Empty the Bench

It now feels like eons ago when we previewed this grueling, grinding semifinals matchup between the Celtics and Cavaliers. There’ve been very few easy buckets for either team, and neither has been able to get into any kind of consistent groove on offense. Let’s just be honest: despite the considerable star power on the court, more than a few of these first six games have been hard to watch… but of course that doesn’t mean we haven’t tuned in every night.

If the Celtics had fostered any inkling of hope that they’d quickly dispatch of LeBron James and his mostly ragtag support crew, they were clearly wrong. Following their seven-game series with the Hawks, after tomorrow afternoon’s series-deciding contest they’ll have played 14 games in the past 28 days—mental and physical exhaustion has to be setting in. If they take this series, there’ll be no mercy on their tired bodies as the Eastern Conference Finals against the well-rested Detroit Pistons kicks off at 8:30pm Tuesday night. No matter how experienced this team is, immediately going from a second consecutive draining seven-game series into the fire against a hungry team bent on cementing their legacy like Detroit is no easy task.

LeBron James and Boston Celtics Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers make their third and final trip to Boston brimming with confidence that they can steal one and set up a rematch of last year’s ECF with Detroit. You don’t need me to tell you that 90% of that positivity is gained from knowing they have LeBron, who despite shooting a lowly 31% FG has been the best player on the court for either team during this series. Yes, Kevin Garnett is playing extremely well too, but he has a much more talented group of teammates to take the pressure off… or at least he used to. Paging Ray Allen, paging Paul Pierce: where are you?!

Here’s just five things after the jump to keep an eye on during Sunday’s decisive Game 7:

The Big Three vs. The Big One

My main assertion in the aforementioned playoff preview was that while the superstars would obviously need help from their teammates to advance, ultimately this series would be decided by which one of the Big Four stepped up and took it upon himself/themselves to win it. I still feel that way, especially heading into Game 7. We’ve seen it a hundred times: in the days leading up to The Big Game, both teams trade fingerpoints that the pressure is on their opponent, not on them, and that they’ll be loose come tip-off. Then, once the ball is jumped up, both teams struggle to make open shots, both teams look nervous and tight (at least for a little while), and both teams find that their role players are often more comfortable deferring the ball than shooting it.

I expect all of that and then some tomorrow, especially considering how solid both squads are on defense. The Celtics, especially, have locked the Cavaliers’ offense down at home in giving up just under 80 points/per.

That means that for Boston it’s on Garnett, Pierce, and Allen to take control of the game—even just in spurts—and make the kind of impact that puts their teammates of lesser talent more at ease. We’ve seen Garnett play solidly on both ends of the floor against Cleveland. We’ve seen Pierce struggle mightily a few times and play just okay for the rest of the series. Allen… he’s been absolutely terrible. For Cleveland, LeBron cannot afford to be a non-factor for any extended period of time, which has happened from time to time throughout the series. Usually when James gets going early, it’s lights out for his opponent; however, we saw James put up 20+ in the first half of Game 5 only to fade until midway through the fourth quarter. That’s the exception to the rule, though—if James starts fast again tomorrow, I look for him to maintain it until the end.

Body Language

For a team so centered around veterans who’ve participated in their fair share of postseason wars, the Boston Celtics sure do get way up when things are going well and way down when they aren’t. It’s especially… pathetic when they’re down, transforming from a rah-rah bunch of players who know they can get it done into a skulking, pouting crew from the coaches on down to the scrubs. Picture Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace at his mopiest (I know you know what I’m talking about), then apply that mindset to the entire Celtics team—that’s what they’re like. It’ll be important for them to maintain their confidence and composure on Sunday, especially if the Cavaliers jump out to an early lead like I think they will. The Celtics will need the tense crowd behind them and making noise, and fans can tell when their team’s body language is down. If they see their team acting sullen, they may follow suit and make it easier on the visitors.

Doc Rivers

Boston’s head coach did a fantastic job during the regular season in managing such a high roster turnover in the offseason, incorporating two future Hall of Famers into the starting lineup, and coaxing his team into becoming one of the NBA’s very best on defense. That success hasn’t necessarily translated over to the playoffs yet.

We’re going to find out a lot about Rivers tomorrow, specificially in how he chooses to manage his starter’s minutes as well as how he handles his bench rotation. I think Rivers has failed his team a few times this series with the latter. It took him four games to figure out that Sam Cassell just isn’t healthy enough (or perhaps young enough?) to play big minutes right now, especially during crunchtime, and to stick with what’s worked all season long—Rajon Rondo at the point. In Game 6, Leon Powe didn’t just see limited minutes, he was inactive and wearing a suit on the bench. Now, he hasn’t exactly been great this series, but neither has Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who logged 17:19 mostly ineffective minutes in Game 6 (the most of the postseason), got himself into very early foul trouble, and finished with just 4 points (2-8 FG) and 4 rebounds.

Davis, who we’re pretty certain will eat his way out of the league by the time he’s 28, looked winded, confused, and downright lost at times out there; will he get another chance on Sunday?

Rajon Rondo Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Cleveland’s Point Guards

We’re not especially big fans of second-year man Daniel Gibson here at ETB, but his absence due to a separated shoulder really hurt the Cavaliers in Game 6. With Gibson out, starting PG Delonte West was forced to play a season-high 45 minutes because of the severe lack of depth behind him. (In just 3 minutes, backup Damon Jones didn’t score and trotted off the court with a -6 plus/minus.)

Head coach Mike Brown almost certainly won’t use Jones unless absolutely necessary on Sunday, which means it’s imperative for West to not only stay out of early foul trouble but to also play well. LeBron can shoulder most of the scoring and distribution load, but he’s going to need support from West. For the record, the ex-Celtic West has struggled in the first three games at Boston this series, averaging 27% FG, 9.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 turnovers/per, though he did play well there during the regular season. On a side note, it’s been fun watching him and his former teammate Rajon Rondo go at it.

The Officiating

It’s hard to tell whether the Celtics’ postgame rants about the officials were more about feeling sincerely screwed over or to simply help draw increased attention to the Cavaliers’ various transgressions in hopes of getting more calls go their way on Sunday. I’d say it’s a little bit of both. Either way, the Celtics must do a better job of staying out of foul trouble—especially with regard to their bigs—and to not let calls they perceive as bad or wrong get in their head. Too often this series we’ve seen Boston’s coaches and players play the victim card both on and off the court, and whether they’re correct or not it’s not worth worrying about on Sunday.

Here’s how Boston can get a few more whistles go their way: be much more aggressive. Take it to the hole and don’t settle for jumpers. Hustle from start to finish. Everybody knows that officials tend to give the benefit of the doubt to those teams that are active both on offense and defense; if the Celtics can be that team on Sunday, they should attempt a lot more than the 13 free-throw attempts they had in Game 6… especially since they’ll be on their own floor.

Related: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo