Sunday: Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavs

• Leonardo

  

  Boston is 41-23
  Cleveland is 51-15
  
  Sunday at 3:30 on ABC
  
  Keys to victory for Cleveland?
• fiver

  They will have to start off quick defensively in order to win this game. Rondo usually gives Cleveland fits. They will need to shut him down early.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  Keys to victory for Cleveland:
  
  1. Attack the paint.
  2. Stop Rondo's penetration--easier said than done, but if they can find a rotation that is working that allows LeBron to guard Rondo then this will be a blow out. That's our best option for guarding him, he can get around anyone else on our team--but LeBron is big enough to keep him in front of him.
  3. Take Ray Allen out of the game early, if he doesn't get hot against us then Boston is screwed.
  
  The Celtics backcourt can beat us if we let them, if we take that away we kill them.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  Over/under Cavs by 15 tomorrow and finally shutting up anyone who still thinks the Celtics are a real contender?
  
  I'm going over. I think it's going to be one of those days.
• Sage

  

  Keys for Cleveland:
  
  Showing up, have a pulse
  
  Keys for Boston:
  
  Hope Cleveland doesn't show up, and if they do, hope its without a pulse.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  ^This guy knows what's going on here...
• devil1197

  Jamison says he'll play tomorrow which is a plus.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  Yeah I read that too, definitely a plus. Maybe now we can just expose KG for what he is now even more..
• 3reppom

  

  The only way the Celtics have a chance in this game is if Rondo is incendiary from start to finish and Ray Allen doesn't defer to the rapidly dissolving KG and Pierce. There is a chance of the first part happening, almost no chance of the second. The Celtics are dead and gone as a legitimate title contender.
• hoops23

  

  Celtics talking a little trash...
  

  Perkins: Cavaliers 'haven't won nothing'
  By DAN DUGGAN
  The Boston Herald
  March 14, 2010 12:00 AM
  
  WALTHAM — Kendrick Perkins was fully aware that his words would be received as trash talk. And the Celtics center had no problem delivering a message to the Cavaliers in his typically blunt fashion.
  
  "They still haven't won nothing," Perkins said after yesterday's practice. "They're just the best team in the league. They still haven't done nothing we haven't done. Right now, they're the best team in the league and we just got to go at them."
  
  The C's will go at the Cavs today at 3:30 p.m. in Cleveland. It will be the third meeting of the season, with the squads splitting the first two.
  
  While the Celtics are nine games behind the Cavs and have conceded the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed, they aren't conceding today's game.
  
  "I think we will (win); I really do," Doc Rivers said. "I think we'll come in and play terrific. But we just got to play hard. There's no guarantees."
  
  Cleveland currently features a smaller, more dynamic lineup. Shaquille O'Neal has been sidelined with an injured right thumb he suffered against the Celtics on Feb. 25. The Cavs hope to get O'Neal back for the playoffs, but they aren't missing him much.
  
  The Cavs have gone 7-1 without O'Neal, including the game against the C's. O'Neal left that matchup midway through the second quarter with the Celtics leading by 11. Without the big fella clogging the middle, the Cavs ran the C's off the Garden court, cruising to a 108-88 win.
  
  J.J. Hickson, a 6-foot-9 leaper in his second season, has shifted to the middle in O'Neal's absence. It's a switch that Perkins considers an upgrade.
  
  "In my opinion, I think they're better," Perkins said. "They can run more. You've got Anderson Varejao, who's more of an active body. He gets LeBron (James) open a lot — opens up the paint for him.
  
  "I think they're a better team. Obviously Shaq can help them, but I think they're better — a more fast-paced team."
  
  Perkins called Varejao, the pesky 6-foot-10 energizer off the bench, a frustrating opponent to face. Varejao torched the C's for 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the last meeting, but Perkins said his strategy will be simple today.
  
  "You just got to take him out of the game," Perkins said. "All the time, he's more of the instigator. I think you gotta be more of the instigator when you're playing against him. You got to hit him first. He's a guy who flops to get a lot of calls, takes charges, offensive rebounds. I think you just got to keep a body on him and play against him hard."
  
  The biggest change for the Cavs has been the addition of Antawn Jamison. Cleveland snatched Jamison from the Wizards at the trade deadline and the smooth power forward has averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in 10 games. Jamison missed Friday's win over Philadelphia with stiffness in his left knee, but he is expected to play today.
  
  "You've got to think right when Shaq went down was right when Jamison was coming in, so it gives them the ability to go small in some ways and very skilled, with Jamison at the 4 or the 5," Rivers said. "That makes them pretty tough to guard."
  
  Perkins is prepared for the challenge.
  
  "I'm looking forward to the game, seeing exactly where we're at, just going out there and competing with a great team," Perkins said. "They're at home, best in the NBA (28-4), just seeing where we're at. I think it'll be a great confidence boost for us to go in their home building and get a win.''

  http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100314/SPORTS13/3140369/-1/SPORTS
  
  
• hoops23

  

  Also, from Terry Pluto:
  

  About the Cavaliers ...
  
  1. Since joining the Cavs, Antawn Jamison is averaging 17 points, shooting 48 percent (39 percent on 3-pointers). According to 82games.com, the Cavs are outscoring the opposition by 14.8 points with Jamison on the court. They are 7-1 with Jamison in the lineup. He sat out Friday's game at Philadelphia with a minor knee problem. The Cavs were aware that Jamison's knee sometimes flares up, so this was not surprise. If Friday were a playoff game, Jamison would have been in the lineup.
  
  2. The strange part of Jamison's performance is how he's a 73 percent career shooter from the foul line, but 47 percent (18-of-38) since the trade. He has no explanation for it. In March, he 7-of-20 (35 percent).
  
