The Cavaliers have now made it 8 wins in the last 9 ball games, after surviving another tight one. During this stretch of games since the 3 game losing streak, the Cavaliers have held 8 out of 9 opponents, including 6 straight, to 95 points & under. In those games where they’ve held opponents to 95 & under, the Cavaliers have held them to an average of 41.8 points per game in the 2nd half, never allowing more than 50.

The latest survival outing came in Philly, as the Cavaliers were down by 1 going into the final quarter, but pushed ahead to stay with 6:22 to go on a Jamario Moon 3 pointer, even though Philly stayed close through the duration. LeBron James played his 1st game after 6 days of rest, and recorded his 26th double double of the season with 23 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks & just 1 turnover. Mo Williams looked like the Mo we all know & love, as he led the 3 other Cavaliers in double figures with 21 points on 8-13 shooting, including 4-8 from 3 point land. Delonte West & Andy Varejao continue to prove themselves irreplaceable off the bench, as they combined for 29 points (17 for Delonte) on 13-21 shooting, with Andy adding 12 boards (his 10th double double of the season), and Delonte adding 4 assists & 2 steals in the Cavalier win.

Boston, meanwhile, is coming off an easy home win vs. the Pacers, in which none of their starters played over 28 minutes. Boston had a 20 point lead at the intermission, and went on to a 19 point win. Paul Pierce led 6 players in double figures with 20 points on 7-12 shooting, while Rajon Rondo also went 7-12 for his 16 points & 11 assists. Nate Robinson & (Don’t call me) Big Baby Davis added 15 points apiece off the Celtic bench, with Robinson adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, & 4 triple hits. Ray Allen went 5-7 for his 13 points, while Kendrick Perkins went 4-6 for his 10 to go with 7 rebounds in the Boston win.

Sunday March 14, 2010

Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers

3:30 PM EST

ABC/WTAM 1100


The Cavaliers have never lost a game at the Q to the Celtics in which Delonte West has played, whether as a Cavalier or a Celtic.
Probable Starters:

Boston:

Rajon Rondo

Ray Allen

Paul Pierce

Kevin Garnett

Kendrick Perkins

Cleveland:

Mo Williams

Anthony Parker

LeBron James

Antawn Jamison

J.J Hickson

All-Time Series:

Overall: Cleveland 66 (100.9 PPG) – Boston 110 (104.1 PPG)
LeBron era: Cleveland 14 (97.4 PPG) – Boston 10 (95.0 PPG)
Neither team has won 2 consecutive regular season games in the other’s arena since the Cavaliers did it 4/17/06 & 1/3/07 in Boston.
Last Meeting:

February 25, 2010: Cleveland 108 – Boston 88.

It was a tale of 2 halves in this one, as the Cavaliers trailed Boston 56-48 at the half, but with no Shaq for the 2nd half, the Cavaliers small lineup outscored the Celts 60-32 in the 2nd half, en route to a 20 point win in Boston. LeBron James led all scorers with 36 points, while adding 7 rebounds & a team high 9 assists to go along with 3 hits from downtown. Mo Williams went 7-13 from the floor (5-9 from homerun range) for his 19 points, while Andy Varejao hit 6 of his 7 shot attempts for 14 points & 10 boards off the bench. J.J Hickson & Delonte West also gave the Clevelanders a lift in the 2nd half (Delonte off the bench, J.J starting the half for the injured Shaq). Each finished with a +27 for the game, combining for a 7-12 performance, with 15 points (8 for J.J), 12 rebounds (8 for Delonte), 7 assists (5 by Delonte), 3 steals (2 by J.J), and 2 blocks (1 each) in the Cavalier route.

Boston was led by Ray Allen’s 21 points on 4-8 shooting from downtown, while Kevin Garnett added a double double with 10 points & 10 rebounds to go with 5 assists. Rajon Rondo pitched in 19 points & 11 assists, but shot just 8-19 from the field. Kendrick Perkins added 8 points & 8 boards in 26 minutes, while Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen, & Nate Robinson combined to shoot just 8-22 off the bench for 24 points.

No Turn of the Century:

Boston is 23-3 this season when they score 100+ points in a game, but have now broken the century mark in just 6 of their past 27 games.

Cleveland’s Highlight Performance:

March 24, 2006: Cleveland 94 – Boston 82.

LeBron James: 13-26 FG; 4-8 3s; 6-8 FT; 36 Pts; 7 Rebs; 8 Assists; 2 Steals; 3 Blocks

Boston’s Highlight Performance:

(Tie)

February 4, 2001: Boston 103 – Cleveland 82.

