What the Cavs are saying about the Celtics ahead of Game 1

The Cavaliers saw that type of team in the last round and handled them easily, so this should be familiar to them.

Smart has been at the heart of similar comebacks this season – most notably with his two drawn offensive fouls on Houston’s James Harden in the final minute of Boston’s 26-point comeback win on December 28, and the rally from down 22 against the 76ers in Game 2, the likes of which Smart said “you only see in movies”.

So, who are the guys who needs to get it done for their squad?

Most importantly, the C’s have a huge edge in this series on the sidelines with Brad Stevens. Tatum and second-year swingman Jaylen Brown are rising young stars and point guard Terry Rozier has emerged, filling in for Irving and winning over Boston fans. They also have a player named LeBron James on the roster.

Brown said he was treating Wednesday’s game like another Game 7.

The Celtics advanced to the conference finals by beating the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games and beating the Philadelphia 76ers in five games. He hasn’t been able to shoot his way out of a paper bag – Morris has shot just 35.4 percent from the field this postseason after hitting at a 42.9 percent clip during the regular season – and that has to change if the Celtics want any chance of extending their already improbable playoff run. I think Stevens figures out a way to limit James with his variety of multiple versatile defenders, or at least make him less efficient, and the Celtics beat the Cavaliers in seven games.

We just saw James eviscerate the entire Toronto Raptors franchise, and send their greatest season ever into oblivion.

“They’ve played very physical in the playoffs and I think that that’s definitely helped them”, Love said.

Win or lose, it’s pretty obvious after watching the Celtics teach the 76ers a lesson that “the progress” trumps “the process”.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers invade TD Garden for Sunday’s series opener and they are looking to reach the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season.

“We look forward to the challenge”, James said.

Even with all that was mentioned above, including home-court advantage, defeating a Cavs team that appears to be peaking at just the right time will be a tall task.

There have been plenty of other reports speculating that LeBron James will be on the move next year.

Much has changed since February 8, the National Basketball Association trade deadline, when Cleveland jettisoned five players, including Thomas and Crowder, and two draft picks for Larry Nance, Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Rodney Hood, and the Miami Heat’s heavily protected 2024 second-round draft pick.

The most important? Draymond Green.

After last year’s sweep by Cleveland in the second round, the Raptors reworked their style of play with a focus on better ball-sharing, and the development of the bench. Curry is the straw that stirs the Warriors’ drink. Golden State and Houston had almost identical offensive ratings (Warriors at 112.3 and Rockets at 112.2), the two best in the league. That makes it impossible to predict who will prevail but it also nearly guarantees that whichever team does win, will have also won over our hearts. Last summer, the Celtics convinced the Cavs to trade them All-Star and champion Kyrie Irving, and they signed Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $128 million deal.