[Playoff Matchup Thread] Cleveland vs. Boston

[willthelawyer]

What adjustments are people expecting for game 2. I might think boston might try a little trapping especially on delly and smith. They tried to dribble drive with their 4 man in the first quarter and it worked quite well so i can see them trying to do that more.

I think cavs look to attack thomas more in the half court and add a bit more high low action. In fact i think boston were sending the baseline man to double the post so i could see some weak side curling down the lane on any post ups

They were playing an Eric Snow Defense on Tristan whenever he was away from the ball. I would think that to counter that we can just involve Tristan directly in the P&Rs so if they double off of him he's getting the oop.

Also, specifically when Tristan was trying to make an entry pass to someone (KLove maybe?) Olynk sank all the way to front the post while the original defender was still behind effectively creating a front and back on the post. For that, I think we can just put Tristan in the low post and if they double he's at the front of the rim for a dunk.

Lastly, We try to drop it to Love in the post like he's shaq or something, when in reality his post moves down there only really work on quick cross screen posts or mismatches. I have been thinking all season that they should try to create some switches early in the game with Love in the P&R just to back it out and post Love on a small guy so he can get a couple of touches in the post and see the ball go through or draw some double teams. I know Boston does a lot of switching, but were they switching a small on Love that we could exploit? I would love to see him go off for 30 at sometime during this series to build his confidence for the rest of the post-season when we will really need him to be a force.

P.S.

On the old site I had access to the Gold Member (or whatever it was called), I haven't been able to post as much now, but is that still a thing here? How does one get access? I enjoyed the higher level of analysis there.

Anyways Go Cavs. #AllIn

 

[Green Lantern]

The times I saw Love in the mid-high post and got the ball he was very effective and drew some fouls and looked more physical , which is something they haven't been doing with him..

 

[RonG]

I don't think Boston could have played much better, I do think the Cavs still had some major room for improvements. All things considered not a bad first game, I hope they use this series to really improve the play-off style. I was glad to see Blatt leave smith on the bench considering how he was playing.

 

[Mdog1]

I don't think Boston could have played much better, I do think the Cavs still had some major room for improvements. All things considered not a bad first game, I hope they use this series to really improve the play-off style. I was glad to see Blatt leave smith on the bench considering how he was playing.

This is one thing I really like about Blatt. He always just goes with what is working. He's even left the big 3 on the bench for extended periods when the line on the court was producing, so to me, it is not a slight against any player.

 

[Douglar]

I think we'll see Boston focus on improving the rebounding situation in game 2. Boston can't win if the Cavs grab that many rebounds. They give up too many second chance points and don't get enough of their own.

Cavs have two choices. They are a big enough team that they can just stay big and try to rebound Boston into submission. Cavs could allow Boston to get even on the boards but work on a transition game. I expect we'll see the game speed up or slow down, depending on what route the Cavs take.

 

[Cassity14]

I think we'll see Boston focus on improving the rebounding situation in game 2. Boston can't win if the Cavs grab that many rebounds. They give up too many second chance points and don't get enough of their own.

Cavs have two choices. They are a big enough team that they can just stay big and try to rebound Boston into submission. Cavs could allow Boston to get even on the boards but work on a transition game. I expect we'll see the game speed up or slow down, depending on what route the Cavs take.

I want to see this happen. I think Boston has to give up either rebounding position or far more wide open 3 pointers. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cavs shoot warmup jumpers.

 

[bjfcool]

Assuming both the Cavs and bulls sweep, when is the earliest the 1st semi final home game could be?

 

[Green Lantern]

I think we'll see Boston focus on improving the rebounding situation in game 2. Boston can't win if the Cavs grab that many rebounds. They give up too many second chance points and don't get enough of their own.

Cavs have two choices. They are a big enough team that they can just stay big and try to rebound Boston into submission. Cavs could allow Boston to get even on the boards but work on a transition game. I expect we'll see the game speed up or slow down, depending on what route the Cavs take.

