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Photo: Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer
As the great Mark Twain once said, "The report of my death is an exaggeration." With everyone writing off the Cavaliers entire season after a ghastly non-effort in Game 2, the Cavs appeared to be motivated by all that talk. They played one of their most complete games of the season, thoroughly owning both ends of the floor.
Being as thoroughly beat as the Cavaliers were in Game 2, their season was headed immediately down one of two paths. Either they would start to wobble and see stars after that punch to the mouth, or they would absorb the blow and keep fighting after tasting a bit of their own blood. The Cavs took the latter path tonight as they one-upped Boston by laying on them their greatest playoff defeat at home in franchise history. It was a wire-to-wire demolition that saw six Cavaliers reach double figures and did not have Boston get closer than 20 points at any point in the second half. Taking homecourt back, the Cavaliers now must look to be greedy in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon as they look to extend their 2-1 series lead and put the Celtics on the ropes.
A man on a mission: that is the only way you could describe LeBron James and his all-around dominant, superstar effort tonight. For as timid and unfocused as LBJ and, following him, the team were in Game 2, that's how aggressive and carpe diem-esque the team was tonight. Right from the start by establishing Shaq in the post and LeBron getting hot with jump shots, it was all Cavaliers. Like I've said relentlessly all season, the Celtics DO NOT have anyone that can stop LeBron James. LBJ himself and his elbow are the only two factors that can slow LeBron's output in this series. Drawing two early fouls on Garnett and Perkins really set things in motion, and the wine and gold never looked back, not even for a moment. "Aggression was my mindset," said James, "I think rest helped me, and we were ready to put a complete game together for the first time in the playoffs."
Defensively, the Cavaliers had a gameplan and they stuck to it. Starting out with Anthony Parker on Rajon Rondo, Cleveland forced Rondo into a scorer and, better yet, a jump shooter from the very beginning. Sure, there were lapses and open layups occasionally for Rondo, but for the most part, AP did a fantastic job of playing into the philosophy and knowing his role in it. For as hard as I was on Anthony last game, he deserves just as much praise for tonight's effort, including his 4-of-4 shooting performance to add 11 points and 2 assists to the Cavalier attack. Even more impressive were the jobs done on Paul Pierce by LeBron (4-of-15 FG, 11 points) and several guys on Ray Allen (2-of-9 FG, 7 points). They did this by sticking tightly to Allen with a mix of Mo Williams and Delonte West, not permitting him any airspace with which to fire.
As for Kevin Garnett, he had another above-average offensive display with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. However, the difference tonight was that Antawn Jamison matched his offensive effort with 20 points and out-rebounded KG 12-4. Instead of hanging around the arc, Jamison attacked inside and used some pick and rolls to run KG through to his benefit. Garnett also got frustrated with early foul trouble and later picked up a technical for elbowing Anderson Varejao, who returned from leaving Game 2 early with back spasms. Gone was the ridiculous Rasheed Wallace, and he fell back to earth with 2 points in 15 minutes. Instead, the Celtics only got late scoring binges from Nate Robinson and Tony Allen after the game was WELL in hand.
Activity and effort were the two real key variables in this one, no question about it. The Cavaliers dominated the glass against the weak rebounding Celtics 45-30. This came after losing the rebounding battle by a wide margin in Game 2 due to a lack of effort. Jamison continues to corral more than his fair share of boards, and Shaq did a very nice job on the defensive glass, using his body to shield away would-be offensive rebounders. When you shoot 60% percent and dominate the boards like that, you have the game in the bag like tonight.
One of the most surprising things from tonight's contest was that after the Cavs took a gigantic 21-point lead in the first, they never relinquished it. Often, the start of the second and third quarters are the danger zone for the Cavaliers when the opposing team decides to make a run. Instead, the Cavs actually extended their lead to as many as 31 in the third quarter after leading by 22 at the half. If the Cavaliers can continue to eliminate blowing big leads as they have been accustomed to in the past, it only makes them that much more dangerous.
A final tip of the cap to Coach Mike Brown. MB started his coaching for this game immediately following Game 2 with his fiery postgame press conference, calling out Mo Williams and his whole team's effort. He also surprisingly activated Leon Powe and de-activated Jawad Williams tonight, allowing Powe to get time late in this blowout. I like this move, simply because Moon has won his spot over Jawad, and Powe can make a difference with his knowledge of the Boston big men. He also got his team to stick to the defensive gameplan, which regardless of the offensive display would have probably allowed the Cavs to win this game. The real test will be to get this team to keep that intensity and chip on their shoulder for the swing Game 4.
 goes to: LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, and Anthony Parker. LeBron returned to MVP caliber tonight, proving to be an all-out nightmare for the Celtics, scoring 38 points, grabbing 8 boards, and dropping 7 dimes all in about three and a half quarters. He was 14-of-22 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line. Jamison proved to be a worthy second option and returned the favor to Kevin Garnett. Jamison had 20 points and 12 boards. Parker's effort will likely go largely unnoticed, but look no further than Rajon Rondo's numbers (18 points, 8 assists) as to why Parker is here. AP also hit all four shots he took for his 11 points.
Team Grade: A
What else can you note about this Beantown beatdown? Well, the Cavs shot 60% as a team, won the boards 45-30, and hit 31-of-34 free throws.... that's not a typo, 31-OF-34 FREE THROWS (91%) for the worst free throw shooting team in the league! In a complete blowout like this, you need look no further than those three stats for the tale of the tape.
The crucial Game 4 is in Boston Sunday afternoon, and with it comes the swing of the series. If the Cavs win, they can put Boston on the ropes, forcing them to win three in a row and two at the Q. If Boston wins, they pull back to even and head to Cleveland still believing they have a realistic shot in this series. The Cavaliers should run this game on a loop until Sunday afternoon, capturing their effort and toughness in this one and channeling it for their next battle.
All for one. One for all. 10 to go.
Kirk
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