Celtics at Cavaliers
The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers made the playoffs, LeBron James had his first run with the team come to a bitter end at the hands of the Boston Celtics. Back for his second go-around with the team, James will try to get some revenge when the second-seeded Cavaliers host the seventh-seeded Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Sunday.
James has endured some epic battles with Boston in the postseason as a member of both the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, but this Celtics team bears little resemblance to the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett-led playoff teams of the past. Boston won its final six regular-season games to surge into the No. 7 spot in the East, including a pair of victories over a less than full strength Cleveland squad in the last week, by leaning hard on the reserves and switching up the rotation based on matchups. "I think we’re going to continue to play our team," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "We’ll see. If you feel like, after a couple games, that we need to shorten our rotation, so be it. We’ll continue to go with who is playing well.” The Cavaliers don’t go as deep but enjoy one of the best starting units in the NBA, led by James and Kyrie Irving.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE CELTICS (40-42): Boston is ahead of schedule with its effort to contend but is happy to make the postseason and plans on giving Cleveland all it can, even if the odds are not in the Celtics’ favor. “You're playing against the best," forward Jared Sullinger told ESPN Boston. “So you just gotta prepare and hold yourself as one of the best, then come out with confidence and just play hard.” Sullinger’s role in Stevens’ long rotation has yet to be determined after the big man averaged 5.8 points in six games while returning from a foot fracture.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (53-29): James, Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith all sat out a 117-78 loss at Boston last Sunday after taking to the bench for the fourth quarter of a 99-90 home loss to the Celtics two days before. James is leading a different group into the postseason this year and is the most experienced of the bunch, with fellow stars Love and Irving each making their first trip to the playoffs. "My leadership doesn't change no matter the magnitude of the game," James told reporters. "I'm going to lead my guys and get them as prepared as they need to be on Sunday and they'll follow my lead and I'll put them in the best possible chance to win."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers bench has several players with postseason experience, including C Kendrick Perkins, who won a title with the Celtics in 2008.
2. James averages 28 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 158 career postseason games.
3. Boston G Isaiah Thomas averaged 19.3 points and 5.6 assists in April.