Wow. Out of all the scenarios that I envisioned for this Celtics-Cavaliers series, the Celtics having a 3-2 advantage coming home with Lebron James' manhood being called into question was not one of them.
I've heard everything from Lebron's quitting on his team in a scheme to be NY-bound to he was taking painkillers for his elbow and was high for Game 5. Seriously. Someone said that.
It's human nature to inquire what was wrong with Lebron on Tuesday night but I'm not going too deep here — he had a bad game and was pissed his teammates couldn't hit shots to make it seem like he was being a distributor that evening.
People who say "Jordan, Magic or Bird wouldn’t have done this" don’t know what they’re talking about. J.A. Adande put it perfectly in his column. We don’t remember Magic’s 1984 Finals disappearing act because of his five rings or Jordan's poor shooting in game 3 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals for a reason. They came back and redeemed themselves. My point here is that Game 5 will not define Lebron.
Lebron's Game 5 will not impact his Game 6. He will come out with everything he has and do everything that he can to make us forget the first 5 games of this series.
The only problem for the Cavs is that this guarantees absolutely nothing for them.
Even his best efforts will be in vain if his teammates respond. Lebron hasn't shown us the ability to close out a tough series on his own yet (if you recall, Daniel Gibson ended the Pistons’ season in 2007, not Lebron).
Can he score 55 points against this Celtics defense and demoralize this team? It's certainly possible but how much would it mean if he’s shooting 45 times? His teammates haven’t shown the ability to hit open shots, either, and I don't think they'll start tonight.
This is where we give the Celtics some due credit: Not only have their starters outplayed the Cleveland top five (Pierce-Lebron aside), but we can all see how badly the Boston bench is abusing the Cavs.
I think this will continue tonight:
Kevin Garnett has done his best Curt Schilling impression and turned in a great performance this series without much left in the tank. Why would he stop being able to shoot over Antawn Jamison every time? (side note: This has to be the most disappointing result to a midseason acquisition since…the Mavs grabbed Caron Butler for a bag of balls!)
Rajon Rondo will either A. run circles around whomever the Cavs put on him, whether it be Mo Williams or Anthony Parker or B. help create a mismatch on Pierce if they stupidly decide to throw Lebron on him.
Ray Allen has been the real star of this series and neither Delonte West nor Parker are going to interrupt his shooting.
Kendrick Perkins and Shaq will even out tonight. I'm telling you. Perk will be ready.
It took me until now to mention the captain, Paul Pierce. He hasn't come close to being the player we know he can be. Look for the crowd to get him going early. The jump shots will be falling tonight, finally.
To conclude, this game will be more about what the Celtics are than what Lebron is or isn't. Our three Hall of Famers and the best point guard in the league will take care of business tonight: 101-92.
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