On Wednesday night the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics 117-104. The Cavaliers controlled the game from start to finish. After having ten days off the Cavs certainly looked well-rested in game 1. The Boston Celtics came out with the home crowd but lacked the energy to keep up with Cleveland's early fast-paced offense.
Lebron James performance
LeBron James came out in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a purpose. That purpose was to make a statement on the Celtics home floor to show them how much that didn't matter to him and his team.
Lebron continued his playoff brilliance by dominating the Celtics defense with his all-around play. As usual, Lebron kept his Cavaliers teammates involved and finished the game with 39 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Kevin Love
A few seasons ago in Kevin Love's first season with the Cavs, he was injured by Boston's Kelly Olynyk during the first round of the playoffs. That injury left Kevin Love with a dislocated shoulder that forced him to miss the remainder of the playoffs that season. The injury turned out to be huge as the Cavs lost another superstar in Kyrie Irving in the NBA finals.
In game 1 of the eastern conference finals, Kevin Love got his chance to get his revenge against the Celtics franchise.
Love drained six three-point shots and was able to tally up 30 points by the end of the night. His impressive outside shooting kept the Celtics from having any chance at a comeback win. Love shot the ball with a confidence he's going to need if the Cavs are gonna be repeat champions.
Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson played with extreme energy in game 1 of the eastern conference finals.
Thompson finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds to go along with it. Thompson who is most known for his presence on the defensive end became the Cavs third option last night on the scoring end. Kyrie Irving finished the game with just 11 points.
In the 2017 NBA playoffs, Tristan Thompson has become the emotional leader on the floor for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thompson's role on the Cavs is similar to the one Draymond Green plays for the Golden State Warriors. He brings verbal and physical intelligence that puts a healthy amount of fear in his opponents. If he continues playing at a high level, the Cavs will join the Warriors as the only teams to have four superstar players in their starting lineup.
Game 2
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals will take place on Friday night at 8:30 pm Eastern time on TNT.
