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Round 2, Game 4 | Cavaliers at Celtics | May 9, 2010 | 3:30 PM EDT ABC

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this game will come down to if any of the 'big 4' can make contested shots in the 1st quarter, it will also come down to how the cavs deal with the extra physical play. I expect the celtics to battle scream and shout but if they get down early then its game over
 
This is a must win game for us. Orlando, Suns and Lakers are manhandling their opponents and we need to show that we are also their caliber. Taking two away will do that just fine.



This is such bullshit. Beating the Celtics today doesn't show anything in regards to potential matchups against any of the teams you mentioned. Fans and the media make big deals out of sending messages and what not, and it's all bullshit. Whether you win by one or lose by one-hundred it's only one game, and whether you sweep a series or win it in seven, you're still moving on. The matchups in the next round will be completely different regardless, and teams don't think about who's at what caliber level when they're preparing for a series. Were the Magic shitting bricks about playing our team last year after we swept the Hawks and they were taken to seven games against a gimpy Boston team?

This will be a tough game, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if we lost a nailbiter. I doubt that the Celtics will miss all the jumpers they missed on Friday, and I doubt that we'll make all the jumpers that we made on Friday. However, if our defense can do a good job of stopping Rondo penetration than I think that we have a good shot. Lebron needs to set the tone early, and that doesn't mean that he has to score twenty points, he just needs to play aggressive on both ends of the court. It'd be nice if Mo was able to get going as well. If we managed to take both of these road games I'd be incredibly happy.
 
If we come out in the 1st with the same mentality, aggression, intensity, and focus as we did in game 3, we win. If we don't do that, it will be a close game but I still believe we win. I don't want Boston to think they have a shot at winning after the 1st quarter, so let's just do as we did in game 3. The team should have plenty of motivation to truly want to go up 3-1 and win the series at the Q in game 5.

Come on Cavs; let's do this.
 
I don't know, Chris Webber said it's either going to be a sweep or it's going to go 7 games. Did that comment make any sense to anyone? Then after game 2 he said it's definitely going 7. He seems like he really knows what he's talking about. I hope Barkley was right with the 4-1 prediction even though horse-face Kenny was just amazed that he thought the mighty Celtics could only win one game.
 
James’s supporting cast will tell the tale

WALTHAM — It wasn’t LeBron James’s 38 points Friday that were the difference in Cleveland’s Game 3 victory over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. That type of production was expected from a two-time MVP as a response to his lackluster effort in Game 2.

What burned the Celtics was James’s associates, who fed off their leader and delivered the support that hadn’t been present the first two games. Antawn Jamison finally got the better of Kevin Garnett with a double-double.

Delonte West was unstoppable from midrange and staved off a couple of apparent Celtics first-half rallies with crowd-quieting jumpers, while Shaquille O’Neal, at least for one night, resembled the Diesel and scored 8 points with 5 rebounds in just 14 first-half minutes.

It was truly a team effort for the Cavaliers, and the Celtics spent yesterday at their practice facility realizing they have to place more emphasis on containing LeBron’s teammates and not necessarily LeBron.

James dropped 35 points in Game 1 but it was the Celtics’ inability to stop Mo Williams that cost them a victory. James tallied 24 in Game 2, but the Celtics prevailed because he didn’t receive any help, prompting coach Mike Brown to call out Williams and O’Neal for their disappearing acts.

They responded Friday, and the Celtics watched helplessly as the rest of the Cavaliers went 30 for 52 from the field (57.6 percent) with 37 rebounds and 18 assists. They were confident and fearless. The Celtics, so focused on LeBron and far back on their heels, allowed his complements to flourish.

It all started with LeBron’s 21-point first-quarter statement. He was unstoppable and, more important, his bravado spread to his teammates. The Cavaliers are more than a one-man team, and they are a beast when LeBron gets help.

The Celtics don’t mind if he scores 45 points and the rest of his team remains passive. Boston was content to allow Dwyane Wade to go off in the opening series, but no other Heat player made an impact, and they were disposed of in five games.

“He has a cape, no doubt about that,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of James. “And a lot of guys play through his cape. But that’s with every great player. You name a great player, especially the Kobes, the LeBrons of the world, when they get it going, they make you feel pretty much like Hercules as well, and that’s what he does and that’s what he should do.

“Like I told our guys, LeBron did his job [Friday] night. He did what he was supposed to do. We’re going to have to win a game in this series — and I’ve said it before — where LeBron’s going to have 40, and we’re still going to have to win. We’re going to have to deal with that.’’

Defense will be the reason the Celtics remain competitive in this series. They have to find a way to make the Cavaliers uncomfortable in the early going. Jamison, for example, beat Garnett to rebounds and reached the free throw line four times in the first quarter.

