King James Gospel
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics: King James Gospel Roundtable Preview

By Nathan Beighle

Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) works the ball against Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) works the ball against Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 3, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Kameron Duncan (@nikesonmyTWEET)

I think the Cavs will be able to finish off Boston in 5 games. It’ll be a hard fought 5 games though, a lot like the Pacers series. They have a lot of players that can impact the game defensively, like Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart. Bradley usually does pretty well against Kyrie and he hasn’t been himself so far in the playoffs, so that could be an issue.

I’m not too worried about LeBron. Jae Crowder will probably be as effective on him defensively as DeMarre Carroll was, which isn’t saying much. I look for him to be as dominant as he’s been so far in the playoffs.

My X-Factors would be Al Horford and Avery Bradley. The Celtics paid a lot of money for Horford and while he’s been okay in the playoffs, he would need to have a really good series in order for them to win. Avery Bradley’s defense and his ability to provide some scoring will help, but is it going to be enough to decide a game or two?

In my opinion the series is going to come down to containing Isaiah Thomas and how both teams bench players do. The Cavs are deeper in terms of scoring and I think that’s going to be too much for Boston to handle.

Outside of Thomas the Celtics don’t really have anyone who’s too reliable, and the Cavs have guys like JR, Korver, Frye and Kevin Love who could all have big games.

To sum it up I think the Cavs will win fairly easily, but Boston will make the games themselves fairly competitive. I see the Cavaliers closing them out in 5.