Game 7 NBA Eastern Conf. Finals: we are all witness

‘Nuff said (picture by Mel via Flickr)

We are all witnesses.
We are indeed, dear LeBron.
Everything was set for witnessing this… A Game 7 at Boston’s place, where nobody had won in these playoffs yet. The Cavs that are dysfunctional and have not been able to stay in a game come the fourth quarter at the TD Garden. The chance for a trip to the eighth consecutive NBA Finals.
Everything conjured…
And it happened…
Same old story…
Let’s revisiting Celtics-Cavs game 7 of last night through a quarter by quarter bullet points.

1st QUARTER

• The readiest one is the youngest: Jayson Tatum. Nine points in the first twelve minutes of the game, but, more importantly, a ton of energy thrown onto the deck and the demeanor of a consumed veteran. While his teammates looked quite rattled by the magnitude of such a game. For instance, Aaron Baynes seemed quite sloppy with rebounding and defensive switches.
• Boston closed the period with a 9–0 run thanks to two defensive stops by Marcus Smart and a couple of PNRs between Horford and Rozier on which Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. didn’t know how to handle them defensively. Game 7 is a different animal, and — Tatum apart — the players who have been there know how to handle the pressure better than the others.
• Cleveland started like this: 12 points by LeBron on the 16 overall. However, Tristan Thompson played hard on Horford, George Hill has been effective in keeping the pace in check and Jeff Green and JR Smith were into the game without harming their team. Until coach Lue started his rotations…
• …At first he tried with a small line-up with Green at center, and Korver, Hill and JR in the backcourt. This lineup is explosive offensively, but, on the other side of the ball, it leaves too many holes to cover, because it’s too small and not so physical against a hard-nosed team like the Celtics.
• Then it was Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr’s turn, and it was dire. It was so evident that the King wasn’t happy to have them on the court for a game 7 in the playoffs. Nance couldn’t move his feet in defense (three early fouls, in spite of a good offensive rebound converted in two points) and Clarkson wasn’t up to the task defensively. The outcome? A 9–0 run (as we said) for Boston, in which LeBron decided he wasn’t having it at all. Just watch how Jaylen Brown shoots out from a stagger while LeBron chooses to switch on… nobody! … Dagger!

• Let’s put it in this way: there are moments in which every Cleveland players minds his own business in defense and doesn’t care what his teammate does. LeBron couldn’t care less to exit on a stagger and just stops, thinking it will be someone else’s business. But then, some of his teammates thinks the exact same way… then it happens that the points on the scoreboard are still three for the opponents, Cavs’s players look at each other like saying “why that?”… “Just because…” Oh boy!

2nd QUARTER

• These were two teams that looked in total burn out and with the hangover of having faced each other for seven consecutive games. Nobody hits a bucket and defenses look good because both teams’ offense isn’t able to take a decent shot. Boston had the chance to create a rift at the beginning of the second quarter but squandered too many chances. Cleveland was brought back into the game by Jeff Green…
• Coach David Thorpe is right with the Instagram post below. Sometimes we see things through a distorted lens. You watch these two teams playing in the quarter and find yourself wondering “how in the world will they be able to put up a good fight against the winner of the West?”. Maybe, then, tomorrow (or today) when I’ll be watching the Western Conference Finals Games 7 I’ll think the same exact thing about the Rockets or the Warriors…

• LBJ, I reckon, played one of the worst quarter of his career. He turned the ball over twice in a row, he took a three in transition that was rushed and out of rhythm, he was called for an offensive foul later in the quarter. As always there are trains that must be caught when they arrive…
• The problem is that Boston didn’t hop on them. From the situations aforementioned, Boston came away with Z-E-R-O. It was 35–25 for the Celtics. Then, Cleveland went on a 10–2 run that brought them back within reach and Jeff Green, as said, was the man in that particular moment. Cleveland went from a more than realistic -15/17 to a highly manageable -2 and the momentum shifted towards the Cavs.
• It’s 43–39 for the Celtics thanks to a couple of great shots hit by Al Horford, Jaylen Brown three, a couple of Marcus Morris buckets and Marcus Smart guts in defense… The problem? Having Cleveland and LeBron at four points of distance at the beginning of the last 24 minutes of a Game 7 in a playoffs series is not the coziest situation indeed.

