LeBron James and many others call them the two greatest words in sports: "Game Seven."
After watching the first six games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Cavalier fans would love to tack on a two-word amendment: "Game Seven at Home." Home court has been an enormous factor in this series. Boston has won their three home games by margins of 25, 13, and 13. Cleveland has won their three home games by 30, 9, and 10. Obviously, the home cookin’ has been better than at grandma’s house on Thanksgiving Day.
The Celtics are young and inexperienced -- take away veteran Al Horford, and the rest of their starters combined for a total of five playoff starts prior to this postseason. But they have been truly battle-tested in this year’s playoffs. They are 5-1 in games decided by six points or less, and aced their first high-stakes Game Seven test by eliminating Milwaukee, 112-96, at home in the opening round. And most formidably, they are a perfect 10-0 on their home court.
The Cavalier postseason has been a true roller coaster performance of good and disappointing play. When their backs have been against the wall, though, they have shown the ability to rise to the occasion. LeBron James hit two unbelievable game-ending buzzer beaters after his team blew late-game leads. In the opening round, the Cavs rebounded from an embarrassing 34-point loss in Game Six to pull out a 105-101 series decider over the Pacers. And in the series opener at top-seeded Toronto, Cleveland overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, as well as a rare off night for LeBron (12 of 30 shooting and 1 for 6 in free throws) to pull out an overtime road win.
Heading into tonight’s deciding battle, each team holds a huge trump card. The Cavaliers have the greatest player in the world playing arguably the best basketball of his life. In 17 playoff games, he is averaging 33.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. He has seven games of 42 points or more, and has continually made jaw-dropping baskets from just about every distance and angle. His latest magic tricks were two step-back 3-pointers to close out Game Six.
The Celtics can hang their hats on their home court playoff performance, especially against the Wine and Gold. They dominated Game One, jumping out to a 21-point lead in the first quarter and never looking back. In Game Two, they overcame a 21-point first quarter outburst by James and a seven-point halftime deficit. In Game Five, they led by double digits for almost the entire second half in spite of shooting just 36.5 percent from the field for the game. The three games at Boston really haven’t even been very close. In the fourth quarters, Cleveland never got within single digits in Games One and Five, and only got as close as 6 in Game Two.
Can Cleveland buck this disturbing trend and send LeBron to his ninth straight NBA Finals? Here are a few keys:
GET SOME BACK COURT CONTRIBUTIONS In the three road games this series, J.R. Smith has scored a total of six points, shooting an abysmal 3 for 22 (14 percent). George Hill isn’t much better, totaling 15 points on 4 of 13 shooting (31 percent). Cleveland’s two starting guards must contribute much more to give their team a chance. Hill’s gutsy 20 points in Game Six provides some hope.
KEEP AN EYE ON J.R. Smith has brought little offensively for the entire series, averaging just 5.2 points on 24-percent shooting. He has done a solid job at times of keeping rookie Jayson Tatum in check. But Cleveland’s Beantown struggles have often been due to a stagnant offense. Coach Tyronn Lue needs to read J.R.’s performance and be flexible in his rotations.
THE THOMPSON-NANCE COMBO NEEDS TO KEEP BRINGING IT These scrappy, physical leapers have paired up to hold their own against Boston’s big front line. Tristan Thompson has re-established himself as a playoff prime time player, and Larry Nance Jr. has shown he can be a bench contributor in the big spotlight. They need to continue their solid play.
WE NEED THE GREEN MACHINE Jeff Green is a long, veteran athlete who can create his own shots, hit threes, and make plays at both ends of the floor. He can also disappear during a game. He scored 14 points and blocked two shots in 26 minutes Friday night. With Kevin Love out for Game Seven due to the concussion protocol, Green needs to step up again -- in front of a hostile crowd.
ANOTHER LEBRON SPECTACLE. History has shown that you can bank on LBJ bringing his A-game under these bright lights. The big question is whether the King’s court will have his back.