Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Celtics-Cavs Prediction

1. Boston Celtics (4-3 vs Hawks) vs. 4. Cleveland Cavs (4-2 vs Wizards)

On paper this should be a mismatch. Boston was 66-16 with a +10.3 point differential while Cleveland was 45-37 with a -0.4 point differential. In reality, this series should be competitive. Boston was taken to a Game 7 by Atlanta which no one expected. Cleveland handled a injury-riddled Washington team in 6 games after playing mediocre to end the season.

Key points IMO

- Cleveland is not as nearly as athletic as Atlanta is. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, and Josh Childress are all good or great athletes and they caused problems for Boston. LeBron is probably the best athlete in the league but the Cavs don't have many other athletes.

- Boston plays great team defense and they are a much better defensive team than Washington. The '07 Cavs (who were a better team then this year) got swept by a great defensive team in the Spurs in the finals.

- Some people are doubting the Celtics because they didn't win a road game against a 37 win team and they had trouble closing games. Since they have home-court advantage they don't have to win a road game especially since they've been untouchable at home. I think Boston will be ready for close games now that they've been woken up by Atlanta.

I have a hard time believing Cleveland can win in Boston and I think Boston can and will win a road game in this series. They were great on the road during the season (31-10). I don't feel great going against LeBron but the Celtics are simply too dominant.Lebron will cause problems in close games but I don't think most of the games will be close. Boston in 6

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