NBA Playoffs Rd 2: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics

[King Taharqa]

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers (61-21)

STARTING 5

PG #2 Mo Williams

6'1 195 lbs

Alabama '03

15.8 PPG 5.3 APG 42.9 3PT%

SG #18 Anthony Parker

6'6 215 lbs

Bradley '97

7.3 PPG 1.9 APG 41.5 3PT%

SF #23 LeBron "King" James

6'8 260 lbs

St. Vincent-St. Mary HS '03 (Akron, OH)

29.7 PPG 8.6 APG 7.3 RPG 50.3 FG% 33.3 3PT% 1.0 BPG

PF #4 Antawn Jamison

6'9 235 lbs

North Carolina '98

16.2 PPG 8.0 RPG 48.6 FG% 34.6 3PT%

C #33 Shaquille O'Neal

7'1 325 lbs

LSU '92

7.1 PPG 6.7 RPG 56.6 FG% 1.5 APG

BENCH

PG-Daniel "Boobie" Gibson

SG-Delonte "Spank" West

SF Jamario Moon

SF-Jawad Williams

PF-JJ Hickson

PF-Leon Powe

PF/C-"Andy" Varejao

C-Zydrunas Ilgauskas

HEAD COACH

Mike Brown

[King Taharqa]

(4) Boston Celtics (50-32)

STARTING 5

PG #9 Rajon Rondo

6'1 171 lbs

Kentucky '06

13.7 PPG 9.8 APG 4.4 RPG 2.4 SPG

SG #20 Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen

6'5 205 lbs

UCONN '96

16.2 PPG 3.2 RPG 2.7 APG 91.5 FT% 36.0 3PT%

SF #34 Paul "The Truth" Pierce

6'7 235 lbs

Kansas '98

18.1 PPG 4.4 RPG 3.1 APG 41.6 3PT% 85.1 FT%

PF #5 Kevin "The Big Ticket" Garnett

6'11 253 lbs

Faragut Academy '95 (Chicago, IL)

14.4 PPG 7.3 RPG 52.2 FG% 83.8 FT%

C #43 Kendrick Perkins

6'10 280 lbs

Clifton J. Ozen HS '03 (Beaumont, TX)

10.2 PPG 7.6 RPG 60.3 FG%

BENCH

PG-Nate Robinson

SG-Michael Finley

SF-Marquis Daniels

PF-Glen Davis

C-Rasheed Wallace

HEAD COACH

Glenn "Doc" Rivers

-----------------------------------------

The King & the Cavs will take down the Celtics in 7 hard fought games.

[Jackson 5]

I think it goes 5 unless The King's Shoulder is worse than they think, in that case I'll take Cavs in 7, either way an intriguing series!

[Jackson 5]

Why won't it let me vote in the poll?:confused:

[carpanfan96]

Cavs in 6, but if the kings shoulder is worse then advertised and gets worse I could see the celtics pushing it to 7 and maybe winning it.

[Hawk]

awwww....bron bron has an owie on his elbow? At least they'll have a good excuse if they lose. He must be the first player to ever play through injury, it's all I hear about already!

that said...Shaq daddy will beat the Celtics in 6

[tarheelblue89]

If LBJ's arm is fine: Cavs in 5

If it is bothersome: Cavs in 7

[Jackson 5]

Why won't it let me vote in the poll?:confused:

BUMP, Anybody? Do you have to have a certain amount of posts or some deal?:ihih:

[Jackson 5]

BUMP, Anybody? Do you have to have a certain amount of posts or some deal?:ihih:

It's fixed now. This party get's started tonight!:party:

[King Taharqa]

It's fixed now. This party get's started tonight!:rockon:

You must need 100 posts to vote. Welcome to the Party J5. IMO, this is the best round 2 series of em all. These two teams hate each other, and have had a rivalry for a few years now. I think if the Cavs can survive this series it will only make them that much stronger for teams they will face later down the road. This is a BIG test for not only KING, but Shaq, Jamison, Andy, Hickson, & Mo Williams.

[Wither]

awwww....bron bron has an owie on his elbow? At least they'll have a good excuse if they lose. He must be the first player to ever play through injury, it's all I hear about already!

that said...Shaq daddy will beat the Celtics in 6

Why does it seem like everyone hates Lebron? What exactly has he done except play the game?

...Seahawks fan on a Panthers board though, so...

[King Taharqa]

Why does it seem like everyone hates Lebron? What exactly has he done except play the game?

Reasons why people hate The King...

1-He's exceeded the hype. Very few athletes live up to the hype, let alone go beyond it. LeBron is that once in a generation basketball player who has. In American culture we build athletes & entertainers up as gods only so we can turn around and tear them down as mere mortals like ourselves. Some people are rubbed the wrong way by his greatness and his belief in himself and abilities. The guy is so dominant and so talked about that its natural for there to be a backlash. Its why I dont expect him to win 5 straight MVP awards even though he will probably be well deserving. The guy hasnt even hit his prime yet.