The Celtics spent the first half so aware — and in awe at times — of James that they slipped on their team defense.

“I think it all started with LeBron,’’ Kendrick Perkins said. “He came out in the first quarter and he set the tone for the whole game. Their whole team feeds off LeBron, in my opinion.

“He came out and had 21 in the first quarter, knocking his jumper down, his confidence was high, his swagger was high, and all of the rest of those guys feed off of him. If LeBron don’t do that, then the game pretty much could go either way.’’

So the Celtics’ focus shifts to being more of the aggressor, and forcing the Cavaliers to worry about playing defense instead of finding their sweet spots for favorable shots. The primary issue Friday was that Cleveland felt more comfortable in Boston than the Celtics did. After three days of hearing how flawed they were, the Cavaliers used LeBron to make a statement, and the rest of his teammates drove it home.

“Being on the road, mind-sets change, personnel change,’’ James said. “I think you can afford, saying myself can afford, to play the back role a little bit at home.

“Guys are more confident at home. On the road, you can’t do that as much because honestly it’s just you and your teammates. So it started with me [Friday] and then everyone seen my aggression and just took advantage of it.’’

Yes, one man can possess that much power, but that power can be tempered with more emphasis on those who benefit from it. LeBron James is such an imposing and intimidating figure that it’s understandable to ignore his supporting cast, but the Celtics have to use strong defense and aggression to make the game easier. It’s their only chance to win today.

“We score off our defense, off getting stops, and if you are going to take the ball out [of bounds] every time, you’re not scoring in the playoffs,’’ Rivers said. “You gotta get stops. We gotta make them miss shots.


“I don’t think we had a lot of pressure on them. I thought they had us on our heels the entire game, so we have to get back up into them.’
 
This is a must win game for us. Orlando, Suns and Lakers are manhandling their opponents and we need to show that we are also their caliber. Taking two away will do that just fine.

But the opponent we are facing right now are way better than any one else is facing. We will be a much better team and more prepared for them in the future because of it.
 
 
Ya, also what I was going to mention. Everybody needs to lower there expectations WAY down for the Cavs performance for THIS game. I mean, dang, we nearly played perfect that last game and it was amazing. We were shooting 70 percent from the field most of the game and that just isn't gonna happen again. We won't shoot that hot. Hopefully, we see LeBron set the tone again. I will be extremely impressed if we can two games in a row at Boston.

On top of that, the Celitcs have pride and they know they got embarassed at home in front of there own fans. I expect them to come out fighting HARD and playing well. I think we are prepared however but we will see a different Boston team today. Remember how we responded after a beat down lost? We will see how good of a team we are today. I just ask for a fight.



It looks like this game today is unfolding to be an EPICCCCCCCCCCC one!
 
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Paul pierce contemplating his off-season destination
 
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This is a must win game for us. Orlando, Suns and Lakers are manhandling their opponents and we need to show that we are also their caliber. Taking two away will do that just fine.

I don't buy this for a second.

Hell lets look back at last year....

Cavs sweep the first two rounds and win the games by 18, 12, 11, 21, 27, 20, 15, and 10 points.

The Magic go to 6 games against the 41-41 76ers in the first round, losing game 1 at home and falling behind 2-1 in the series. Then they go out against a depleted Boston team without Garnett and go down 3-2 in the series again losing at home.

Did it seem to matter that the Cavaliers swept twice, got all this extra rest, and appeared to be blowing everyone out whereas the Magic fell behind in both of there series and ended up going 7 in the conference semis?

No it didn't matter at all and that's because what happens in one series has absolutely no bearing on what happens in another series.

I mean hell, the Lakers went to 7 games in the 2nd round with a Yao less Rockets team and flat got blown out in two of the seven games and it didn't seem to effect their march to winning the NBA title.
 
This is a must win game for us. Orlando, Suns and Lakers are manhandling their opponents and we need to show that we are also their caliber. Taking two away will do that just fine.

Well, last year, the Cavs and Nuggets dump-trucked the Hawks and Mavs, and the Lakers and Magic got pushed to 7 by teams without their best players.

So, who knows....
 
This game doesn't have anything to do with the Lakers or Magic. It doesn't even have all that much to do with the Celtics. This game is about the Cavs and their ability to focus and finish off an opponent they are much better than.
 
PDcavsinsider

Gm 4 officials: Joe DeRosa, Mike Callahan, Michael Smith. Excellent ref, DeRosa will never be accused of giving LeBron favoritism.

some info on our records with those refs would be nice. thanks in advance numbersdont-team
 

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