The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are becoming rivals this season. Even though there are some key pieces missing tonight, it could end up being a dogfight and develop into something bigger down the road in the postseason.
The Cavaliers’ 4-1 victory over the C’s in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals is a distant memory at this point. Both rosters are so much different now compared to that point, and the storylines are getting bigger by the day. It was recently reported by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin from an interview with Cleveland General Manager Koby Altman that Cavs coach Tyronn Lue wanted to keep Kyrie Irving.
Lue believed the Cavs should have the same approach with Irving as the Los Angeles Lakers had with Lue’s then-teammate Kobe Bryant back in 2007, when Bryant wanted out of LA. The Lakers retooled their roster in the coming years to keep Kobe around, and would find a way to win two more titles while acquiring players such as then-star forward Pau Gasol. Initially, it took some digging by Altman to see what the next step was in regards to approaching the Kyrie trade request news, which was his first order of business as the new Cleveland GM. Altman broke it down for McMenamin.
"“We wanted to figure out, is this real?” Altman says. “Is Kyrie someone we might want to bring back and say, ‘Hey, look, players have figured it out in the past. You’re going to figure it out. We’re going to still be really good, we’re going to be winning games, so it’s not going to be all awful.’ You know what I mean? So thinking about the parameters of that, the implications of that was something we were always debating.”"
In short, Irving’s puzzling departure will never truly leave the minds of Cleveland fans. He’s thriving right now in Boston, as the C’s have looked like the East’s top team most of the season. Kyrie has had the highest true shooting percentage of his career to start this season, per nba.com, and he’s been much better on the defensive end of the floor with better defensive personnel.
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It remains to be seen how much Thomas can contribute to the Cavaliers, who have been mostly hot and cold so far. Regardless, this matchup projects as one that should be very interesting from here on out, even likely without Gordon Hayward at all this year due to his nasty injury suffered in the first game of the season in Cleveland.
That being said, there’s been plenty of chatter between the injured Thomas and the Twitterverse surrounding the trade and what Thomas was able to accomplish before in his time with the C’s. Jay King of masslive.com touched on how “IT” did not want the Celtics to play a tribute video in his first game back in Boston, as Thomas tweeted out a strong response toward a fan that was reacting towards IT rejecting the tribute video.
Thomas is not going to play against Boston this time around, due to current injury concerns involving back-to-backs, but it is clear that the sting of the trade will not be leaving his mind anytime soon. The media probably won’t let it go away, anyhow.
To peel back even more layers, it was reported that one of the key pieces in the IT-Kyrie deal, now-Cavs swingman Jae Crowder, believes Boston should give him some love for what he did in his time with them. Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe demonstrated Crowder’s expectations for his return to the TD Garden.
Jae Crowder on his possible TD Garden reception: "(#Celtics) fans have cheered for opposing team's players before (i.e. Gordon Hayward), I feel like they should do the same for me because I gave them a lot. I hope they give me a little cheer."
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) January 2, 2018
This will be another element to this budding rivalry, and I’m not totally sure Crowder will get what he’s looking for. Back near the time of the injury, some people believed Crowder committed a dirty play and hip-checked Hayward in the air that caused him to have a terrible injury, as per NESN.com. Whether that argument has validity is beyond my comprehension, but it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility, because of what happened with Boston fans and Hayward during last season, as was initially reported by Dan Feldman of NBC Sports.
Feldman rehashed on how Crowder didn’t exactly love how Boston fans were cheering for Hayward, who is now a member of the Celtics.
"“If you remember, Crowder was mad Celtics fans cheered for Gordon Hayward when the Jazz visited Boston last year. Crowder saw fans cheering for an opponent to take his job, and his consternation was justified. The Celtics signed Hayward then traded Crowder last summer.”"
Feldman also suggested that the veteran might take things a step further in his return to the Garden.
"“This just goes to reinforce Crowder’s reputation for having a long memory and being petty. Don’t be surprised if he also bolsters his reputation for toughness tomorrow night.”"
I wouldn’t find it shocking to see a never-ending spat of words between Thomas and some Boston fans, and chippiness involving Crowder, LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Aron Baynes, and possibly even Irving could ensue as the season plays out. Tonight is just the beginning.
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This rivalry could be something special if the King and IT are in the picture long-term, but it’s up in the air as to how that shakes out with Altman and company.
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