Apr 12, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard
Isaiah Thomas(4) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers guard
Matthew Dellavedova(8) in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-78. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (7) Boston Celtics
Key Matchups: Kyrie Irving vs Isaiah Thomas
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a really nice story. For a team that traded the face of their franchise a few months into the season to still make the playoffs is pretty unprecedented. Celtics coach Brad Stevens has done an exceptional job this season, and should warrant some consideration for Coach of the Year.
With that said, let’s not kid ourselves. The Celtics have no shot against the Cavs in this series. For everything the Cavs struggle with on the defensive side of the basketball, the Celtics aren’t the team that is going to exploit them.
The Celtics version of small ball is almost exactly what the Cavs like to do when the going gets tough — except the Cavs are much, much better at it than Boston is.
Boston is the classic case of “we’re just happy to be here.”
Cavaliers
After the letter, the rough start to the season and his two-week “vacation” in Miami, the Cleveland Cavaliers did well for themselves considering everything that they went through this season.
LeBron James got Kevin Love, is playing well beside Kyrie Irving, and even orchestrated a better supporting cast — via trade — than he had during his first year with the Miami Heat.
The Cavs get their warmup first round series against a team that simply can’t matchup with them on a talent level. The biggest concern at this point, is whether or not Love and Irving are going to need time to transition to playoff basketball — it’s a different monster.
But even that seems like a stretch.
The Cavs should take care of business in the first round in impressive fashion.
Prediction: Cavs sweep
Next: Bulls vs Bucks