It’s
the first round of the playoffs. Cleveland vs. Boston.
Boston has been without Kevin Durant and Kyle
Lowry throughout the season. This has really hurt the Boston Celtics. The good
news is that Kyle Lowry will be back for the playoffs. The bad news is that
Durant is still out.
As another side note, Lowry has been
under-performing this year. There has been a recent NBA2K16 patch that changed
player tendencies. Maybe this is the change that Lowry needed to up his game.
Cleveland lost Robert Covington in the final
week of the regular season. This is a major blow because Robert Covington was a
major piece of the Cavaliers bench.
Injury Updates
Cleveland
- Robert Covington – Out (knee surgery)
- Luis Scola - Waived
- Malcolm Delaney – Returns
- Andrew Harrison – Returns
- Jarrell Martin - Returns
Boston
The Matchups
Cleveland
Boston
C - Andre Drummond (87)
vs Brook Lopez (82)
Drummond: 14.9 PTS, 13.5 REB, 1.3 STL, 1.5 BLK, 1.0 AST
Lopez: 22.0 PTS, 10.1 REB, 1.1 STL, 1.9 BLK, 0.8 AST
This is amazing. These two have never faced each
other this season. Drummond is the better defender and the better rebounder
while Lopez is the better scorer. Drummond can still score and Lopez can still
play defense. These are both superstar centers. Only one of these players have
a flaw, and that’s Drummond. Drummond can’t shoot free throws. This will be a
clash of titans. If the game is decided on free throws, Drummond will let the
team down. The key to this matchup is slowing down Lopez. Given Drummond’s
superior defense, he cannot shut down Lopez completely. But if he can keep him
below 20 points, then I think that will be a win for Drummond.
PF – Serge Ibaka (78) vs
Patrick Patterson (73)
Ibaka: 17.7 PTS, 8.6 REB, 0.9 STL, 1.7 BLK, 1.6 AST
Patterson: 9.8 PTS, 6.3 REB, 0.7 STL, 0.4 BLK, 1.0 AST
Patterson is just a
role-playing catch and shoot guy. He doesn’t have the ability to step up and
take over a game like Ibaka does. Ibaka, on the other hand, does it all. He can
score in the paint, and he can stretch the floor with his three point shooting ability.
He’s a better shooter than Patterson and an amazing defender. Ibaka could break
out for 20+ points. Patterson can barely even break 12+ points.
SF – Lebron James (96) vs Andre Iguodala (77)
James: 23.1 PTS, 5.9 REB, 0.9 STL, 0.6 BLK, 7.1 AST
Iguodala: 13.1 PTS, 4.2 REB, 0.6 STL, 0.4 BLK, 3.1 AST
Lebron is the clear producer here. This matchup isn’t about producing though.
It’s about whether or not Iguodala can hold Lebron below 20 pts. If Lebron gets
held down to less than 20 points a game this series, this is a win for
Iguodala. We haven’t seen Iguodala hold down a premier player yet since he’s
joined the Boston Celtics. Maybe the recent tendencies update will fix this.
You can only hope if you are a Celtics fan.
SG – Terrence Ross (74) vs Tyreke Evans (79)
Ross: 14.8 PTS, 3.5 REB, 0.8 STL, 0.1 BLK, 2.2 AST
Evans: 14.2 PTS, 4.8 REB, 0.7 STL, 0.4 BLK, 6.9 AST
Both these guys are very similar in production. Except Evans has more assists.
He’s quicker, faster, and a better playmaker than Ross. But Ross is still the
better shooter. On a team with Lebron James, all you really need is the
ability to get open and shoot. We’ve seen Ross score 22 and 18 points against
the Celtics before. Evans hasn’t even broken 12+ points against the Cavaliers this
yet.
PG – Michael Carter-Williams (74) vs Kyle Lowry (88)
Carter-Williams: 6.5 PTS, 3.2 REB, 0.9 STL, 0.4 BLK, 5.4 AST
Lowry: 14.5 PTS, 4.3 REB, 1.1 STL, 0.1 BLK, 8.9 AST
Is Lowry overrated in 2K16? I couldn’t tell you. When I first joined the league,
I didn’t have 2K16. I ran simulations with Lowry on 2K17 and he was a beast.
But his NLL numbers don’t quite show him as a 20 PTS / 10 AST guy. He doesn’t
seem to have the ability to take over the game like he does in 2K17. Cleveland
brought in Michael Carter-Wiliams to play defense and give the ball to Lebron.
And since Lowry has been disappointing in 2K16, I don’t think MCW should have a
hard time doing that.
Bench Players
Cleveland: Muscala and Terry can shoot threes. Koufos is a great rebounder and
great inside scorer. Jennings is the playmaking option and also a great scorer.
Jennings will have plenty of options to go to in this second team offense.
Shawn Long is irrelevant. Cleveland will have to turn to him though since
Covington is out.
Boston: Dedmon has amazing defense and rebounding abilities. Barbosa is a great
shooter. Mack is a good playmaker and mid-range shooter. Finney-Smith and
Seraphin don’t do much. This second team can be very limited.
MVP of the series
Will it be Lebron or Ibaka? I believe a lot of defensive focus will be on
Lebron. So Ibaka will be the biggest producer in this series. Ibaka doesn’t
have to be the star of the team, but if given the chance, he can light it up.
Now if Durant miraculously shows midway through the series, he could turn the
tide and become the MVP.
Prediction
This is a very lop-sided match after hearing news that Durant won’t return.
Kevin Durant in my eyes was Boston’s only chance at winning this series.
Cleveland has three elite scorers – Lebron, Drummond, and Ibaka. Even Ross
could break for 20+ points. When I look at Boston, I only see Lopez as the only
elite scorer. Evans might have a chance to break 20+ points. Maybe the NBA2K16
tendency update could help Lowry’s game and transform him into an elite scorer.
This looks very bad for Boston. Let’s hope Lowry shows up in this matchup. I
think Cleveland could sweep this series.
Please get well Kevin Durant. Boston needs you.
