Less than 24-hours after beating LeBron James and the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics come to Cleveland to face LeBron's old team. That, more than anything said or done to date, will help the Cavaliers and their fans turn the page on the LeBron James-era in Cleveland basketball.
It was interesting to me, at least, watching last night's game, that the Heat looked similar to the Cavaliers in terms of lack of offensive creativity. For large parts of the game, the Heat simply gave the ball to James and watched. It was the same type of play that people criticized the Cavaliers for - though Cleveland was always bashed for anything inadequate talent around James, so all they could do is watch.
The Heat, however, don't have that problem yet there it was - LeBron with the ball at the top of the three-point arc while his 4 teammates stood around waiting for James to make a move. Boston ate up the Cavaliers for this, and last night they chewed up the Heat.
How the Celtics handle the run-and-gun approach the Cavaliers hope to employ this season should be fun to watch. Byron Scott wants to get up and down the court, something the Celtics have had trouble in the past dealing with. Of course, the Cavaliers never did it long enough - especially during the playoffs - to take advantage, chossing instead to play a slow-down, halfcourt system that played right into Boston's hands.
As it is, the Celtics come to Cleveland on a back-to-back, the day after an emotional win. Teams rarely play well in these situations, especially early in the game, so Cleveland needs to be ready to take advantage.
Mo Williams is questionable right now for tonight, with Scott wanting to see Williams go through an entire workout after missing most of Camp with an injury and a death in the family.
We'll have the open thread up and running for ya about 30 minnutes before game time! See you then!