2010 NBA Playoffs: Boston Celtics Not Fazed in Game Five Win
The Cleveland Cavaliers have many concerns beyond the Game Five shellacking that the Celtics put on them. Their performance in last night’s game shows that the Lebronettes are not ready for primetime players.
Cleveland is an arrogant team, and rightfully so.
Any team with championship aspirations, and are considered contenders, will have a modicum of arrogance. The only problem is that arrogance does not translate well if LeBron's teammates don't know how to win games without him.
This should have been evident when Mike Brown rested LBJ for the final four games and the Cavaliers lost all of them. There should be a warning sign when your top player cannot get any help from his supporting cast.
As things stand now, every single player not named LeBron is feeling a little bit tight in the compression shorts. They have failed to preserve home court advantage, and face a one game elimination scenario in Boston.
Rajon Rondo's triple-double was all the rage and Cleveland expended all their defensive focus on him. The only thing is: They forgot that Boston has enough players who can step up and make them pay.
Paul Pierce paced himself masterfully by not sure making sure he didn't carry the load alone. He was nailing step-back jumpers, and he did not shy away from contact as he was wanting to do in the previous games. The Truth was also able to nab 11 rebounds, something the Celtics have not seen out of him in a while.
The Celtics are not built on one player’s ability to take over the game. It is a group effort that trickles all the way down to the 12th man on the bench.
Little-used Shelden Williams was able to come in and just do his job. Tony Allen was just as steady by staying true to his defensive nature. Glen Davis scored eight straight points in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.
Is it over for LeBron and his mates? No.
Are they on life support? Yes, as long as they have two games to play and the regular season MVP is still on the team.
The real deal is that the Cavaliers must pick their poison, because in spite of Rondo's new found recognition, "The Big Three" can still hurt you if you take your eyes off of them.
Once again, LBJ was unusually calm about the outcome. When asked if his elbow was bothering him because of his sub-par performance, he had no excuses. LBJ knew if he tried to play the elbow card again, it would certainly label him as soft.
Instead, he lamented the fact that his team has been woefully inconsistent. In fact, there have been whispers that the layoff at the end of the regular season messed up their chemistry.
The media is still stuck on the LeBron channel all day, everyday, but they forget all his heroics have been confined to the regular season. He has yet to rise above it all, except for his Game Three tirade.
The Celtics now have their symbolic "Game Seven" in Boston on Thursday.
They will feel that they must win—and they must.
Cleveland, on the other hand, must find the resolve to extend their season beyond Game Six, and possibly give LeBron a reason to remain the undisputed King of Akron.
