Game Preview: Cavaliers v Celtics

The Cleveland Cavaliers play host to the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern
Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday. The Celtics (2-1) looked
lost in the Game 3 blowout defeat, but a win here would give them a dominating
3-1 advantage headed back home. That’s the position they want to be in, as this
storied franchise has never lost a series after being up 2-0. Nothing was really
clicking in that 30-point Game 3 loss and its one that will likely be chucked up
to Cleveland playing a better game. No one is doubting the fight of this Bostom
club though, as they’ve been the most fiery team in this postseason. This is a
team that’s not scared to play on the road either, as they maintained a 28-13
road record in the regular season. Much of that has to be attributed to defense,
as they finished the year with the best defense in the league as well. Defense
travels much easier than offense does and if they are able to prevail in this
critical Game 4, it will likely be because of their ability to stifle the
Cavaliers role players. The Cavaliers (1-2) need to hold serve in this critical
Game 4, as a 3-1 deficit headed back to Boston would be a nightmare scenario.
All they really need to do is replicate their incredible Game 3 performance, in
which Cleveland handed Boston a 30-point defeat. Not only was it a wire-to-wire
win for the Cavaliers, they led by double-digits for the final 40 minutes of
action. Setting a similar tone in this game is key, as they can’t fall behind
against this potent Celtics club. It’s not just one thing that got Cleveland
that dominating win, as they obliterated the Celtics throughout the stat sheet.
That means it’s all about effort and that’s unfortunately been a question with
this team all season long. The role players were critical in that win though, as
all five starters scored in double figures. That’s one of the only times they’ve
done that in this postseason, as LeBron James just needs a little help to get
some wins. The absurd form of James is obviously the difference though, as he’s
averaging over 30 points a game in this postseason while approaching
triple-double averages. A 2-0 comeback in this series would be one of James’
most prized accomplishments in his storied career, as he’s playing majestically
in his 15th season.