Picture: Team huddle prior to Game 2 vs. the Indiana Pacers on Monday, April 17th, 2017.
8 down, 8 to go.
Two years removed from a first-round sweep, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves facing a stronger, deeper, more developed Boston Celtics team in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs have swept their way through the first two rounds. After outscoring the Indiana Pacers by 4.0 points per game, they beat the Toronto Raptors--last year's Eastern Conference runners-up--by an average of 15.3 ppg. The Cavs remain one of two unbeaten squads in the playoffs alongside last year's Western Conference champions, the Golden State Warriors.
- Star players who are core players
- Role players who are core players
- Role players who are situational players
- Bench players who are secondary backups
The Cavalier playoff rotation has not changed much since the start of the playoffs:
- F/G LeBron James, G Kyrie Irving, F/C Kevin Love
- C/F Tristan Thompson, G/F J.R. Smith, F/G Kyle Korver, G/F Iman Shumpert, G Deron Williams, F/C Channing Frye
- F/G Richard Jefferson, G/F Dahntay Jones, F/G Derrick Williams
- F/G James Jones, G Kay Felder
- *Injured: C Edy Tavares
Meanwhile, this has been the Celtic playoff rotation so far:
- G Isaiah Thomas, C/F Al Horford, G Avery Bradley
- F Jae Crowder, G Marcus Smart, C/F Kelly Olynyk, G Terry Rozier, G/F Jaylen Brown
- F Amir Johnson, F/G Gerald Green, F Jonas Jerebko
- C Tyler Zeller, G/F James Young, F Jordan Mickey, G Demetrius Jackson
Notes:
- On offense, the Celtics will continue to lean on Thomas but will need other consistent scorers to win the series.
- It would not be surprising if coach Brad Stevens moves Olynyk into the starting lineup to defend Love and create more scoring opportunities on offense.
- Green and Brown could be used more heavily on offense to try and force Korver out of the game due to defensive matchup issues.
- To guard LeBron, the Celtics will likely lean on Crowder, Bradley, and Smart.
- On offense, the Cavs will continue to emphasize the driving abilities of LeBron and Irving, the inside/outside play of Love, the rebounding of Thompson, and the perimeter shooting of the rest of the roster.
- Aside from strong perimeter shooting, defense will determine which Cleveland role players get the most playing time in this series.
- Jefferson, D. Jones, and Derrick Williams could each see action to help match up with Thomas, Bradley, Horford, Olynyk, Green, and Brown.
- Coach Tyronn Lye will need to keep the Cavs calm should the series turn into an overly physical affair, avoiding penalties such as the two-game suspension assessed to J.R. Smith two years ago.
- D. Jones is the team's enforcer should assertive physical play or a hard foul need to be delivered.
- LeBron James and James Jones have made it to the last six NBA Finals as members of the Cavs and the Miami Heat, winning three championships in six tries.
All games for the Eastern Conference Finals will be televised on TNT and carried locally on the radio by WTAM 1100 and La Mega 87.7 FM (español). Games 1, 3, 6 (if necessary), and 7 (if necessary) will also be broadcast on the radio on 100.7 WMMS.
The schedule is as follows:
Game 1: Wednesday, May 17th @ Boston - 8:30pm
Game 2: Friday, May 19th @ Boston - 8:30pm
Game 3: Sunday, May 21st @ Cleveland - 8:30pm
Game 4: Tuesday, May 23rd @ Cleveland - 8:30pm
if necessary:
Game 5: Thursday, May 25th @ Boston - 8:30pm
Game 6: Saturday, May 27th @ Cleveland - 8:30pm
Game 7: Monday, May 29th @ Boston - 8:30pm
History Lesson
- The Cavs are 3-3 in Eastern Conference Finals series, winning in 2007, 2015, and 2016 and losing in 1976, 1992, and 2009.
- Looking back, the Cavs and Celtics have matched up in the playoffs six times prior to this series:
1976 Eastern Conference Finals: The Miracle at Richfield Cavs team was derailed by a broken foot suffered in practice by starting center Jim Chones prior to the start of the series.
Result: Celtics win, 4-2.
The Celtics went on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. Chones has since served in TV and radio broadcasting roles for the Cavs, including working with John Michael on the current radio broadcasts. Meanwhile, coach Bill Fitch ended up getting recruited to coach the Celtics a few years later, helping them win the NBA championship in the 1980-1981 season.
1985 Eastern Conference First Round: Despite starting the season with an abysmal 2-19 record, the Cavs still managed to make the playoffs as the #8 seed against the storied Celtics franchise. Led by guard World B. Free and coach George Karl, the Cavs scored as many points as the Celtics in the series, with each game decided by seven points or less.
Result: Celtics win, 3-1.
The Celtics went on to lose in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. The following year, Karl was fired midseason and has since been in the midst of much controversy after criticizing former players in a memoir book he recently wrote. Meanwhile, Free was forced out before the 1986-1987 season upon a change in team management as new general manager Wayne Embry and new coach Lenny Wilkens rebuilt the Cavs into a contender.
1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals: Based on seeding rules at the time, the Cavs were ranked as the #3 seed despite having a better record than the Celtics because Boston had won their division. However, the Cavs were still given home-court advantage in their second round matchup and won the series, sending Larry Bird into retirement. The series included a 114-112 Game 4 overtime thriller, with Larry Nance leading Cleveland to a road victory with 32 points despite Reggie Lewis's 42 points as the heir apparent to Bird.
Result: Cavs win, 4-3.
Prior to the series, the Cavs defeated former coach Fitch and the New Jersey Nets in the first round. Finding himself lost amongst a whirlwind of internal franchise problems, Fitch resigned as Nets coach.
