Tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers kick off the second round of the NBA Playoffs as they resume their heated rivalry with the Boston Celtics. Unlike 2 years ago, the Cavaliers enter the Eastern Conference Semifinals as the #1 seed and the Celtics come in as the #4 seed. While the Cavs took 5 games to finish off the Chicago Bulls, the Celtics also took 5 games to eliminate the Miami Heat.
Here are some notes regarding both teams.
Cleveland Cavaliers
>Improvements to be made from first round: The Cavaliers looked to be a step or two behind where they were in the playoffs last year. Their offense was stagnant and their defense looked lethargic at times. This was possibly in part to the Bulls not giving up on the series the way the declining Detroit Pistons did last year amidst a 4-game sweep. Regardless, Mike Brown and the coaching staff will need to be more creative in calling the offense this round. Likewise, they cannot tolerate as many defensive mistakes as they did in the first round. Amongst the players needing to put on a better showing this round are starting guards Mo Williams and Anthony Parker.
>Roster question: Cleveland enters the second round with an interesting decision to make. They have 13 players ready and able to fill 12 roster spots in the round. While Sebastian Telfair and Danny Green likely will not make appearances this playoffs, Leon Powe is an intriguing addition to the active roster for this series. Powe was a key contributor to the Boston team that won the NBA championship in 2008. He battled Glen "Big Baby" Davis for minutes as they played the same position in the rotation that year. It was Powe, not Davis, that gave Cleveland problems during the series (and Powe, not Davis, who gave the Lakers problems during the Finals). In his time playing with the Cavaliers against the Celtics, it seems that Powe gives Davis fits while playing against him. Meanwhile, Daniel "Boobie" Gibson has taken on a much reduced role this season, mainly getting playing time when Mo Williams or Delonte West was injured. He was a key player in the Cavs playoff team 2 years ago, but a separated left shoulder kept him out of the deciding Game 7. Like Gibson, Jawad Williams has lost his spot in the rotation due to the healthy emergence of Jamario Moon. In light of all of this, it is possible that the Cavs will put Jawad Williams on the inactive list and replace him with Leon Powe.
>Shaq's role: The Cavaliers saw their best success against the Celtics this season after Shaquille O'Neal left a game due to injury. True, Shaq can match up decently with Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, and Davis. Then again, Boston tends to have problems playing against smaller, quicker lineups, so players such as Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson may get extended minutes this series. Meanwhile, Shaq has played his best on offense when either Mo Williams or LeBron James is out of the game. Coach Brown did use Shaq as a focal point of the offense twice in Game 5 versus the Bulls, including when James got his only rest during the game during the second quarter. In the end, O'Neal may have to accept a diminished role this series.
>X-factors: Daniel Gibson and Leon Powe. Shaq may have played his best ball this year when running the show with Daniel Gibson. Although Gibson does not have the ballhandling skills of Mo Williams or West, he knows the importance of getting the ball to O'Neal and gets him the ball. Before the season even began, several analysts noted that Gibson should be the greatest beneficiary of O'Neal's presence, which can get Gibson lots of open 3-point looks. As for Powe, he knows the Celtics system inside and out. He knows the Celtics' strengths and weaknesses. He was a player that Coach Doc Rivers had hoped to keep. He also is a player that can get Glen Davis frustrated. However, this is only possible if Mike Brown puts Powe on the active roster for the series.
Boston Celtics
>Improvements to be made from regular season: The Boston Celtics appeared to be a slower team this year, mainly due to the aging and injury problems of the Big 3. Also, it will be interesting if the referees call Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis for illegal screens. The two of them set a lot of moving picks and illegal picks and get away with it too much. If Orlando's Dwight Howard was able to get into foul trouble throughout the Magic-Bobcats first round series, then it is possible that non-superstars Perkins and Davis will get less than star treatment this round.
>KG's decline: Kevin Garnett remains an emotional leader on this team. However, Paul Pierce is truly their #1 guy now, and Ray Allen's veteran decline seems to have leveled out. Now, Garnett seems to slow down the Celtics lineup. While his shot blocking remains an asset, he lacks the lateral movement to be as effective in a transition game. His scoring has also dropped quite a bit, so it will be interesting if the Cavaliers try to force him to be the Celtics' leading scorer this series. They actually ran with that strategy for most of the series in 2008, but abandoned this in Game 7 when Pierce and James had their memorable offensive showdown--which Pierce and the Celtics won.
