WALTHAM, Mass. — You’d never accuse these Boston Celtics of not respecting their opponent.
As Game 1 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers creeps closer, head coach Brad Stevens lauded the Cavs’ loaded lineup, with the highest praise reserved for their star, LeBron James.
“LeBron, (Kevin) Love, (Kyrie) Irving — those guys are all capable of going for huge games,” Stevens said before Friday’s practice session, “and J.R. Smith is, too. So, there’s all kinds of issues with this. But clearly, LeBron is — I don’t think anyone would argue — the best player in the game. You could argue who the MVP of the season is, I guess, but I always go back to, ‘Who’s the best player in the game?’ He’s the best one.”
The Celtics witnessed James’ greatness firsthand this season. In his two full games against Boston since returning to Cleveland, the four-time NBA MVP averaged 34.0 points and shot 56.0 percent from the floor. The Cavs, who enter the postseason as the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, won both.
“We could know LeBron is catching it on the wing. Stopping him is a whole different story,” Stevens said. “I think (the key is), ‘How do we make it as difficult as possible?’ Because they’re a great team with a lot of options.
“I don’t think I can understate: We might know LeBron’s going to get the ball someplace, but doing something about it is totally different.”
Stevens quickly has built a reputation as one of the NBA’s best in-game coaches, and he’ll likely spend the bulk of his time leading up to Sunday’s series opener game-planning a way to keep James in check. Even the most brilliant of defensive schemes would be useless without players who can execute it, however, which is where guard Evan Turner comes in.
While not as renowned for defense as backcourt mates Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, the 6-foot-7 Turner will be the one matching up against James when both starting units are on the floor.
Turner’s motto entering the series? No easy shots.
“Try to make it uncomfortable for him,” he said. “Make him work, obviously, on the other end and contest his shot. At the same time, I know he’s going to get calls, and I know he’s going to make a lot of great plays due to the fact that he’s LeBron and he’s part of the offense 95 percent of the time. I’ve just got to make it uncomfortable for him.
“We’ve got to limit — or try to limit — his touches. If he gets 25 points, hopefully he shot it 25 times.”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
