Cavs Vs Celtics Game One: 5 Things To Watch

The Cleveland Cavaliers make their playoff return after a five-year hiatus today at 3:00 at Quicken Loans Arena, Cavs Vs Celtics. Ironically, they will be playing the team that last eliminated them from the playoffs, the Boston Celtics, although both rosters are almost completely different. For those who aren’t among the lucky few who are attending the game (I got tickets!) You can watch the game on ABC. Today, we cover the Five Things We Are Looking For as the Cavaliers begin their quest for a championship.

Are the playoff rookies ready?

Four of the Cavaliers eight regular rotation players, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Matthew Dellavedova, have never played a minute of playoff basketball. While they are surrounded by veterans who have a ton of experience, hearing about it and doing it are completely different things. If the Cavs are going to make a deep playoff run, the four playoff rookies will need to be prepared for the extra level of intensity that comes with playoff basketball.

Is Kevin Love healthy enough?

There’s little doubt that part of the drop in Love’s numbers this season is due to back issues he has battled throughout the season. While there’s almost no chance that Love will be fully healthy this season, the Cavaliers need him in the best shape possible throughout the playoffs. Love’s shooting is an essential part of the spacing of the Cavaliers’ offense, and if he misses any time it becomes that much easier for the Celtics to pack the paint on defense.

What kind of offense will they run in crunch time.

When the ball is moving around the floor, the Cavaliers’ offense is absolutely breathtaking. They shoot high percentage shots and are nearly impossible to stop. Unfortunately that offense often becomes iso-ball from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James at the end of close games. While both are tremendous isolation players, the Cavaliers are better off looking for the best open shot just like any other team.

If need be, will David Blatt go to the veterans on the bench?

Blatt has done a great job getting the Cavaliers’ rotation in order over the second half of the season. He has eight men (nine at times when James Jones is in the rotation) who are the regulars and the roles are clearly defined. As the season has gone on, veterans like Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, and Kendrick Perkins have only played sparingly, but these men are all playoff veterans who have helped their former teams win championships. If things aren’t going as planned due to foul trouble, a need for outside shooting, or a bad matchup, will Blatt be willing to go to these men? Their playoff success is why they were brought to Cleveland to begin with, but the coach has to trust them.

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Will the Cavaliers come out with guns blazing?

Blatt and several players have all given lip service to taking the Celtics seriously, but there’s a big difference between saying it and doing it. If the Cavaliers start the game with the needed intensity and execution they can take the wind out of the Celtics quickly. If they don’t and the Celtics hang around, then Boston may gain the kind of confidence that could make both tomorrow’s game and the entire series more difficult than it should be.

Today starts the most anticipated playoff run of any kind in Cleveland since the last time LeBron James as with the team. How the Cavaliers play in game one could tell us a lot about how this entire first round series will go.