  3. Since his thumb surgery, Shaquille O'Neal has been recovering at his home in Florida. The Cavs have sent an assistant trainer to help him stay in shape, and O'Neal is expected to be back in town within a week. The key was avoiding an infection after the surgery, and it seems that has been accomplished and his thumb is healing well.
  
  The Cavs still are not expecting him before the playoffs, but O'Neal wants to be back for the final week of the regular season.
  
  4. Suppose J.J. Hickson were in this college draft, how high would he picked? Certainly in the top 10. The 21-year-old Hickson should be a junior at N.C. State. That's why he is making such progress in his second pro season, growing in every area from physical to emotional to learning the pro game. Since O'Neal was injured and Hickson became the starting center on March 1, he is averaging 10.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 51 percent in 24 minutes per game.
  
  5. Hickson averaged 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in his only season at N.C. State, where he also shot 59 percent. He was second in the ACC in rebounding. General Manager Danny Ferry knew Hickson needed time to mature, but also realized that it's rare to find a 6-9 big man with such obvious physical gifts at No. 19 in the draft. He resisted the offers to trade Hickson, as Indiana (for Troy Murphy) and Washington (for Jamison) wanted him. So did Phoenix, but the Suns wanted other players in the package -- and in the end, decided to keep Amare Stoudemire.
  
  6. In the 97-95 victory over San Antonio, Hickson impressed the coaching staff by battling Tim Duncan, who had only 13 points and five rebounds compared to 12 points and seven rebounds for Hickson. A few months ago, Duncan probably would have destroyed Hickson and enticed the young Cavalier into foul trouble. About 65 percent of Hickson's field goals are "at the rim," mostly dunks and layups. But the Cavs want him playing inside, moving without the ball to catch passes from LeBron James and also crashing the boards for offensive rebounds to take advantage of his leaping ability.
  
  7. Leon Powe started Friday night, and was 3-of-6 shooting for seven points and three rebounds in 15 minutes. The Cavs need to use this time with O'Neal hurt to see if Powe can help come the playoffs. It seemed a waste when played only four minutes over the last three games before Philadelphia, as time went to Darnell Jackson and Danny Green. Powe is far more likely to be a contributor than either of those two young players. But Powe needs court time to get into game shape after coming back from major knee surgery.

• SQ_Crazies

  

  Well, now I'm very interested in watching the battle underneath tomorrow. Also in reference to Shaq, don't wake a sleeping giant Perk. I expect Shaq to see that and ask what Perkins has ever done. Hopefully the C's don't choke before they get to the Cavs in the playoffs so we can see Shaq light Perkins up for 4 games.
• KR1245

  

  SQ_Crazies wrote: Well, now I'm very interested in watching the battle underneath tomorrow. Also in reference to Shaq, don't wake a sleeping giant Perk. I expect Shaq to see that and ask what Perkins has ever done. Hopefully the C's don't choke before they get to the Cavs in the playoffs so we can see Shaq light Perkins up for 4 games.

  No shit. Lets piss off Shaq, great idea dumbass. I cant stand Perkins, easily in my top 5 of most hated players. I'm not impressed with his game at all, hes a big body and thats it.
• Rotinaj

  

  I think Perkins had more positives to say about the Cavs than negatives. I dont even think the "trash talk" in beginning of that article is even really trash talk. Just sounds like he knows the Cavs are a better team this season and he knows they(the celtics) have to play great to get the W.
• Swamp Fox

  Boston may not be the team of a few years ago and can't sustain an effort against the Cavs over an entire series, but the Celtics are a very proud franchise that has a history of coming into places like Cleveland and sneaking out of town with the "W". The Cavs will have to play well to insure this doesn't happen today. I would reiterate however, that it isn't the Celtics that bother me...it's the Lakers.
• wes_mantooth

  

  Yeah, I don't think it is trash talk. And he is right, they haven't won anything. I just want the playoffs to start....
• From the Hills

  

  Perkins needs to be more like the Celtics last good center (the Chief). He never said anything and just played.
• devil1197

  Cleveland may be a better team when Shaq isn't playing, but thats because the only reason Shaq was brought in was to face Howard and Bynum in the playoffs. Cleveland didn't make moves to match up with Boston, their letting natural causes defeat the Celtics (aging).
• Pick6

  

  Boston is the 5th-6th best team in the East IMO.
• devil1197

  The Cavs are outscoring the opposition by 14.8 points with Jamison on the court.

  What???
  
  I thought Poon Tawn Jamison sucks.
• ytownfootball

  

  Pooooooooooooonnnnnnn
  
  
  TAWN!!!
  
  LOL
• Lovejoy1984

  

  devil1197 wrote:

  The Cavs are outscoring the opposition by 14.8 points with Jamison on the court.

  What???
  
  I thought Poon Tawn Jamison sucks.

  Before long we'll see him on here claiming that he sucks because his jump ball percentage is low, or some other stat that doesn't make sense, other than it makes JJ/Powe/Andy look better than Jamison.
• devil1197

  The only one that is close to Jamison is AV because of his tremendous hustle and defense.
• devil1197

  POOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN TTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAWWWWWNNNNNN
  
  for
  
  3
• SQ_Crazies

  

  Perkins is a jackass no matter how any of you look at it--Shaq is probably the last guy in the NBA right now that you want to give any more reason to turn it up in the playoffs. Because basically if the Diesel starts dominating like his old self in the playoffs--game over, Cavs are champs. I wouldn't give him any extra motivation--especially since he's been sitting around all year waiting for the playoffs to start anyways.