2-Kobe/Laker fans resent him being considered better. Kobe's always been a polarizing figure. And even though he's the most popular player in the game worldwide, he wasnt considered the game's best player until his 12th year in the league. He didnt lead his team to an NBA championship until his 13th (his first and only Finals MVP). LeBron is only in his 7th season. They see LeBron being called "King" and on pace to shatter all of his individual accomplishments at a much younger age than even "straight outta high school" Kobe and there's an insecurity. It was interesting seeing yahoo articles on the Cavs this year and in the comments section it would be 90% Lakers fans. LMAO. These I would say are the King's primary haters.

[God]

Lets go Celtics! LBJ is a douchebag.

[King Taharqa]

“We don’t like them, they don’t like us,” Cavaliers guard Mo Williams said. “It’s obvious.”

It’s on. Again.

For the second time in three years, the Cavaliers and Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals, renewing a sweltering rivalry that has grown with intensity and will be ratcheted up to a new extreme when the clubs open the best-of-seven series on Saturday beneath a fire-spewing scoreboard inside Quicken Loans Arena.

Forget the buzzer.

Maybe a ring-side bell would be better to signal the end of each quarter.

“It’s going to be a good heavyweight fight,” Boston’s Paul Pierce said.

The Celtics and Cavs, who played a knock-down-drag-out series won by Boston in seven games two years ago, have been pummeling each other for some time.

A few years back, Pierce spit in the direction of Cleveland’s bench during an exhibition game. Last October, the teams got into a minor fracas during a preseason game in Columbus, Ohio, when Mo Williams retaliated with an elbow after being flung to the floor by Celtics forward Shelden Williams, who just happens to be the brother-in-law of Cleveland forward Anthony Parker.

Even James’ mom, Gloria, once got into it with Pierce, screaming at him after he wrapped up her baby boy on a breakaway dunk during the 2008 playoffs.

Tempers flared during the team’s previous meeting on April 4. Down by 22 points in the third quarter, the Cavaliers stormed back before losing 117-113 in a game that featured six technical fouls, the ejection of Cavs coach Mike Brown and some animated, R-rated trash talk between James and Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Tony Allen.

“They do a lot of talking,” James said. “At some point in time they back it up, too. We’re looking forward to it. We’re not much of a talking group, but we’re not going to back down from anybody. It’s going to be a really fun, really physical series.”

James, who will accept his second straight MVP trophy on Sunday in Akron between Games 1 and 2, is entering the series with an injured right elbow that he says has been bothering him on and off for weeks. An MRI exam revealed a sprain and bone bruise, and James will wear a padded, protective sleeve to help absorb any contact.

On Friday, he didn’t seem bothered by the elbow while shooting mid-range jumpers during the portion of Cleveland’s practice that was open to the media. The mystery surrounding James’ injury provided a sexy subplot leading into the series, but Boston players are wary.

“I figure this,” Pierce said, “LeBron with a bad elbow is still better than 95 percent of the league. So it doesn’t matter.”

Two years removed from their 17th NBA title, the Celtics are coming in as healthy as they’ve been in months and with renewed confidence after steamrolling through Miami in the first round.

Boston’s depth and defense were too much for the Heat, whose only win in the series came when Dwyane Wade scored 46 in the playoff game of his career.

James and the Cavaliers present many more problems.

“LeBron’s a different beast,” Garnett said. “He’s obviously with a better cast than D-Wade. I think D-Wade is one of the best one-on-one players in our game. That’s true with LeBron but I think LeBron defers more to his teammates a little bit, with his supporting cast than D-Wade.”

James has never had more help.

Two years ago, he pushed the Celtics to a Game 7 without Williams or Shaquille O’Neal or Antawn Jamison, who has become Cleveland’s No. 2 option on offense.

And it didn’t take Jamison, acquired in a deadline trade from Washington, long to appreciate the extent of the Cavaliers-Celtics blood feud.

His fourth game with Cleveland was in Boston on Feb. 25, when O’Neal sustained a torn thumb ligament on a block by Celtics center Glen Davis. O’Neal later underwent surgery and the injury took on added life when TV replays appeared to show Davis grabbing and twisting Shaq’s thumb.

O’Neal doesn’t think Davis tried to intentionally hurt him and said he’s not drawing any extra motivation because the Celtics are next on Cleveland’s climb toward a first title.

“The only incentive I’m worried about is the final goal,” O’Neal said. “We know they’re a tough team. We know they’re chasing the same thing that we’re chasing. We just have to keep our heads, keep our composure and do what we’re supposed to do.”

Jamison said the experience of his first two Boston-Cleveland games prepared him for what’s to come. He knows that the Celtics, given up as too old to contend before the playoffs began, would like nothing more than to knock out the Cavaliers.

“They want to prove to everybody that they still have a lot left in the tank,” Jamison said. “No team is going to give an inch. We’re going to fight to the end and they are going to do the same. It’s going to be fun to be a part of. There’s going to be a lot of bumps and bruises, but this is what it’s all about.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AsSm7wXPQPsn39x1nDPlKmG8vLYF?slug=ap-celtics-cavaliers

King/Shaq/Jamison vs. Garnett/Pierce/Allen , and Mayweather vs. Mosley. Big night in sports tonight.