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The visuals of the Cavalier’s defensive unit, all five players, standing in the paint while Terry Rozier set, pulled up and nailed a three as part of an overwhelming second half painted the picture of defensive mediocrity that did Cleveland in while falling back 0-2 to the Celts.
Heading back to the Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday, Brad Stevens’ crew could make Rozier’s dunk ahead of LeBron James, the same way he slams it down on the break, the lasting image of the series if they close it out. Boston, to this point, has ascended the longtime Eastern Conference champion.
Justin Rowan returned this week, after predicting the Cavaliers in four or five games last episode. That went out the window quickly, and those moments of defensive mediocrity stem from the poor shooting that the Celts have forced them into. We dove into the Tristan Thompson adjustment, where Cleveland could go from here and if this series is over after two straight blowouts.
There’s also rumors that LeBron, as he did eight years ago, could bounce for a contender elsewhere especially if Cleveland bows out prior to the NBA Finals. Rowan’s not convinced James knows his future plans until the NBA Playoffs finalize and offseason movement and opportunities come into view.
The one thing we came to an agreement on is that it’s a disgrace to the NBA that JR Smith was not suspended for his dirty, illegal hit from behind on Al Horford. Marcus Smart got right in Smith’s face after, in one of Smart’s essential games as a pro. Is he the game-breaker in this series to this point? Or is it Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown or Horford? There’s plenty of choices.
We wrapped looking back at the Kyrie Irving trade and David Griffin departure that sparked this Cleveland collapse almost one year ago. Could this disastrous season in Cavs history have been prevented?
Look out for Episode 39 with Sam Packard tomorrow morning, as we count down the top ten weird Celtics twitter moments of its inaugural season. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.