Prior to the series, the Cavs defeated former coach Fitch and the New Jersey Nets in the first round. Finding himself lost amongst a whirlwind of internal franchise problems, Fitch resigned as Nets coach.
The Cavs went on to fall at the hands of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. In the seven seasons from 1987-1994, the Bulls eliminated the Cavs from the playoffs five times in five tries, with Wilkens resigning as head coach after the 1993 sweep. Jordan was in retirement during the 1993-1994 season.
Embry and Wilkens discussed the controversial trade of Ron Harper and draft picks for Danny Ferry and Reggie Williams in their memoir books. Neither agreed with the deal that was forced by ownership and other key stakeholders. As numerous people have stated--including Wilkens, Harper, and Brad Daugherty--the Cavs could have beat Jordan and the Bulls and won at least one championship in the '90s had they retained Harper and continued to develop together.
Meanwhile, the Celtics franchise would be sent into a tailspin as budding star Reggie Lewis--who averaged 28.1 ppg in the 1992 series vs. Cleveland--collapsed during a 1993 playoff game and later passed away during a summer workout.
2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals: In an exciting series where the home team won every game, Paul Pierce's 41 points were enough to hold off LeBron James's 45 points in a back-and-forth Game 7. P.J. Brown scored 10 points off the bench for Boston while Cleveland was without young clutch sharpshooter Daniel "Booby" Gibson, who missed the last two games of the series with a separated left shoulder. Among the series highlights was James's dunk over Kevin Garnett and James Posey, which was billed by announcer Kevin Harlan as being "with no regard for human life".
2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals: The Cavs earned the #1 seed for the second consecutive season, but they had prepared their roster for a rematch with the Orlando Magic. They never made it to a Conference Finals rematch with the Magic due to the superior play of the Celtics and top-notch coaching by Doc Rivers. While Garnett proved to be the biggest matchup problem, Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen had breakout series performances. In particular, coach Mike Brown seemed to be relying on old intel as he had the defense leave Rondo open for numerous jump shots. In two years (from the 2008 playoffs to the 2010 playoffs), Rondo had vastly improved his jump shot. The series was capped off by an embarrassing 32-point defeat in Game 5 and a lethargic effort by the Cavs down the stretch in Game 6 to close out the series.
*I managed to attend the infamous Game 5 debacle. In watching LeBron's body language during this game (he spent several offensive plays standing still in one of the corners with his hands on his knees), the general sentiment at the arena was that he would be leaving via free agency. However, no one on that day guessed that he would be taking his talents to South Beach for four seasons.
2015 Eastern Conference First Round: The Cavs swept the young Celtics team en route to winning the conference championship. Cleveland outscored Boston by 9.2 ppg, but the series was overshadowed by rough physical play in which Olynyk dislocated Love's left shoulder (no foul was called but Olynyk was later suspended) and Perkins and Smith later retaliated with flagrant fouls on Crowder (with Smith drawing an ejection and a two-game suspension).
2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals: In an exciting series where the home team won every game, Paul Pierce's 41 points were enough to hold off LeBron James's 45 points in a back-and-forth Game 7. P.J. Brown scored 10 points off the bench for Boston while Cleveland was without young clutch sharpshooter Daniel "Booby" Gibson, who missed the last two games of the series with a separated left shoulder. Among the series highlights was James's dunk over Kevin Garnett and James Posey, which was billed by announcer Kevin Harlan as being "with no regard for human life".
Result: Celtics win, 4-3.
The Celtics went on to win the NBA championship with their new Big Three of Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen as they defeated Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the Lakers. Leon Powe later joined the Cavs for the 2009-2010 season while Posey has been a coach with the Cavs organization since 2013, starting with a one-year stint as an assistant with the Canton Charge.
*I managed to attend all three Cavs home wins in this series.
2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals: The Cavs earned the #1 seed for the second consecutive season, but they had prepared their roster for a rematch with the Orlando Magic. They never made it to a Conference Finals rematch with the Magic due to the superior play of the Celtics and top-notch coaching by Doc Rivers. While Garnett proved to be the biggest matchup problem, Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen had breakout series performances. In particular, coach Mike Brown seemed to be relying on old intel as he had the defense leave Rondo open for numerous jump shots. In two years (from the 2008 playoffs to the 2010 playoffs), Rondo had vastly improved his jump shot. The series was capped off by an embarrassing 32-point defeat in Game 5 and a lethargic effort by the Cavs down the stretch in Game 6 to close out the series.
Result: Celtics win, 4-2.
The Celtics went on to lose in the Finals to the Lakers, 4-3, in one of the most exciting Finals finishes in NBA history. With Boston ahead in the series 3-2, future Cavs center Kendrick Perkins suffered a season-ending injury during Game 6; his absence was noticeable in the final two games.
The Celtics went on to lose in the Finals to the Lakers, 4-3, in one of the most exciting Finals finishes in NBA history. With Boston ahead in the series 3-2, future Cavs center Kendrick Perkins suffered a season-ending injury during Game 6; his absence was noticeable in the final two games.
*I managed to attend the infamous Game 5 debacle. In watching LeBron's body language during this game (he spent several offensive plays standing still in one of the corners with his hands on his knees), the general sentiment at the arena was that he would be leaving via free agency. However, no one on that day guessed that he would be taking his talents to South Beach for four seasons.
2015 Eastern Conference First Round: The Cavs swept the young Celtics team en route to winning the conference championship. Cleveland outscored Boston by 9.2 ppg, but the series was overshadowed by rough physical play in which Olynyk dislocated Love's left shoulder (no foul was called but Olynyk was later suspended) and Perkins and Smith later retaliated with flagrant fouls on Crowder (with Smith drawing an ejection and a two-game suspension).
Result: Cavs win, 4-0.