Before last night, most NBA fans believed that the Cleveland Cavaliers will sweep the Boston Celtics and reach the finals with a 12-0 record. After blowing the Celtics out two times in Boston, the Cavaliers failed to protect their home court and they lost game three after Avery Bradley hit a game-winning three-pointer with one-tenth of the second left in the game.
LeBron James had a really bad game and finished with only 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting. While his performance was disappointing and one of the reasons why the Cavaliers lost the game, it is important to note that this was James' first bad game in a long time.
As a matter of fact, the four-time MVP had eight straight 30-point games before last night's game and he is the biggest reason why the Cavaliers swept first two playoff opponents. Celtics coach Brad Stevens understands how great James is, and he refused to criticize him because of that.
Brad Stevens calls James best player in the world
Before game three against the Celtics, LeBron James averaged 34.3 points per game on 56.9 percent shooting, which is simply mind-blowing. James also shot nearly 46 percent from the long range and he was equally good on both sides of the floor. Because of this, he doesn't deserve to be criticized as everyone can have one bad game, and coach Stevens feels that way too.
Celtics' Brad Stevens on LeBron James: "He's the best player in the world. I'm not going to criticize him one bit." pic.twitter.com/LvDDqGPEta
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 22, 2017
"He's the best player in the world. I'm not going to criticize him one bit," said Brad Stevens when talking about James' game three performance.
Stevens also praised LeBron for his unselfishness, saying how he made many great plays in the game. While he had a bad shooting game, the Cavaliers forward tried to keep his teammates involved and he finished the game with six assists. Unfortunately, he also turned the ball over six times
Can the Celtics tie the series?
Boston Celtics did not have Isaiah Thomas last night, who is their best player.
Thomas is out for the rest of the playoffs and it is doubtful that the Celtics can achieve much without him. However, Boston did not give up last night and they came back and won the game after trailing by 21 points. At the very end, it was Avery Bradley who buried the Cavaliers with a big three-pointer.
Next game of the series is on Tuesday night and it could completely turn the tie if the Celtics manage to get another victory. There is no doubt that LeBron James will be more focused and motivated, but the Celtics will not give up easily and we might see another great game from these two teams.
