As the Washington wizards and Boston Celtics prepare for a Game 7 Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to wait for their next playoff opponent patiently. They’ve been off since May 8 after sweeping the Toronto Raptors, most likely studying film to prepare for the Celtics or Wizards.
The Cavaliers shouldn’t have any problem knocking off any of the two. The only question that remains is that which one will match up better against Cleveland to give them more problems?
Boston Celtics season series versus Cleveland
The Boston Celtics didn’t do too well against the Cavaliers during the regular season, losing the season series 1-3.
The only game that they won was at home by four when Kevin Love didn’t even play for Cleveland. In the losses, the Celtics were close in two of the games but were demolished in the final meeting. In each of their losses, Boston was brutally out-rebounded by the Cavs.
Obviously, rebounding has been a clear issue for Boston and will continue to be for as long as they are in the playoffs, but the other downside is that they don’t have size and rim protection in the paint. Al Horford is an undersized center, who isn’t an elite shot blocker. He will have a tough time stopping constant drives by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Amir Johnson is lengthy, but his rim protection is sub-par, and he doesn’t possess enough strength down low to stop rim attacks by Cleveland.
Offensively, the Celtics rely heavily on Isaiah Thomas, which could be troubling against the Cavaliers. Cleveland will just put extra focus on the little guy to pressure him into turnovers. If Thomas is contained, the rest of the Celtics don’t have the ability to take over offensively.
The matchup against the Washington Wizards
The Cavaliers won the season series against the Wizards as well, 2-1. However, one of their wins included the epic overtime game that kept swinging back and forth. Cleveland’s Big 3 and Tristan Thompson were huge in that game, while Bradley Beal put up 41 points of his own. The one game that the Wizards won in the season series was in Cleveland, where they scored 127 points behind John Wall’s 37 points and 11 assists.
The backcourt of Washington has given the Cavaliers some trouble, which gives the Wizards a little hope. Additionally, unlike the Celtics, the Wizards have some size in the paint with Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi, who are both solid rebounders as well. They have a better chance of protecting the rim from James and Irving.
Offensively, the Wizards have their backcourt tandem and use plenty of high screens and rolls with Gortat to find quality shots inside. Washington’s offense isn’t like Boston’s where they rely on just one player to carry the load. Wall is a pass-first point guard and will look to dominate the game with his playmaking ability as well.
Ultimately, James should be able to completely outplay Otto Porter Jr. and lead his team to victory, but the Wizards will probably match up better with the Cavs than the Celtics because they have size and toughness down low.
