NBA Playoffs Preview: Boston vs. Cleveland

2008 SEMIFINALS EASTERN CONFERENCE

KEYS TO THE SERIES : DEFENSE

This series will come down to defense. During the regular season, Boston held opponents to an NBA-low 41.9 field goal percentage and just 90.3 points per game, trailing only Detroit, and boasted a league-best 10.3 points differential. Boston's Kevin Garnett was named the NBA's defensive player of the year and is his team's unquestioned leader on the court, particularly on the defensive end where he averaged 1.2 blocks, 1.4 steals and 7.3 defensive rebounds. Cleveland is a solid defensive team in its own right, having allowed just 96.7 points per game while holding its opponents to a field goal percentage of 45.5. Each team was tested in the first round, with Boston defeating Atlanta in seven games and Cleveland disposing of Washington in six. In this series, Boston will be charged with containing LeBron James' penetration and passing, while Cleveland must find a way to stop the Boston triumvirate of Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. In the end, James' supporting cast will not provide enough assistance to advance Cleveland beyond the NBA's best defensive team.

ATHLON SPORTS PICKS : BOSTON IN SIX

No. 5 Kevin Garnett PF
Points – 21.0
Assists – 3.9
Rebounds – 8.9
Minutes – 36.8

(2008 NBA Playoffs)

No. 23 LeBron James SF
Points – 29.8
Assists – 7.7
Rebounds – 9.5
Minutes – 41.5

(2008 NBA Playoffs)

No. 34 Paul Pierce SF
The acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen reshaped this team from perennial losers to favorites to land the city of Boston its first NBA title since the 1985-86 season. But the captain and original member of "The Big Three" has had a spectacular season of his own. Pierce led the NBA's best regular season squad with 19.6 points to go along with 5.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals during the regular season. He was often called upon to take big shots at the end of games and should expect the same against Cleveland. Pierce will draw the near-impossible assignment of guarding the NBA's leading scorer, LeBron James, and he'll need to limit his catches and try to avoid giving up easy buckets. He will also need to remain aggressive on the offensive end and force James to work defensively. Pierce's numbers were down against Cleveland during the regular season, where he averaged just 13.5 points and shot 37.7 percent in four games, so he'll need to raise his level of play.

No. 23 LeBron James SF
James is coming into his own as a leader at the ripe old age of 23. His performance in last season's Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit was legendary, and after disposing of Washington, King James is ready to kick it into another gear. Boston plays exceptional defense and its primary focus will be limiting James, if that is even possible. Double teams will come from all directions, but James has faith in his teammates to make plays and hit open shots even if most of the naysayers do not. James' numbers this season were exceptional - 30 points to lead the league, 7.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists - and they carried over to the postseason where he averaged 29.8 points, 7.7 assists and 9.5 rebounds against Washington. James' jump shot has improved and his passing is exceptional, but he really strikes fear into opposing defenses in the open court or when he slashes to the basket in the halfcourt game. His intensity and focus are at all-time highs and will be needed against Boston.

No. 20 Ray Allen SG
Against Cleveland, Boston needs Ray Allen to raise his game to another level. He shot 42 percent from the field in their first-round series, including 40 percent from beyond the arc for an average of 16.1 points per game. He also chipped in 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, but if the third member of "The Big Three" can take advantage of a favorable match-up with Wally Sczcerbiak and consistently knock down shots from the outside it will give Boston a big lift and open up lanes of penetration for his teammates. Allen is one of the best pure shooters in the game and can be deadly when he is on target. Allen's numbers were down significantly from a season ago - 17.4 points, 3.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds compared to 26.4 points, 4.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds last season in Seattle. The drop-off in production obviously hasn't hurt the Celtics as a team, but when he's got it going Allen undoubtedly takes the Celtics' offense to another level.

No. 9 Ben Wallace C
Ben Wallace, the four-time defensive player of the year while with Detroit, was acquired in an 11-player deal in February along with Joe Smith from Chicago and Wally Sczcerbiak and Delonte West from Seattle. Wallace does not provide much offensively, but that's never been his game. His task will be holding Kevin Garnett in check defensively and manning the glass for a Cleveland team that secured more rebounds than any team in the East. Wallace contributed just 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in the Wizards series, numbers that were in line with the 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks he averaged in 22 regular season games with the Cavs. For Cleveland to advance, it will need a rejuvenation from the 33-year-old Wallace. The 12.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks he averaged during the regular season of Detroit's '04 championship run might be a thing of the past, but if he could string a solid game or two together it would be a pleasant surprise.

This series is bound to be electric with LeBron James, one of the game's true stars, leading the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers against Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett's Boston Celtics, the team that finished with the best regular-season record in the NBA. Game 1 will be Boston's 90th game of the season. Will exhaustion set in following an opening-round series with the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks that took Boston to the brink of elimination? One thing's for sure. There is no time for reflection, because Cleveland is playing lights-out after knocking out its nemesis, the Washington Wizards, in six games. The Cavs have to be feeling some sense of relief after a physical series with Washington that saw their leader questioned and his teammates rally around him, but they have no time to rest on their laurels.

The Cavs will need Daniel Gibson, Wally Sczcerbiak and Delonte West to hit shots from the outside consistently in this series and get production from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Joe Smith in the paint and on the boards. Anderson Varejao and the return of Sasha Pavlovic from injury should also give Cleveland a spark. Meanwhile, Boston's Big Three will need Rajon Rondo to play within himself, secure the ball and provide lockdown defense on Gibson, West and Damon Jones. Kendrick Perkins will be counted on to limit Ilgauskas, while Leon Powe and James Posey are capable contributors off the bench. What Boston has in its favor is the best defense in the league. Expect the C's to play suffocating defense, rebound well and keep James and the Cavaliers from advancing.

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2008 Preseason Top 25 Countdown Begins May 1st.

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