I don't like giving up boards ..if the Cavs just pummel them on the boards , then the Cavs fast break gets going and they get easy looks and plenty of fouls to go along .

 

[David.]

I don't like giving up boards ..if the Cavs just pu
mmel them on the boards , then the Cavs fast break gets going and they get easy looks and plenty of fouls to go along .

There's the rub tough, you either strategize for fast breaks or boards.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Assuming both the Cavs and bulls sweep, when is the earliest the 1st semi final home game could be?

I'm just guessing here but it looks like it would be unlikely to start until around Tuesday the 28th.

Game 4 is in Milwaukee on Saturday the 25th. If the Bulls swept on Saturday, it seems to reason there would be 2 days off before round 2.

Take that with a grain of salt though. I'm not sure how the league decides when to start a round 2 series with other round 1 series still going on.

 

[Ohio]

Assuming both the Cavs and bulls sweep, when is the earliest the 1st semi final home game could be?

http://realcavsfans.com/community/index.php?threads/2015-nba-playoffs-thread.45654/

 

[CosmoKramer]

I'm still confident in the sweep, Boston is well coached but limited in countering our size advantage.

They could start Sullinger over Bass to get their two best rebounders on the floor together, but Bass is an early offense guy and guards mobile PFs like Love much better than Sully. If they tinker with their starters I'd imagine it's Crowder for Turner, he stuck with LeBron better and looked confident in his jumper.

Maybe he changes, but on Sunday Stevens was quick to ditch Zeller and play small lineups with Jerebko and Crowder at the 4 with Olynyk at the 5. They predictably got slaughtered on the glass, but they scored efficiently on us with that group and Isaiah Thomas running the point.

My guess is Stevens is going to continue putting together his best offensive lineups to try take advantage of the Cavs' defense, which means seeing more Thomas/Crowder/Olynyk over Smart/Turner/Zeller. It's his only prayer at stealing a game this series.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Boston really has no chance at guarding us. They basically get to pick between a lay-up line for LBJ and Kyrie or about 35 wide open threes off them collapsing on our ball handlers.

When their bigs are out on the floor hitting threes and playing pick and roll/pop with Thomas, they're a little feisty, but not for really more than a few 6-minute stretches at a time. Over the course of an entire game, it's just not enough unless the Cavs are completely lethargic, turn it over constantly, and miss everything.

 

[jlegg21]

Boston really has no chance at guarding us. They basically get to pick between a lay-up line for LBJ and Kyrie or about 35 wide open threes off them collapsing on our ball handlers.

When their bigs are out on the floor hitting threes and playing pick and roll/pop with Thomas, they're a little feisty, but not for really more than a few 6-minute stretches at a time. Over the course of an entire game, it's just not enough unless the Cavs are completely lethargic, turn it over constantly, and miss everything.

This ^. They dont have the offensive firepower to hang when the Cavs are executing and going on their patented huge offensive runs. Thomas is a tough cover and when he's hot he can fill it up, but other than him, their best offense is a mid-range jumper from a guy like Bass or Sully. That's a shot the Cavs can absolutely live with.

Defensively, Crowder pestered LeBron a little bit with ball pressure but to truly stop him from getting whatever he wants, they have to double and try to get the ball out of his hands. Problem is, he's going to make the right pass and either hit a good shooter in rhythm (Irving, Love, Smith, Shump) or a big flashing low, which is a almost a bigger problem because Boston has no size. And Irving can get in the lane whenever he wants so that presents a whole world of problems for a team with no rim protection.

If the Cavs play their game and execute, it's just an impossible match up. I'm kind of glad this Stevens-coached team made the playoffs instead of bottoming out and getting lucky in the lottery, because if he had some legit talent on that roster, he would do something good with it.

 

[Chris]

Im already bored of this series. I want us to sweep to get to da bullz