May

18

LBJ Wins Battle; Celtics Win The War Beat Cavaliers In Game Seven 97-92 Head To Eastern Finals

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA PLAYOFFS 

What I will take with me from this series, rather than the play is some of the statements that have come from the participants. The first one that springs to mind especially after Friday night?s game was a statement made earlier in the series by Boston coach Doc Rivers. Rivers expressed his shock at how low Cleveland?s LeBron James finished in the MVP voting (LBJ finished fourth, behind winner Kobe Bryant, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul, and Kevin Garnett.) Rivers then said he thought James should have won the award. I agree with Coach Rivers 100%, there is one reason and one reason only that the Cleveland Cavaliers are still playing in the NBA Post Season. His name is LeBron James! LBJ has had one consistent teammate since the playoffs began, Delonte West. Daniel Gibson before he dislocated his shoulder Wednesday, had a couple of good games, as has Wally Sczcerbiak. Varejao, Joe Smith, Z, and Ben Wallace have had moments. But the only reason that there will be a game seven on Sunday is because of LBJ, make up any other reason you are just deluding yourself. In fact when it comes right down to it there is one reason that the Cavaliers made the Playoffs, again LBJ. Taking nothing away from Kobe, CP3, or KG, but that to me is the definition of a MVP. LBJ Carries Cavaliers To Victory As Celtics Comeback Falls Short 74-69 Series Deadlocked At 3-3

In the words of one of my literary heroes the late, great, Kurt Vonnegut “And so it goes.” The Boston Celtics are heading to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on the Detroit Pistons, after surviving a tough grueling series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.?The Green Team won game seven in a Battle Royale a game that for Celtics fans of a certain age brought back memories of that classic shoot out between Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird. This time the opponents were Cavaliers forward LeBron James, and Boston forward Paul Pierce. And just as?the?”Human High Light Film“?outscored Bird but lost the game, LBJ?scored a game high 45 points, to the 41 points by Pierce, but Boston won 97-92.

The 1988 Atlanta Hawks were a team on the precipice of greatness, as were the Detroit Pistons of that era. The Celtics would lose the Eastern Conference Finals to Detroit that year ending their streak of being in the Finals from 1984-1987. Detroit would lose the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988, but would come back and win back to back?NBA Championships in 1989, and 1990. The Hawks on the other hand peaked in 1988, and started to fall back to the pack. Soon former NBA Coach of the Year Mike Fratello would be gone, and eventually the players. Wilkins ironically would end up years later with the Celtics.

The Cavaliers?are where the Atlanta Hawks were 20 years ago. Yes the team went to NBA Finals last year, but that was not this team. That was the Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble, version?of the Cavaliers. This is a new edition, one that has a commodity in Delonte West, but otherwise in this NBA observers opinion, one that is weaker as a unit than the 2007 Cavaliers. And not just because they did not make it as far as last season. I have been writing this since Cleveland General Manager Danny Ferry made his big?trade on the day of the NBA Trading deadline. Ferry rolled the dice on that day hoping to hit the winning combination. It turned out this team with Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West were not as good as last year’s model. Where this team goes from here is now in the hands of management, do they go forward like the Pistons, or back to the pack like the Hawks. They have the best player in the NBA, now they need to gte him the weapons he needs.

This unlike game seven against the Hawks a couple of weeks ago( Yes believe it or not it was just a couple of weeks ago!) was an entertaining close game. Both teams looked like they needed a road map to find the basket in the first quarter, as the Celtics would have the lead at the end of the first quarter 18-13. Both teams awoke from their comas in the second quarter as Boston walked in the locker room with a 50-40 advantage. Cleveland surged in the third quarter as they cut the Boston lead to 73-68 as the two teams headed into the fourth quarter. The Celtics lead was down to just 3 points, at 95-92 when Sasha Pavlovic hit a?23 foot trey with just 8 seconds left. But Pierce nailed down the win as he hit two from the line?one second later.

Pierce scored 41 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, in the Boston?victory. Kevin Garnett recorded a double-double as he scored 13 points, grabbed 13 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, veteran P.J. Brown came off the pine and scored 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.

LBJ scored a game high 45 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals for Cleveland.?For the seecond consecutive game?the only other Cavaliers player in double figures was Delonte West who scored 15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal. Ben Wallace scored 3 points, with 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, Wally Szczerbiak shot 0-3, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers. Boston will go on to face the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, game on will be played in Boston Tuesday night. Unless the Celtics find the game that the team had in the regular season, that has so far eluded them in the Post Season, it will be their last stop.

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