Ipinamigay ng Cavs si Kyrie Irving sa Boston sa isang ‘blockbuster offseason deal kay Isaiah Thomas at Jae Crowder. Subalit, sa paglarga ng season, limang orihinal na players sa matikas na 4-1 panalo sa Boston sa nakalipas na season ang nalabi sa kampo ng Cavs.
“You dream about being able to play in big games in the NBA and even when I got to the NBA that was one of my only goals to be as great as I can be, to play in big games in the NBA and be remembered and I think I’ve done that in my career,” pahayag ni LeBron James. “Just trying to add onto it while I can.”
Magsisimula ang serye sa Linggo (Lunes sa Manila) sa Boston. Tangan ng Celtics ang 4-3 bentahe sa walong playoff match-up.
Hindi lalaro si Irving’ bunsod ng injury ,ngunit nakatagpo ng matibay na kapalit si Celtics coach Brad Stevens sa katauhan ng 24-anyos na si Terry Roziers, kasama ang karanasan ng beteranong sina Al Horford at Marcus Smart at tapang ng rookie na si Jayson Tatum.
“Boston is better than Indiana,” pahayag ni Cavs forward Kyle Korver. “With as much respect as we have for Indiana, obviously, they took us to seven, I think defensively Boston is elite. They’re really good. They’re always in the right spot. They have a great game plan.
“For sure the Indiana series has prepared us for the playoffs in a lot of ways. Now that we’re through that series, we’re glad.”