Antoine Walker: 14-25 FG; 5-10 3s; 3-4 FT; 36 Pts; 11 Rebs; 8 Assists; 3 Steals; 5 Turnovers

December 13, 2002: Boston 115 – Cleveland 100.

Antoine Walker: 12-21 FG; 8-13 3s; 1-5 FT; 33 Pts; 11 Rebs; 10 Assists; 7 Turnovers

Make him a scorer:

Boston is just 5-7 when Rajon Rondo scores 19+ points in a game & 5-7 when he attempts 15+ shots. However, they are now 8-2 when he dishes out 13+ assists.

Cleveland career stats vs. Celtics:

Player Games Minutes Points Rebounds Assists FG% FT% 3pt%
LeBron James 21 41.6 30.4 6.2 6.5 47.8% 77.8% 36.6%
Anthony Parker 17 29.5 10.9 2.5 1.4 46.0% 69.6% 51.7%
Anderson Varejao 15 24.8 8.0 6.4 1.5 56.4% 58.2% 0.0%
Mo Williams 16 32.6 13.1 3.2 3.8 44.9% 87.1% 41.8%
Boston career stats vs. Cavaliers:

Player Games Minutes Points Rebounds Assists FG% FT% 3pt%
Marquis Daniels 14 25.8 10.3 2.9 2.0 46.0% 80.0% 25.0%
Michael Finley 26 33.9 16.1 4.7 3.2 45.7% 83.3% 35.4%
Paul Pierce 38 37.5 21.8 6.0 4.0 40.7% 76.9% 36.1%
Rasheed Wallace 40 30.4 13.3 6.2 1.3 45.6% 76.7% 30.6%
Who’s Hot:

Player Time Period Points Rebounds/Assists FG% Misc
Glen Davis 5 games 8.2 3.6 RPG 44.4% 18.4 MPG
Michael Finley 3 games 8.0 2.3 RPG 71.4% 13.3 MPG
Paul Pierce 2 games 17.0 2.0 APG 55.0% 26.0 MPG
Rajon Rondo 5 games 16.8 8.6 APG 52.5% 3.8 TOPG
Rasheed Wallace 3 games 8.0 3.7 RPG 50.0% 2.7 SPG
Shelden Williams Has appeared in last 2 games, after not playing in 3 previous games
Who’s Not:

Player Time Period Points Rebounds/Assists FG% Misc
Ray Allen 3 games 11.0 2.3 APG 50.0% 18.2% 3pt
Tony Allen 3 games 1.0 1.0 RPG 33.3% 7.0 MPG
Marquis Daniels 7 games 4.0 0.9 RPG 34.3% 16.7% 3pt
Kevin Garnett 4 games 9.3 8.3 RPG 38.2% 27.8 MPG
Marcus Landry Has not played in the past 7 games
Kendrick Perkins 3 games 6.7 6.0 RPG 47.4% 25.0 MPG
Nate Robinson 5 games 5.2 2.8 APG 37.5% 1.8 TOPG
Brian Scalabrine Has not played in last 2 games
Match-up to Watch:

Mo Williams vs. Rajon Rondo.

Rondo is a very scrappy point guard who is always a threat to get a triple double. He’s exactly the type of point guard that gives Mo fits, so expect a lot of Delonte on Rondo in this one, unless Ray Allen starts heating up.

Rotation to Watch:

Rondo-R. Allen-Daniels-Garnett-Wallace.

This 5some is Boston’s best offensive unit, averaging 1.29 points per possession. They also do the job defensively, allowing just 0.90 points per possession, while having a +23 when on the court together. They may only be Boston’s 15th most used lineup this season, but this crew is extremely effective.

What to Watch:

Small Lineup. Expect to see a lot of small ball in this one for the Cavaliers, especially with no Shaq. The small lineup really killed Boston in the 2nd half of the last meeting & it’ll be interesting to see how Boston adjusts this time around.
Defense. We all know both teams hang their hats on their defense & this one should be no different. One team has been held to under 95 points in each of the past 7 meetings.
LeBron James. LeBron is LeBron, but he seems to have his A game more often than not against the Celtics. He has now scores 30+ points against them in 10 of the past 16 meetings.
Paul Pierce. Pierce always raises his game (as most do) when he matches up against LeBron. The good news is that Boston is just 4-8 when Paul Pierce attempts 15 or more shots in a game this season.
Sustaining a Lead. In each of the first 2 games between these teams this season, the team that led after the 1st quarter ended up losing the game.