Browns Film Room: OL Austin Corbett’s strengths
May 28, 2018Winning is a long shot, but so was getting here: While We’re Waiting
May 29, 2018Cleveland Cavaliers 87
Boston Celtics 79
[Box score]
Cavs win series, 4-3
Who would ever count out LeBron James? If you did, you were wrong—again. After the first six games of the best-of-seven series were somewhat lopsided, with the home team winning each game by at least double digits, the Cleveland Cavaliers were forced to win Game 7 in TD Garden to advance to make their fourth straight NBA Finals appearances. They did just that Sunday night, beating the Boston Celtics, 87-79, to take the series and advance to the Finals again.
No. 23 did his thing, but it was a team effort, at least defensively, that allowed the wine and gold to take Game 7 in a hostile environment.
Following the game, James described the Cavs’ 2017-18 season to Cedar Point, full of plenty of ups and downs. You could also compare this series to the amusement park. Although the Cavs eventually took the series, both teams had plenty of ups and downs on both ends of the floor, Cleveland just had more ups than downs throughout the seven games.
48 – For the first time in his career, James played in his 100th game of the season Sunday night. In his 15th year, the 33-year-old played all 48 minutes in his team’s most critical game of the season to date, putting the team on his back due to All-Star Kevin Love being forced to miss the win-or-go-home game due to a concussion he suffered in Game 6. Keep in mind, he played 46 minutes less than 48 hours prior.
Without the Cavs’ second-best player, the King not only played the entire game, but he did well on both ends of the floor while doing playing all 48 minutes. Head coach Tyronn Lue hinted that the forward could potentially play all 48, but no one really believed it would actually happen. Well, it did, further cementing James’ greatness.
35/15/9 – The GOAT is truly incredible. While playing the entire game, No. 23 was just one assist away from a triple-double for the second straight game. James totaled 35 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, and two blocks while knocking down 12-of-24 from the field, 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. The majority of us take his greatness for granted, but it really is incredible what he continues to do on a nightly basis.
42 – Just over six years after having open-heart surgery and being told that he may never play basketball again, Jeff Green was the Cavs’ second-leading scorer in Game 7, helping Cleveland make its fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals. While knocking down 7-of-14 shots, the versatile forward had 19 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one block while also doing plenty of things on the defensive end of the floor as well.
Plus-24 – George Hill may have only had six points, two assists, and two rebounds, but the starting point guard did so much more than what showed up in the box score. With his team-leading plus-24 in 38 minutes, the veteran’s length, physicality, and ball movement helped the Cavs win Game 7 in Boston.
42 – JR Smith notched 42 minutes, the third Cavalier that played 42-plus minutes Sunday night. He finally (!) made a three-pointer in Boston as well. After not making one during the first three road games of the series, Swish knocked down 3-of-8 from long distance to total 12 points and four rebounds.
35 – Kyle Korver (18 minutes), Jordan Clarkson (nine), and Larry Nance Jr. (eight) were the only three bench players to play in Game 7 and they combined to play just 35 minutes and scored just five points. To say that the Cavs leaned on their starters would be an extreme understatement, but it’s what Lue had to do in order for the Cavs steal a win in Boston.
34.1/17.9 – When the Cavaliers needed it the most, their defense stepped up in Game 7. After their offense scored just 87 points,1 the wine and gold’s defense stepped up at the most important time. They not only held Boston to 79 points, three of which came on a three-pointer with just a few seconds left, but they forced Boston to shoot just 34.1 percent from the floor and 17.9 percent from three-point range as well.
So maybe the Cavs can have a good defense when it actually matters? They will need that effort in the Finals.
3 – Cleveland’s struggles to defend the fast break have been well known all season. Even though they turned the ball over 12 times, they held Boston to score just three fast break points in Game 7 while scoring 16 fast break points of their own.
4-for-4 – Tristan Thompson was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and had 10 points and nine rebounds in 35 minutes. His plus-14 was tied for the second-best on the team.
6:41 – Don’t get me wrong, Jayson Tatum dunking on LeBron was impressive, but his mistake was bumping James after he did it. And what was Marcus Morris doing? After this moment, the Cavs outscored the Celtics, 16-10. One day, those kids will learn that they should never make LeBron angry.
After this moment, the Cavs outscored the Celtics, 16-10, in the remaining 6:41 of the game to clinch their fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals. Never make the King angry, kids. pic.twitter.com/sR5p1JggrO
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) May 28, 2018
1-for-6 – It’s hard to be negative after such an incredible game, but after Kyle Korver was one of the team’s top scorers throughout the postseason, he struggled Sunday night, knocking down just 1-of-6 three-pointers and had just three points in 18 minutes. Everyone has a hard time making shots at times, and it seems as though the sharpshooter just had a hard time finding his shot Sunday night.
8 – Whether it was the fact that he was just tired at times or no matter the reason, James played great throughout his 48 minutes in Game 7, but the only downside of his game was his eight turnovers. He had eight of the team’s 12 turnovers in the game. It’s hard to be negative about anything that includes No. 23, but there’s a good chance that No. 23 will see his mistakes while watching film and improve on that ahead of the Finals.
- Which, if you told anyone that Cleveland would only score 87 in Game 7, the majority of people would have said that they would lose. [↩]