The Work Is Not Done

Make no mistake, I throughly enjoyed the victory last night and in truth I'm still reveling in it.  However, it wasn't an elimination game.  The job isn't over.  Bob Ryan summarizes:

Doc Rivers was happy, for sure, but he was also pragmatic. "One thing we told our guys was that we've done nothing,'' he said. "All we've done is win three. You've got to win four.''

This is, in fact, a very similar situation to the one the Celtics were in at a comparable stage last year. They were up, three games to two against the Orlando Magic then, and they had the luxury of knowing a potential Game 7 would be at home. If the Celtics don't get the job done at TD Garden tomorrow night, we'll all be back here Sunday.

By the way, the Celtics lost that Game 7 at home last year. There have now been three road victories in this series. No one should be struck dumb if there is a fourth.

The Cavs were thoroughly destroyed last night but then again so were the Celtics in game 3, but they came back and won the next 2..  Does anyone really think LeBron is going to go quietly into free agency without one last jaw-dropping performance?

On the other hand, he's really only had short spurts of dominance in this series.  The end of game 1, the start of game 3, a few more here and there.  Whatever the Celtics are doing to keep him out of rhythm is working.  Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau deserve all the credit in the world for the moves they've made.  And the best part is that he's just one guy.  Take him out of his game and you leave the Cavs searching for answers that they don't have.  Not so with the Celtics.  (per Julian Benbow)

"That's the beauty of our team,'' said Pierce. "It makes us so dangerous. When you look at Cleveland, you know you've got to stop LeBron. With us, we've got four or five guys who can lead us in scoring. You never know where it's going to come from and that's what makes us so dangerous - different guys stepping up different nights."

This is not last year.  This is not the regular season.  We have our full team together playing with great pride and teamwork again.  The work is not done, but the groundwork has been laid.  If the Celtics can come out and execute their gameplan with a sense of urgency on Thursday, then we'll have a chance to avenge that game 7 loss to the Magic last year.

For his part, Kevin Garnett is geared up (to the surprise of nobody).

"We cannot come back here, [Cleveland]" Garnett said. "We have to think this is our Game 7 coming up and we cannot afford to have the best team in the league have a Game 7 on their floor. Just not possible."