Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Brad Stevens has coached in two NCAA national championship games, but he understands that this is different terrain. At least he can laugh on the eve of an utterly new challenge — a prolonged series against a lineup that features LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
“As a coach you look forward to it, but you would prefer your (opponent) wasn’t the best team ever assembled, or whatever they are,” he said.
This is where veterans such as Evan Turner come in. The Celtics swingman has made three career trips to the postseason, two in Philadelphia and last season with Indiana.
Marcus Smart in particular should listen to what Turner has to say about experiencing the playoffs as a rookie.
“Going from being an eyes-wide-open rookie to an eyes-wide-open rookie in the playoffs felt like it was my first game,” Turner said last night. “It was pretty crazy to a certain extent. The intensity definitely picked up.
“It’s off the charts, man,” said Turner. “Even warming up, everybody’s there. It’s crazy, just something electric in the air.”
Brad Stevens gets his guys to play hard, but I think of him as more of a tactician than a master motivator. I’m not sure what his approach will be with Cleveland but it’s pretty obvious he can play the “no one believes in us” card. The Celtics just need to trust Brad and believe he’s going to put them in the right position to succeed.
And here are words I never thought I would say… “Listen to Evan Turner guys.” It’s about to get nuts.
But I’m overly concerned with playoff shock. The Cavaliers have 2 core players (Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love) and an assistant head coach (David Blatt) with zero playoff experience.
For the Celtics to have a chance in this series, they must limit the damage inflicted by guys like JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Mike Miller.
Lebron’s likely going to average a near triple double and there’s nothing we can do about that.
Here’s the schedule:
Game 1: Sunday April 19 at Cleveland, 3 p.m. (ABC)
Game 2: Tuesday April 21 at Cleveland, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game 3: Thursday April 23 at Boston, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game 4: Sunday April 26 at Boston, 1 p.m. (ABC)
* Game 5: Tuesday April 28 at Cleveland, TBA
* Game 6: Thursday April 30 at Boston, TBA
* Game 7: Saturday May 2 at Cleveland, TBA (TNT)
I think the Cavs win in 5. Simply too much talent on that team.
Related: ESPN – Celtics not a simple matchup for Cavs | Herald – Playoff experience for Smart will be helpful
On Page 2, the Celtics blew past the Vegas predictions for season wins.
Before the season, Las Vegas bookmakers set the over/under for Celtics wins at 26.5. Despite a plethora of roster chances and upheaval, the Celtics won their 27th game on March 11 and finished the season winning 11 of their past 12 games on the second of back-to-back sets.
“That was our goal, 40 wins,” forward Jared Sullinger said. “To y’all that might be overachieving but to us it’s another day at the ballpark. We thought 40 would get us in.”
I was terrified to go back and read my season preview, but turns out I was aligned with Vegas. I had the C’s with 27 wins and 12th in the East.
Even the eternal optimist John (33 wins) fell short of the 40 win mark.
I’ve had worse predictions. Like thinking Brad Stevens was going to be a bust. Or my idea to trade Rajon Rondo for Devin Harris in 2010.
The rest of the links:
Herald – Celtics beat Bucks, finish 40-42 | CSNNE – Celtics beat Bucks in finale
