Thursday, May 8, 2008

A Little Bit Of Sugar

That was nice. Two weeks ago when the C's went up 2-0 against ATL we all deemed the series over. This time around we have no preconceptions. Ultimately, there is little more you could want from Boston through the first two games: they successfully stifled LeBron and the Cavs as well as you could. And being up two to zip gives you a heck of an edge. But after ATL an uneasiness remains. Cleveland is fully capable of winning the next two games, with LeBron putting up 35 a night. We all know this. But it seems double scary given the recent (an unprecedented) road woes of the Celtics.

Still, tonight felt promising. The cylinders are clicking, and the Cavs are so anemic offensively that you have to like the Celtics' odds going forward. The key, as always, will be to play suffocating D. Posey has probably been the second best player on the Green this series (KG has been phenomenal) with his kudzu D and panache for doing all the little things. I stand by my statement that he should be playing more than Ray (why is Allen still getting more minutes than anyone?) It's shocking to see LeBron struggle as he has; and as good as the defense has been, he's missing bunnies with regularity. It can't continue. Which is why a steady diet of Posey on LeBron is probably essential to a Game 3 victory.

If the Celtics can win Game 3 it will go a long way in eliminating the doubts that arose from ATL, because as you saw tonight, this team is just plain awesome from a talent standpoint. Posey, Powe and Cassell off the bench - that makes things much easier. The question is whether more funky badness will occur at a moment's notice. I don't know what to think about that, but at least the immediate situation looks cheery.

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