[Playoff Matchup Thread] Cleveland vs. Boston

[kookoo]

Boston probably played the best game they could while we played a so-so game and we still had a double digit lead for most of the second half. The broom should have some leprechaun dust particles soon.

 

[Otsego Mar]

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'd probably slow it down honestly. Thomas is going to be the guy they try and beat us with. With a guy like Moz protecting the paint, he could be nullified.

 

[Simmy]

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

A part of me agrees. But the other part reminds me not to take the Playoffs for granted. We haven't been here for a very long time and even though our aspirations go much higher than the first round, I'm going to enjoy every single game we win in the lead-up to potential glory.

 

[Green Lantern]

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

Crash the boards and get those outlet passes going.
The Celts will try to hit the boards thus exposing their fast break defense.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Boston radio play by play guy was on Simmons' podcast yesterday and made a good point.

The Cavs are gonna dominate, might even sweep. But it's in not only the Celtics' best interest, but also the Cavs and NBA in general, for the C's to put up the strongest fight they can and get the Cavs battle tested for the rounds to come.

I fully agree. I don't really want a boring series. I mean, I'm fine with a sweep, but I hope it takes some grit to win every game. We need the practice, and this is the perfect way to get it in. This might end up being our most favorable first round matchup of all the available ones.

 

[brownsbuck6]

Boston radio play by play guy was on Simmons' podcast yesterday and made a good point.

The Cavs are gonna dominate, might even sweep. But it's in not only the Celtics' best interest, but also the Cavs and NBA in general, for the C's to put up the strongest fight they can and get the Cavs battle tested for the rounds to come.

I fully agree. I don't really want a boring series. I mean, I'm fine with a sweep, but I hope it takes some grit to win every game. We need the practice, and this is the perfect way to get it in. This might end up being our most favorable first round matchup of all the available ones.

That's a really wise angle that I hadn't really considered.. as fun as it might be to watch the Celtics crumble into a million pieces and just submit and get curb stomped, it would serve this team much better to have to battle in a few of these games and face at least some adversity. It's true, that is the best kind of practice.

Great point.

 

[Binkster]

Can't believe this hasn't been posted, but this is an incredibly nearsighted, obsolete view of Cleveland from an outsider who is misinformed and not paying attention. If you want to rip our city, at least do your research and get your facts right. But this just screams bitterness:

In long-suffering Cleveland, Cavaliers offer a ray of hope
Dan Shaughnessy GLOBE STAFF APRIL 21, 2015

CLEVELAND — They dropped confetti from the ceiling here at Quicken Loans Arena at the end of Sunday’s first-round, Game 1, 13-point Cavaliers victory over the 40-42 Boston Celtics.

Yikes.

It seemed a little over the top. A little needy.

Confetti? Really? First round? First game? Against a sub.-500 team?

We can’t really blame these folks. It’s easy to be smug when you come from a city that has celebrated nine championships in this century. I had to brush confetti from my jheri-curl head as recently as Feb. 1, when Pete Carroll made the worst play call in the history of sports. I wasn’t expecting a celebration in the sky when Gigi Datome slinked off the floor Sunday, but anything these Cleveland folks do is OK because they have truly suffered.

What must it be like? Cleveland has not won a major sports championship since quarterback Frank Ryan and running back Jim Brown led the Browns to a 27-0 victory over the Baltimore Colts at Municipal Stadium in the 1964 NFL Championship game.

It answers the question about the confetti. How is a city supposed to act like it’s been there before when . . . it hasn’t been there in more than a half-century?

I love this city. But it is a hungry place, peppered with people with hungry faces.

They come downtown and they see a diminished city where commerce and activity once thrived, before the foreclosures and rampant unemployment. Cleveland once was one of America’s five largest cities. Today, downtown Cleveland is a sad space with many vacant buildings and boarded-up stores. The city is quiet on weekends and empty on weeknights after the workforce goes home. It feels like the local economy runs on lottery tickets.

At the corner of East Fourth Street and Prospect you can still get a 16-ounce can of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $3 at Flannery’s Pub. Not far from the other end of Fourth Street, there’s the Horseshoe Casino, connected to the Tower City Center. This is not a high-roller crowd. It’s not Ocean’s Eleven. It’s more like Atlantic City-on-the-Cuyahoga.

LeBron and the Cavaliers are important because Cleveland is dead or dying, and there hasn’t been a team to make the city feel good about itself since Lyndon Baines Johnson was in the White House.

Progressive Field (a.k.a. “The Jake”) is virtually empty on game nights. Terry Francona (remember him?) has pushed the Tribe to overachievement in the last two seasons, but folks who run the franchise are worried that the Indians may not survive.

The Indians play in a beautiful ballpark and feature a worthy team, but not enough folks are going to the games. It’s a far cry from the early years at the Jake, when the Tribe sold out 455 consecutive games and featured the star power of Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, Eddie Murray, Jim Thome, Roberto Alomar, and Omar Vizquel. That crew made it to the seventh game of the World Series in 1997, but Jose Mesa gave it up against the Florida Marlins. Cleveland’s last World Series victory came in 1948 against the Boston Braves.

