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Three Things Boston Must Do to Beat King James

 

Any sane, objective, knowledgeable basketball mind understands that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the favorites in their second round series with the Boston Celtics. That being the case, anybody who has watched NBA playoff basketball for a considerable number of years can look at this matchup and see that the Boston Celtics have a chance to win this series. And at the end of the day, all anybody should need is a chance.

As for how the Celtics can take advantage of the chance they have, here are three things the Boston Celtics must do if they are going to knock off the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

#1. Force LeBron’s Hand

If you will recall, Boston’s strategy in 2008 was to make LeBron James play from the outside. They didn’t really double him, force him to put the ball on the floor or switch up defenders on him. All they tried to do that series was give James some space, collapse everyone in the paint, and allow LeBron to do whatever he wanted to do, as long as he did it from the outside. And that strategy worked—until LeBron started to figure it out late in the series. In the first four games, LeBron never scored more than 21 points and shot horribly. But in the last 3 games, LeBron averaged 37.3 points per game, and each game he took better shots, resulting in three straight games of true-shooting percentages higher than all of his percentages in the first four games of the series. I think it is safe to say that LeBron has had it figured out ever since then. So if the Celtics don’t force LeBron to do one thing or the other (score or pass the ball), then they will be setting themselves up for failure.

 

#2. Control the Paint

You will notice I didn’t make a declaration on whether the Celtics should make LeBron a passer or a shooter; I think either strategy has its merits. However, no matter what strategy they take, there is no question that the Celtics have to find a way to control the paint. With Shaq, Varejao and possibly Hickson manning the post, the Celtics will have their hands full. Kevin Garnett is far from the paint patroller he was two years ago, and I don’t know if Rasheed Wallace knows what the paint looks like on the offensive end (and maybe not he defensive end either). That really leaves Kendrick Perkins as the least suspect big man in the paint—on either end—and if KG and somebody else doesn’t find a way to give him some help, the Celtics will lose the post battle, and ultimately, the series.

 

#3. Paul Pierce, “Stand Up!”

There may be a million other issues I could list before ranking this matchup as one of the key aspects of this series, but from a mental standpoint, this is as big as it gets. Kevin Garnett could slack, Ray Allen could wilt, and Rajon Rondo could be a little loose with the ball, and none of those things would matter as much as Pierce vs. James. If Pierce does not make James exert some energy on defense, putting pressure on James at both ends of the floor, then this series is as good as over. If you will recall, it took a Herculean 40+ points for Pierce to save the Celtics from near elimination in Game 7 against the Cavs in 2008. Accordingly, if Pierce doesn’t attain that high level of play, at least for 2 or 3 games, you can wrap this bad boy up, because it’s over. But if Paul Pierce can re-attain his self-proclaimed title as the “best basketball player in the world,” then the Celtics have a chance.

 

And what more can you ask for?

 

Well, how about a great, intense series reborn from two years ago?

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