>How much are the Celtics expecting from Rasheed: Rasheed Wallace is clearly past his prime. Yet, he still is a good enough player to be a threat in this series. Moreover, he has played against the Cavaliers enough to have an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. It will be interesting how much the Celtics demand from Wallace this round. Now that he has lost a step and lost some of his shooting touch, his value versus Cleveland has dropped substantially. Coach Rivers will have to consider if he needs to limit Wallace's minutes, especially if Cleveland switches to a smaller lineup.
>Rondo at the forefront: Two years ago, Rajon Rondo was a rising star who played decently against the Cavs in the playoffs. He had both good moments and bad moments. Now, Rondo has become a defensive stalwart, finishing with LeBron James as one of the runners up for Defensive Player of the Year. Likewise, he has become more reliable on offense, as he has taken as important a role in the offense's success as Pierce. Rondo also has the chance to take advantage of a slumping Mo Williams, as Williams has continued his playoff shooting funk from last season. If Rondo struggles, though, the team as a whole will likely struggle. This is especially problematic because Nate Robinson has lost his spot in the Celtics rotation, and streaky, clutch-shooting Eddie House is no longer with the team.
>Backup wingmen: Two years ago, James Posey was another key part of the Celtics' championship run. He spent a lot of time guarding LeBron and also played some power forward, which he had not played regularly since college. His understudy, Tony Allen, remains with the team. Allen has gotten key minutes during the year as a backup point guard and spot starter. However, he has not yet developed to a level of play comparable to Posey. Battling him for minutes are veterans Marquis Daniels and Michael Finley. Like Allen, Daniels can also play point guard, shooting guard, or small forward. He also is a streaky shooter and solid defender, much like Allen. However, he lost minutes towards the end of the season and might not be a regular in the rotation for this series. On the other hand, Michael Finley was a thorn in the Cavs' side during the 2007 NBA Finals three years ago. While he is past his prime, he ranks behind only Pierce and Allen as a top clutch shooter for Boston. He might not play as many minutes as he used to, but he can still hit jump shots if called upon.
Closing Questions
>Will a road team win a game in this series? (The home team won every game in their best-of-seven series in 2008.)
>Will the Cavs play up to their potential this round?
>How much do the Celtics have left in the tank?
>Will the winner of this series have enough to take on the winner of the Magic-Hawks/Bucks series?
>Will the winner of this series win the NBA Championship (which happened two years ago)?
Here are some notes regarding both teams.
Cleveland Cavaliers
>Improvements to be made from first round: The Cavaliers looked to be a step or two behind where they were in the playoffs last year. Their offense was stagnant and their defense looked lethargic at times. This was possibly in part to the Bulls not giving up on the series the way the declining Detroit Pistons did last year amidst a 4-game sweep. Regardless, Mike Brown and the coaching staff will need to be more creative in calling the offense this round. Likewise, they cannot tolerate as many defensive mistakes as they did in the first round. Amongst the players needing to put on a better showing this round are starting guards Mo Williams and Anthony Parker.
>Roster question: Cleveland enters the second round with an interesting decision to make. They have 13 players ready and able to fill 12 roster spots in the round. While Sebastian Telfair and Danny Green likely will not make appearances this playoffs, Leon Powe is an intriguing addition to the active roster for this series. Powe was a key contributor to the Boston team that won the NBA championship in 2008. He battled Glen "Big Baby" Davis for minutes as they played the same position in the rotation that year. It was Powe, not Davis, that gave Cleveland problems during the series (and Powe, not Davis, who gave the Lakers problems during the Finals). In his time playing with the Cavaliers against the Celtics, it seems that Powe gives Davis fits while playing against him. Meanwhile, Daniel "Boobie" Gibson has taken on a much reduced role this season, mainly getting playing time when Mo Williams or Delonte West was injured. He was a key player in the Cavs playoff team 2 years ago, but a separated left shoulder kept him out of the deciding Game 7. Like Gibson, Jawad Williams has lost his spot in the rotation due to the healthy emergence of Jamario Moon. In light of all of this, it is possible that the Cavs will put Jawad Williams on the inactive list and replace him with Leon Powe.
>Shaq's role: The Cavaliers saw their best success against the Celtics this season after Shaquille O'Neal left a game due to injury. True, Shaq can match up decently with Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, and Davis. Then again, Boston tends to have problems playing against smaller, quicker lineups, so players such as Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson may get extended minutes this series. Meanwhile, Shaq has played his best on offense when either Mo Williams or LeBron James is out of the game. Coach Brown did use Shaq as a focal point of the offense twice in Game 5 versus the Bulls, including when James got his only rest during the game during the second quarter. In the end, O'Neal may have to accept a diminished role this series.
