#2018 eastern conference finals pro#

For Cleveland, meanwhile, this season has felt like the end of something special practically all year.īetween the failed Isaiah Thomas trade, coach Ty Lue’s leave of absence, multiple injuries to Love and a midseason shakeup that ended up yielding few impact players for the postseason, it has been a chaotic ride for the Cavaliers. This is only the beginning of something special for coach Brad Stevens’ squad. Instead, Boston’s youth showed as the Celtics were a team-worst -20 with star rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year phenom Jaylen Brown on the court together, and fill-in starter Terry Rozier suffered his worst game of the playoffs in Game 7.įortunately for the Celtics, though, they have a ton of talent on hand for the future. Had the Celtics won, they’d have been the second-youngest team 2 to make the Finals since 1974 (older than only the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers). It was enough to propel the Cavs to victory, even though the team shot just 26 percent from 3-point range - which tends to be the most important barometer of Cleveland’s performance in any given game.Īt the same time, the Celtics appeared to be a bit too inexperienced to close out the veteran Cavs in a situation where playoff seasoning matters a lot. Smith and Tristan Thompson) scored in double-figures. But unlike many of Cleveland’s playoff losses, he got a little bit of help from his teammates in addition to James, three other Cavs (Jeff Green, J.R. (He also played every single minute of the game.) He remains the NBA’s all-time leader with 34.9 career PPG in postseason Game 7s. James was his usual otherworldly self on Sunday, of course, pouring in 35 points with 15 rebounds and 9 assists. Offensive statistics for the Boston Celtics at home in the 2018 Eastern Conference final, by game Gamesīoston won Games 1, 2 and 5 at home before losing Game 7. The Celtics’ offense disappeared in Game 7 It helped that the Celtics bricked so many shots in the second half - they went 3-20 from 3-point range, including a number of open looks - but the Cavs also clamped down and played some of their best defense of the season during Game 7. How’d Cleveland break Boston’s home-court stranglehold on these playoffs? For one thing, the much-maligned Cavaliers defense stepped up in a big way in Game 7, holding the Celtics to a stunningly low 89.4 points per 100 possessions after allowing 107.7 in the series’ previous three games at TD Garden. And yet, here he and the Cavs are once again, set to play for another NBA title, following Sunday’s 87-79 win in Boston. Missing an All-Star teammate from an already underwhelming supporting cast, on the road against a Boston Celtics team that had been 10-0 at home in the playoffs, in a Game 7 (where the home team was 104–26 in postseason history 1), James had a lot standing between him and an eighth straight Finals trip.

#2018 eastern conference finals pro#

LeBron James has racked up some pretty extraordinary accomplishments in his 15-year pro career, but few are as impressive as his effort in leading this particular Cleveland Cavaliers squad to the NBA Finals.