3rd QUARTER

• The Celtics had the opportunity to determine the trend of the game at the beginning of the third quarter, because Cleveland had good looks but couldn’t convert them into points. The problem for Boston was that, besides Tatum, the others went MIA.
• Terry Rozier, likewise the second quarter, played the opposite way he was supposed to do in such situations. He forced the issue, he played with such aggression that turned into anxiety and missed to score. As we said before, Game 7s are different. Players have to experience “the heavy”, and get through them. Growing pains they call them. Scary Terry is taking the bitter medicine.

• LeBron — differently from the second quarter — played smartly and effectively, setting up his teammates with a lot of good looks. More than his six shots, what made the difference were his three assists and the blocked shot on Rozier (after turning the ball over again). Those three candies became eight points. An 8–0 run that allowed the Cavs to change the complexion of the game.

and this…

• One thing must be noticed. Cleveland, like they do make up stuff on the fly on defense, they act the same on offense. Honestly, I can’t imagine a Cleveland Cavaliers playbook. I really can’t. At one point, the spacing just went bonkers. The ball in LeBron James’ hands, Korver cuts from one side to the other and then there are four players at the three points line and one around the paint. And LeBron takes it from there, improvising. I can’t think, to be fair, that this set up is written somewhere in a Cavs’ playbook…
• Cavs shrinked their rotation to six players during the third quarter. No Clarkson and no Nance Jr. The only sub was Korver for Tristan Thompson. I can imagine LBJ clearly stating that he wasn’t having any sort of line up with the youngsters in the second half. Game 7 was for experienced people.
• Jeff Green is the second voice to support the frontman of the band. Seven points in the third quarter — which is precisely his points average in the playoffs — This is just in: probably it’s the worst supporting cast that LeBron had during his career. But it is what it is, and if LBJ has another chance to win a ring, it will be with these guys. Hence, he ought to trust them, like it or not.

4th QUARTER

• Boston’s start of the quarter was impressive, from an energy and aggression standpoint. The usual suspects — Tatum, and Horford — brought a lot to the table. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long because Cleveland found a counter to anything that Boston was throwing at them.

• Kyle Korver’s 67–64 three is a big-time shot. Everything was executed at the highest level of perfection taking into account that he had Al Horford’s hand contesting the shot. Boom! At the end of the day, the more experienced players had the opportunity to give an acceptable contribution to the cause.

• This is just in: Hill and LeBron are playing a PNR to favor a switch that they like. It happens. Tatum switches to LeBron and Hill passes him the ball. Horford doubles him suddenly. Nance comes at the elbow, while Korver is free on the opposite corner. LBJ passes the ball to Nance who should (I repeat, Should!) have passed the rock to Korver for a free ride from the three-point line. Instead, Nance Jr tries to go one-on-one and travels… shaking my head…
• You know what is the worst part of all this? That Nance, coming back in defense, takes full responsibility for the mistake and nobody of his teammates seems to care about him. They couldn’t be bothered by any words by the former Lakers. It was just a group of veterans waiting for coach Lue to send the young fella to the bench.
• LBJ just had a quarter with 12 points and four assists. His game 7 average points is of 34 points and cents… He finished with 35 points, keeping the AVG (without taking into consideration the 15 boards and 9 assists) alive. It’s been eight years he’s been going to the NBA Finals, and if he finds the right situation this summer, the number could become bigger. He is right ( though sometimes he makes mistakes and plays some lousy quarter like the second): we are all witnesses.

• Two honorable mentions. Jeff Green scored 19 points, and he was the unforeseen factor that made this game 7 unpredictable. 19 points… all important! Marcus Smart — he said that he’s worth way more than $12/14 million -. He has balls. And a big pair of those! There is not a fifty-fifty ball that he doesn’t think it’s worthy to be recovered and, to finish this up, he did a competent job as a point guard too. Hat’s off to him!