>X-factors: Daniel Gibson and Leon Powe. Shaq may have played his best ball this year when running the show with Daniel Gibson. Although Gibson does not have the ballhandling skills of Mo Williams or West, he knows the importance of getting the ball to O'Neal and gets him the ball. Before the season even began, several analysts noted that Gibson should be the greatest beneficiary of O'Neal's presence, which can get Gibson lots of open 3-point looks. As for Powe, he knows the Celtics system inside and out. He knows the Celtics' strengths and weaknesses. He was a player that Coach Doc Rivers had hoped to keep. He also is a player that can get Glen Davis frustrated. However, this is only possible if Mike Brown puts Powe on the active roster for the series.
Boston Celtics
>Improvements to be made from regular season: The Boston Celtics appeared to be a slower team this year, mainly due to the aging and injury problems of the Big 3. Also, it will be interesting if the referees call Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis for illegal screens. The two of them set a lot of moving picks and illegal picks and get away with it too much. If Orlando's Dwight Howard was able to get into foul trouble throughout the Magic-Bobcats first round series, then it is possible that non-superstars Perkins and Davis will get less than star treatment this round.
>KG's decline: Kevin Garnett remains an emotional leader on this team. However, Paul Pierce is truly their #1 guy now, and Ray Allen's veteran decline seems to have leveled out. Now, Garnett seems to slow down the Celtics lineup. While his shot blocking remains an asset, he lacks the lateral movement to be as effective in a transition game. His scoring has also dropped quite a bit, so it will be interesting if the Cavaliers try to force him to be the Celtics' leading scorer this series. They actually ran with that strategy for most of the series in 2008, but abandoned this in Game 7 when Pierce and James had their memorable offensive showdown--which Pierce and the Celtics won.
>How much are the Celtics expecting from Rasheed: Rasheed Wallace is clearly past his prime. Yet, he still is a good enough player to be a threat in this series. Moreover, he has played against the Cavaliers enough to have an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. It will be interesting how much the Celtics demand from Wallace this round. Now that he has lost a step and lost some of his shooting touch, his value versus Cleveland has dropped substantially. Coach Rivers will have to consider if he needs to limit Wallace's minutes, especially if Cleveland switches to a smaller lineup.
>Rondo at the forefront: Two years ago, Rajon Rondo was a rising star who played decently against the Cavs in the playoffs. He had both good moments and bad moments. Now, Rondo has become a defensive stalwart, finishing with LeBron James as one of the runners up for Defensive Player of the Year. Likewise, he has become more reliable on offense, as he has taken as important a role in the offense's success as Pierce. Rondo also has the chance to take advantage of a slumping Mo Williams, as Williams has continued his playoff shooting funk from last season. If Rondo struggles, though, the team as a whole will likely struggle. This is especially problematic because Nate Robinson has lost his spot in the Celtics rotation, and streaky, clutch-shooting Eddie House is no longer with the team.
>Backup wingmen: Two years ago, James Posey was another key part of the Celtics' championship run. He spent a lot of time guarding LeBron and also played some power forward, which he had not played regularly since college. His understudy, Tony Allen, remains with the team. Allen has gotten key minutes during the year as a backup point guard and spot starter. However, he has not yet developed to a level of play comparable to Posey. Battling him for minutes are veterans Marquis Daniels and Michael Finley. Like Allen, Daniels can also play point guard, shooting guard, or small forward. He also is a streaky shooter and solid defender, much like Allen. However, he lost minutes towards the end of the season and might not be a regular in the rotation for this series. On the other hand, Michael Finley was a thorn in the Cavs' side during the 2007 NBA Finals three years ago. While he is past his prime, he ranks behind only Pierce and Allen as a top clutch shooter for Boston. He might not play as many minutes as he used to, but he can still hit jump shots if called upon.
Closing Questions
>Will a road team win a game in this series? (The home team won every game in their best-of-seven series in 2008.)
>Will the Cavs play up to their potential this round?
>How much do the Celtics have left in the tank?
>Will the winner of this series have enough to take on the winner of the Magic-Hawks/Bucks series?
>Will the winner of this series win the NBA Championship (which happened two years ago)?