Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics, Game 5: Windhorst Beat Blog
By Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
May 11, 2010, 11:49AM
CLEVELAND -- Pregame from The Q:
Projected starting lineups
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins
Cavs: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Shaquille O'Neal
Officials
Joey Crawford, Marc Davis, Greg Williard
* Since Game 4 ended two Cavs have been willing to talk to the media. 1. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who hasn't played since Game 1. 2. J.J. Hickson, who played five terrible minutes in Game 4. All others have declined to be interviewed or not made available including Shaq, LeBron and Williams.
This upsets most of the now very large media contingent covering the series because they need quotes. It is fine with me, though, because recently what the Cavs say and what they do are often two different things. So why bother with what they say, right? For example, they have been saying they need to come out with the sense of urgency and then play aggressively for 48 minutes. But they have only done that about 25 percent of the time.
Therefore, it is difficult to predict how they will play in Game 5 based on what they say before games.
* It is likely that LeBron will indeed guard Rondo, but in the game plan is likey for him to just do it in shifts. Unless there is a major strategy change, and there are no vibes of this, Parker will probably start the game on Rondo and still handle much of the load. The Cavs strategy isn't just to use LeBron but also to give Parker some rest within the game. In crutch time it is possible LeBron would spend more time on Rondo, if the matchup works.
As part of the above, expect Jamario Moon to get more playing time. Moon will get some possessions on Rondo but also likely will be in the game with LeBron so that Moon can take over guarding Paul Pierce if James shifts to Rondo. If the Cavs put a guard on Pierce, it will be an invitation for Pierce to post up.
The biggest thing you will see from the Cavs is how they react to Rondo after they take a shot. He never had a body on him in Game 4 and was allowed free range to chase down rebounds, which he did 18 times. The plan is to make him at least have to jump for them in Game 5.
* I did catch up to Andy Varejao this morning. Wanted to check on his back, which is still bothering him. In Game 4 it seemed late in the game that he was getting no lift. Several times he missed out on rebounds he'd usually get when the ball just bounced over his heard.
Varejao said his back is "up and down, but it is the playoffs so you must play."
He's a vital role player for the Cavs because of his defensive abilities and his rebounding. He hasn't been great in either area so far in the series and much of it seems to be because he's being limited. When Varejao plays well against the Celtics, the Cavs usually win.
Link:
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/05/cleveland_cavaliers_vs_boston_4.html