Written by Brian McPeek

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Hold off on the funereal wreath for now. You may want to have the florist's number handy, but for the time being put down the phone. The Cavs still have life.  Friday night's Game 6 now clearly fall into the ‘must win' category for the Cavs. For all the talk about games one through five being do or die, well, here we are at game 6 with both the Cavaliers and the Celtics still kicking and screaming.  Peeker previews tonights huge game at The Q.

Hold off on the funereal wreath for now. 

You may want to have the florist’s number handy, but for the time being put down the phone. The Cavs still have life.  

Friday night’s Game 6 now clearly fall into the ‘must win’ category for the Cavs. For all the talk about games one through five being do or die, well, here we are at game 6 with both the Cavaliers and the Celtics still kicking and screaming. 

Obviously, being down 3-2 is not the optimal position to be in. But when a series goes 6 games one team is always in this position and it was the Cavs who earned their deficit honestly by throwing away not one, but two eminently winnable games in Boston.  We all lamented the opportunity lost in Game 1 and Game 5 was no different. The Cavs raced out to a 14-point lead only to watch it evaporate with five sloppy minutes of play before halftime. A couple shots here, a couple loose balls there and it’s the Cavs returning home with an opportunity to put the series away. 

But that’s just losers lament. Those shots didn’t fall, those loose balls went to the Celtics and the team that played the best basketball won the ball game. 

Still, I maintain that this series is still winnable for the Cavs. The reasons: 

• The Cavs entered the series needing to win one game in Boston. They still have the opportunity to get that game. It will have to be by surviving on Friday night against a quality team looking to end the drama of the series and get their first playoff road win, but the Cavs still have the opportunity to get back to Boston and win the one road game we knew they had to get from the outset.

 

Aside from the complete egg the Cavs laid in Game 2, what happened in Games 1 and 5 that lead you to believe the Cavs can’t win in the ‘Garden’? They went into that vaunted and hallowed pit of basketball history (at least that’s what the mainstream media would have you believe about the Celtics new home) and were a couple possessions away from emerging with a victory. For the most part they handled the pressure of the road crowd and acquitted themselves fairly well. Get the relatively playoff-inexperienced Celtics back to Boston for a Game 7 and let it fly. Put together a focused 48 minutes and the Celts are beatable. 

• The Cavs still have the best player on the floor in this series and one of the best in the world. Not only is LeBron James a great player, but he has experience at this level of the playoffs that the Celtics Big Three does not. James is also dialing up his game as the series goes deeper. He shot 50% from the floor on Wednesday night and carrying the expectations of a team and a city on his shoulders is old hat for LBJ.

 

James is certainly not without his faults for where the Cavs currently stand in this series. He was miserable in Game 1 and just north of wretched in Game 2. He’s going to have to be aggressive for 45 minutes in Games 6 and 7 if the Cavs are to have any chance of advancing. Similarly, James needs to take care of the basketball. This team clearly feeds off their leader and watching James make careless turnovers or lapse defensively is contagious for the rest of his running mates. 

LBJ has a chance for a mulligan after a series that, thus far, he’d probably rather forget. Great players don’t let opportunity continually pass them by. LBJ can cement his legend at the age of 23 if he acquits himself well in the next couple ballgames. His status as one of the game’s stars is safe either way, but LeBron lives for moments on the biggest stage. He has his stage this weekend. 
 

Before we all get to worry about Game 7 the Cavs need to take care of business Friday night at ‘The Q’. They’re currently three point favorites according to the bookmakers which really means nothing. But it does say that the odds makers are not sold on the Celtics resolving their road woes in Cleveland on Friday. 

Neither am I. 

The Celtics have given no indication they’re close to an accomplished road team. They’re front-runners. They are an exceptional basketball team when they get a lead because they tend to increase it and revel in doing so. But when the chips are down they’re a different ball club. They whine, they cry, they bicker and their coach looks everywhere but in the mirror for reasons for their shortcomings. 

For whatever reason they haven’t been able to run away and hide in road games during their first two playoff series.  The Cavs need to help the Celtics continue this trend. They can do so by employing some of that elusive motion in their offense and my maintaining defensive discipline. It’s going to be more difficult without the services of Daniel Gibson, out 1-2 weeks with a separated shoulder. But, honestly, with the exception of 14 points in Game 2 Gibson has not been an offensive threat and he’s rarely a defensive factor. The Cavs will have to establish a perimeter threat with someone other than Gibson. Whether it’s James, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak or the forgotten Damon Jones who gives it to them, they have to have it. 

In short, the Cavs need to move the ball, hit open shots and get some production from all players not named James. On the defensive end they need LBJ to get back to locking down Paul Pierce. Pierce hurt the Cavs when he was able to lose LBJ on switches and get to work on a less defensive-minded Cavalier.  Delonte West will have to swallow Rajon Rondo. You want Rondo shooting the basketball, but you want him to do it from spots on the floor that you dictate to him. Knocking him on his ass on his first trip down the lane wouldn’t be a bad idea either. 

Back to basics Friday night Cavaliers. Not many teams thrive on pressure or having their backs to the wall. This Cleveland team seems to feed on it. Starting tomorrow night there is a buffet-full of pressure awaiting them and no margin for error. 

Fill up on the home cooking Friday night. Then take the Celtics lunch money from them Sunday from right off their own table.