Enemy Chattter: Lebron is crying about injuries

I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose of 'enemy chatter' from Cleveland.

Despite injuries and a 22-point deficit, the Cleveland Cavaliers' rallied and put a scare into the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Cavs didn't manage to pull out the victory, but LeBron James didn't feel awful after this particular defeat.

James was quick to remind reporters that Cleveland was not at full strength. The Cavaliers will enter the playoffs with three capable big men in addition to a rested James to tackle a barely .500 first-round opponent, and then perhaps Boston or Atlanta.

“What we did [yesterday] was good for our team,’’ he said. “I don’t know what [the Celtics] are thinking down there, I don’t know what’s going on in their locker room, but for me, we’re not hanging our heads about this loss at all.’’

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Is the Queen serious? Complaining about injuries after playing the Celtics, a team decimated by injuries all season long?

One thing you can say about the Celtics - they never use injuries as an excuse after a loss. Never.

-It’s a bit of a cliche, but this was not a game the Cavs deserved to win. The defense wasn’t there at all in the first three quarters. The Celtics were moving the ball really well, Rondo and Allen were both really effective off the dribble. They were executing their sets and rewarding movement with the extra pass. They even did a great job pushing the ball and getting easy baskets in transition.

-I’ve said before that the Celtics seem to go as Rondo goes when they play the Cavs. On Sunday, Rondo was aggressive all game, and finished with 16 points and 14 assists as the Celtics hung 117 on the Cavs.

Cavs: The Blog

Rondo had 14 assists and 1 turnover in 42 minutes. He can get whatever he wants against Mo Williams. RR needs to be super-aggressive in the playoffs if the Celtics are going to make a run. And by super-aggressive, I mean waving off the Big 3 in clutch moments and taking the ball to the hoop.