2010 NBA Playoffs: Cavaliers Will Not Beat the Celtics in a Half-Court Series

Like it or not, sometimes all you have to do is listen to Charles Barkley to understand what’s right, or what’s wrong, with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

At halftime of Monday night’s TNT telecast of Game Two of the Cavs playoff series with Boston, Barkley expressed his frustration with Cleveland’s slow tempo in the first half.

Then he said something that should resonate up and down the Cavaliers’ bench, starting—or maybe ending—with Mike Brown.

The Cavaliers, said Barkley, have better players now, but they’re playing the same way they did three years ago.

Ouch.

He was right, though, and if the first half was Exhibit A, then the second was Exhibit B.

The Celtics embarrassed the Cavs in the third quarter and held off a late Cleveland rally to earn a convincing 104-86 win and gain home court advantage in the series.

Look, the Celtics can only play one way: slow. They can come at you in spurts, but they’re a slow down, look inside, and shoot outside team.

They live by it and they die by it, and Monday night they were very alive, indeed.

Rajon Rondo scaled back on his own offense while setting up his teammates with 19 assists. The result was that six Boston players scored in double figures, including 17 points from the heretofore silent Rasheed Wallace.

Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22 points, and Kevin Garnett, despite a lackluster shooting night, hustled his way to 18 points and 10 rebounds to give Boston a strong presence underneath.

It wasn’t until the game was nearly out of reach that the Cavaliers seemingly came to life, running and gunning their way to a 15-0 stretch that nonetheless left them trailing by 10, 91-81, with 4:33 left.

It was the proverbial too-little-too-late, however, and when the magic wore off, the series was tied, 1-1. Cleveland had frittered away their home court advantage.

Why? Go back to what Barkley said. To be honest, go back to what Barkley has always said about the Cavaliers, going back to that unlikely appearance in the 2007 finals against San Antonio.

The team plays slow-down, half-court basketball, when they’re built for speed. Barkley pins that on Brown.

There’s no question that Brown is one of the best defensive coaches in the game. His offensive mindset has been called into question more than once, however.

It seems unlikely that Boston could run with Cleveland over a seven-game series. In fact, it would be a surprise if the Celtics kept up with an up-tempo approach by the Cavs for one night.

If that means keeping a J.J. Hickson on the floor, youthful exuberance and all, so be it. If it means employing more of the aggressive Delonte West or the athletic Jamario Moon in place of Anthony Parker to jump-start the offense, fine.

Letting the Celtics get back and get set on defense only plays into Boston’s hands, however. It puts all the pressure on your shooters, and on Monday night they simply didn’t deliver.

Mo Williams coughed up a 1-for-9 night from the field, and Parker was an equally dismal 2-for-7. When your starting backcourt totals 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting, you know you’re in for a long night.

So run. Run the ball from the opening tip until the final buzzer. Run the ball right at the Celtics, and don’t stop.

The Cavs have the deeper bench. If it’s a matter of who gets tired first, they should win the war.

Instead, the Celtics won a key battle, and now the outcome is at least somewhat in doubt.

It shouldn’t be, and the Cavaliers should remain confident. They have the talent to win this series.

The Celtics have the richer history and the championship pedigree, however. I wrote recently about what a difference it can make. Monday night was the perfect example.

If the Cavaliers use their athleticism to their advantage, they will win a game in Boston and return home a more confident team.

If they continue to slow things down on offense, however, they’ll give the Celtics hope; and hope, as Andy Dufresne once said, is a good thing—in this case, for the guys in green.

That’s a risk the Cavaliers can’t afford to take.