LeBron James willed the Cleveland Cavaliers past the surprising Indiana Pacers, but now he and his crew must face the powerful Toronto Raptors.
How much does James have left in the tank? The Raptors, the Eastern Conference’s top seed, present a far greater challenge than the Pacers did.
LeBron averaged 41.8 points in the four Cavaliers victories. He scored 45 points in 43 minutes in Game 7 while fighting through fatigue and dehydration.
He will need to dig even deeper in this series.
“A lot of guys, they get in the playoffs, they’re not used to playing that many minutes, and then it being a high-intensity atmosphere, it’s kind of hard for those guys to perform,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters afterward. “So he does a great job of taking care of his body, a great job of conditioning himself for these types of situations.”
LeBron also got timely Game 7 help from Kevin Love and some surprisingly good minutes from center Tristan Thompson and point guard George Hill, who is battling serious back problems.
“We’re a team, it’s not one individual, we’re a team and all of us expect so much out of each other,” James told reporters. “No matter who’s out on the floor, we expect guys to make plays.”
Elsewhere in the NBA’s second playoff round, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will square off as they did in the ancient Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain days.
“You grew up watching Celtics-Sixers rivalries and saw incredible games when I was young,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “Even during my Boston University days, and to now be a part of that in the NBA playoffs in the semifinals and going back to Boston and the Boston Garden, absolutely, there is an element of nostalgia.”
In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors are off and running against the New Orleans Pelicans and the top-seeded Houston Rockets won their opener against the Utah Jazz.
PROCESS CONTINUES AS SIXERS FACE CELTICS
The 76ers built a sturdy young talent base the hard way, by tanking season after season after season to gain high draft picks. The payoff came with their first-round victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now they get a shot at the Celtics, who have battled through injuries this season to remain in title contention. Jaylen Brown was the latest casualty, missing the second half of Game 7 against the Bucks with a mild hamstring strain.
The Celtics are also missing stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward in addition to Daniel Theis.
The Celtics beat the 76ers three times in four games during the regular season, but Philadelphia rolls into this series with 20 victories in their last 21 games overall dating back to the regular season.
HERE COMES STEPH CURRY
Golden State stepped all over the Pelicans 123-101 in Game 1 of their series. Now it appears guard Steph Curry is ready to return to active duty after sitting out the previous playoff games with a sprained knee.
“The plan is to return Tuesday,” Curry told reporters, “but ultimately it’s up to the training staff. I feel good.”
Curry wanted to play in the first game against New Orleans, but coach Steve Kerr decided to hold him out to give him more preparation time.
“You’ve been out five weeks, and we’re playing in the playoffs,” Kerr told reporters Saturday. “I don’t think one scrimmage is enough, even though he feels great, he wants to play and pleaded his case.”
With Curry back, the Pelicans will be hard-pressed to avoid a sweep.
ROCKETS HARDEN THEIR PLAYOFF PERSONA
Meanwhile the Rockets, the Western Conference’s top seed, lived up to their billing while dispatching the Jazz 110-96 in Game 1 of their series.
James Harden poured in 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished seven assists. The Rockets caught the Jazz flat-footed and raced to a 25-point halftime lead.
The Jazz adapted at both ends of the court as the game went along, so perhaps they will be better prepared for Game 2.
“There’s no way to simulate playing against Houston,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. “You can talk about it, you can watch the video, you can refer to previous games, you can talk about their series against Minnesota, but until you get out there, it becomes more difficult to make the adjustments you need to make.”