The Browns are a legitimate laughingstock in today’s NFL. They have their own Bill Buckner/Bucky Dent moments. Folks still talk of John Elway thwarting Cleveland with “The Drive” in 1987 and Earnest Byner’s costly fumble one year later. The franchise — last coached by Bill Belichick — moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season, only to come back as an expansion team in 1999. Today they are a clown show, especially at quarterback. Johnny Manziel was at Sunday’s Celtics-Cavaliers game.

The Cavaliers made it to the NBA Finals with LeBron in 2007, but were swept by the Spurs. They thought they were going to win in 2010, but that was when the Celtics’ Big Three shocked Cleveland in the conference semifinals and LeBron ripped off his Cavs jersey for (we thought) the last time as he exited Boston’s parquet floor in disgrace.

Then came “The Decision’’ and the burning of LeBron’s jersey on the streets of Cleveland.

But now LeBron is back and the Cavs are back and everybody in this godforsaken/hopeful town is “All In.’’

During an ESPN interview aired Sunday, James was asked about bringing a championship to Cleveland. He said, “I have that vision. Is it promised? No. But that’s what I work toward.’’

The Celtics represent a mere speed bump for this LeBron locomotive. Cleveland is desperate for the Cavaliers to win. ESPN is desperate for the Cavaliers to win. And the forecast for Tuesday night’s game at the Q is partly cloudy with a strong chance of confetti.

Dan Shaughnessy can be reached at [EMAIL]dshaughnessy@globe.com[/EMAIL]

 

[theSTEREO.]

I posted this on Twitter, but pretty funny still... Dude wrote literally the exact opposite about Cleveland 5 years ago.

Just trolling for clicks.

@Dan_Shaughnessy:

2010: Plain Dealer
http://t.co/cZlQioVGTo

2015: Boston Globe
http://t.co/y01G5lBUor

 

[Chris]

He was just on 850 WKNR Cleveland and pretty much said he loves Cleveland and wasn't trying to piss anyone off.

Get em' the fawk outta heeeeeere!

 

[Binkster]

I posted this on Twitter, but pretty funny still... Dude wrote literally the exact opposite about Cleveland 5 years ago.

Just trolling for clicks.

@Dan_Shaughnessy:

2010: Plain Dealer
http://t.co/cZlQioVGTo

2015: Boston Globe
http://t.co/y01G5lBUor

Saw that too. If I'm the Cavs, I'm having Moondog dump a bucket of confetti on his head over the Megatron.

 

[Chris]

That really is the most passive aggressive bullshit article I've ever read.

 

[Helium filament]

Can't believe this hasn't been posted, but this is an incredibly nearsighted, obsolete view of Cleveland from an outsider who is misinformed and not paying attention. If you want to rip our city, at least do your research and get your facts right. But this just screams bitterness:

In long-suffering Cleveland, Cavaliers offer a ray of hope
Dan Shaughnessy GLOBE STAFF APRIL 21, 2015

CLEVELAND — They dropped confetti from the ceiling here at Quicken Loans Arena at the end of Sunday’s first-round, Game 1, 13-point Cavaliers victory over the 40-42 Boston Celtics.

Yikes.

It seemed a little over the top. A little needy.

Confetti? Really? First round? First game? Against a sub.-500 team?

WOW. Cleveland is on the rise right now, and he still is trying to bring it down. With all the positive publicity about Cleveland, he wouldn't have had to reach to paint us in a better light. Instead he went with the negative angle. This really pissed me off.

 

[idmartin]

Boston radio play by play guy was on Simmons' podcast yesterday and made a good point.

The Cavs are gonna dominate, might even sweep. But it's in not only the Celtics' best interest, but also the Cavs and NBA in general, for the C's to put up the strongest fight they can and get the Cavs battle tested for the rounds to come.

I fully agree. I don't really want a boring series. I mean, I'm fine with a sweep, but I hope it takes some grit to win every game. We need the practice, and this is the perfect way to get it in. This might end up being our most favorable first round matchup of all the available ones.

I agree 100% with this and shared the same sentiment as soon as the match up was confirmed. A perfect team to really push the Cavs a couple of times each game and to get the playoff newbies some reps. I would have felt the same with a match up against the Bucks as well I think.

 

[spydy13]

Boston radio play by play guy was on Simmons' podcast yesterday and made a good point.

The Cavs are gonna dominate, might even sweep. But it's in not only the Celtics' best interest, but also the Cavs and NBA in general, for the C's to put up the strongest fight they can and get the Cavs battle tested for the rounds to come.

I fully agree. I don't really want a boring series. I mean, I'm fine with a sweep, but I hope it takes some grit to win every game. We need the practice, and this is the perfect way to get it in. This might end up being our most favorable first round matchup of all the available ones.

Fuck that. Get in and get out of these games as easily as possible.

Next series is going to be a grind, so getting all the rest we can before it is fine by me.

 

[idmartin]

Confetti? Really? First round? First game? Against a sub.-500 team?

Did they not drop confetti during every single win this year? I remember thinking about this during a random win that all this confetti would really suck to have to clean up for those workers after every win and continued to wonder if it also happened at Monsters and Gladiator games as well.