Whether the game 3 win for the Celtics was by luck or not game 4 will be a completely different animal. There is no guarantee that the same players who performed well in game 3 will put up the same numbers tonight, and some of the things that happened on Sunday night shouldn’t be expected to be seen again in the playoffs.
Celtics Keys
The Celtics should expect another big game from Marcus Smart if they hope to steal another game on the road before they head back to Boston for game 5. However, another game with 7 three pointers is unlikely for the scrappy guard. What they should expect is for Smart to bring a lot of intensity into game 4, the same kind of intensity that Jonas Jerebko showed on Sunday night. Jerebko’s efforts in the last game will probably earn him a few extra minutes early tonight. Don’t be surprised to see Jerebko stay in the game longer than the other usual players off the Boston bench. Something about his play had the Cavs rattled on Sunday. He got in Kevin Love’s face following a Love flop; Love, who was on fire in the first half, then went cold. Jerebko shot 100% from the field scoring 10 points, which led Kyrie Irving to guard him on the last play of the game instead of covering Bradley who ended up winning the game for the Green. Jerebko and the rest of the C’s bench need to produce early to support the starters. The starters need to keep the game close in the early minutes, they can’t afford another slow start tonight.
Cavs Keys
The Cavs sloppy play at the end of last game should not lead anyone to think that they won’t be firing on all cylinders tonight. LeBron James, who was held to just 11 pts on 4 of 13 shooting, had a performance reminiscent game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals (ECF). In that game James scored only 7 points against the Pacers, who also won by three. However, in the next two games LeBron did what LeBron does, he scored 25 points in two consecutive games. James will bounce back tonight in game 4, but if the Cavs want to secure another win their bench needs to outscore Jerebko, a task they could not accomplish in game 3. The key for the Cavs tonight is for the bench to score, they almost pulled off a win with minimal production from their best player and only 9 bench points.
The Cavs are still favorites to win at home, but the Celtics certainly have a chance to even the score if they can continue to create problems for Cleveland and capitalize on more oppertunities.
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