CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS BOSTON CELTICS NBA CONFERENCE FINALS L i v e STREAM
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS BOSTON CELTICS NBA CONFERENCE FINALS L i v e STREAM
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GAME 2: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS BOSTON CELTICS NBA CONFERENCE FINALS L i v e STREAM
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When LeBron James wasn't busy recalling exactly what happened during a 7-0 run by the Boston Celtics
to start the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals,
he managed to toss this thought-provoking tidbit to the ravenous media
crowd.
"Game 1 has always been a feel-out game for me, if you've ever followed my history," he said after the Cavaliers fell 108-83 Sunday night.
LeBron
doesn't always lose and play poorly in Game 1 of a playoff series, but
it's happened often enough to at least look into what the man is saying.
This
marked the 15th time in James' illustrious career that his team has
dropped the first game of a postseason series. And with the expectation
for a forceful response from James in Game 2, it's worth studying the
history, as he suggested.
ames is 8-6 in postseason Game 2s following a loss. He's 2-4 in
series in which he's trailed 0-2 (the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
against the Pistons and 2016 Finals against the Warriors
being the exceptions). Likewise, he's 6-2 in series in which his team
has responded with a Game 2 victory following a loss (the exceptions
being the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals against Orlando and the 2015 Finals against Golden State).
Of
the six times James has faced an 0-2 deficit, two of them have come in
his second tour of duty with the Cavs—both at the hands of the Warriors
in the 2016 and '17 NBA Finals. Other than that, James most recently
faced an 0-2 deficit in the second round against the Celtics in 2008,
when James' Cavaliers lost Game 2, 89-73, and ultimately lost the series
in seven games.
So if that doesn't highlight just how pivotal Game 2 is for James and the Cavs on Tuesday night, I don't know what else will.
"I
expect him to have a big response," Kevin Love said Monday. "He's
always done it. Since he came back to Cleveland, since I've been here,
he's always responded big. I imagine it'll be a lot like Game 2 against
Indiana. We had a really tough loss, and he came out and played very
well. He's going to approach this game as one where he's going to have
to lead and bounce back."
James, who did not address the media
Monday, also said Sunday night: "I have zero level of concern at this
stage. … I've been down 0-1; I've been down 0-2. I've been down before
in the postseason."
As Love mentioned, just this postseason, the Cavs dropped Game 1 in
the first round at Indiana, with James putting up 24 points, 10 rebounds
and 12 assists on 7-of-17 shooting in a 98-80 defeat. He roared back in
Game 2 with 46 points, 12 rebounds and five assists on 17-of-24
shooting in a 100-97 victory. The Cavs won the series in seven.
There have been times (against the Warriors and Spurs
in the Finals, for example) when dropping Game 1 of a series has proved
to be less of a "feel-out game" and more like "the other team was just
better." After all, when facing the same team that opposed him in last
year's conference finals—and one the Cavs played three times in the
regular season this year—what mysteries are there to unravel?
"I've got a great sense of the way they played me [Sunday] and how I'll play going into Game 2," James said.
Over
James' postseason lifetime, a circumstance similar to what he's
suggesting here against the Celtics has played out on a few other
memorable occasions.
In the 2015 second round, the Cavs lost Game 1 to the Bulls,
99-92 at home, with James putting up 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine
assists on 9-of-22 shooting. The Cavs won Game 2 106-91, behind 33
points, eight rebounds and five assists on 13-of-29 shooting from James.
The Cavs won the series in six.
In 2011, James and the Heat
lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Chicago, 103-82. James
had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists on 5-of-15 shooting—not
unlike his 15-7-9 on 5-of-16 shooting against Boston on Sunday. The Cavs
won Game 2 85-75 (hey, it was a different NBA back then.) James had 29
points, 10 rebounds and five assists and shot 12-of-21. Miami won the
series in five.
But there has been only one time when James' team has lost a Game 1 by a
wider margin than Sunday's 25 points: the 2006 second round at Detroit,
when the Cavs were dismantled 113-86. They lost Game 2 97-91 despite 30
points, 14 rebounds and seven assists from James and lost the series in
seven.
Over his career, James has averaged 22.6 points in Game 1 losses and
31.9 in subsequent Game 2 victories. Equally notable, in the six Game 2s
he's lost when facing an 0-1 deficit, he's averaged 23.8.
James
is 33 now, hurtling toward the end of his 15th season. I am not going to
be the guy to doubt that he can rear back and throw a haymaker at the
Celtics on Tuesday night, the way he did in Game 2 against the Pacers
a few weeks ago or Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. That's
when he demolished the Pistons by scoring 25 consecutive points in a
109-107 double-overtime victory. The Cavs won the series in six before
getting swept by San Antonio in the Finals.
But James'
teammates—who shot 4-of-21 from three-point range Sunday while James
went 0-of-5—shouldn't be sitting around and waiting to be rescued. James
was 4-0 when facing an 0-1 deficit in Miami, in large part because he
was playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Since returning to Cleveland, he's 3-2.
For
a repeat of Game 2 against Indiana, the Cavs are going to need more
than what they got from James' supporting cast in that game: 5-of-16
shooting from Love, five points from JR Smith, 16 points from their
bench and a DNP-CD from Tristan Thompson.
Coach Tyronn Lue hinted strongly Monday that Thompson could be back
in the starting lineup for Game 2, noting his history of success
defending Celtics All-Star Al Horford.
Such a strategic adjustment could result in more mismatches for James
on pick-and-rolls and, since the Celtics switch everything, could also
open offensive rebounding lanes for Thompson.
As for James, if
Game 1 truly was a "feel-out game," he needs to take his own advice,
look at the history and treat Game 2 like something else entirely.
A close-out game.
