him a jumpshooter.
Bruce Bowen and Co. kept him out of the paint and shut down Daniel Gibson’s catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities.
The Celtics had the best defense in the league this season. Boston led the NBA in virtually every defensive category and were second in the league in points allowed. Even more impressive is the fact that they accomplished all of that without the luxury of a lock-down defender on the perimeter.
That may came back to haunt them versus LeBron.
James led the league in scoring this season by averaging 30 points per game. LeBron also led in 4th quarter scoring (9.1 pts) and the Cavs had seventeen 4th quarter comebacks.
The Celtics don’t have anyone on the perimeter to defend him one-on-one.
But they do have Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett.
If I was Doc Rivers, I would place KG on LeBron for key stretches in this series. Garnett doesn’t have LeBron’s explosiveness but he can afford to play a step off because James won’t beat the Celtics with his jumpshot.
James outweighes Garnett by twenty pounds but gives up 3 inches to the 9-time All-NBA defender.
KG’s long arms and great hands could disrupt many of James’ forays into the paint.
Is this strategy uncoventional?
Of course.
And KG might be better suited to roam the paint and contest LeBron’s penetration from the weakside. It’s not as if he’ll have to worry about Anderson Varejao or Ben Wallace scoring a ton of points off of LeBron’s drive-and-dish skills.
But if LeBron starts to takeover like he did against Detroit in last year’s playoffs, why not place the best defensive player in the game on the “chosen one?”
Stopping LeBron James is key to Boston’s chances of advancing out of the second round.
It’s the only key.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:59 am
The KG/LeBron “there can only be one” commercial is my favorite out of that series.
But does anyone else notice that KG is eight years older than LeBron?
So when KG was “nine years old” and “dreaming of winning it all,” LeBron was one.
Also, LeBron was six years old when MJ won his first ring. Fourteen when Jordan won his 6th.
Just saying…
May 7th, 2008 at 3:14 am
so….who do you have winning this series?? Boston or Cleveland, no ifs ands or buts???
May 7th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Boston, hence the “Keys for Boston.”