People always ask where my seat is at these games. There's no doubt it's great to be there. It's exciting, intense and sometimes amazing. The new Boston Garden is surprisingly loud. They don't do as much during timeouts as the Cavs do — there are times they JUST PLAY MUSIC, which is shocking in this day and age. Anyway, my seat at the Garden is actually in the stands. Behind the baseline, but not very high. It's a very good seat. Here's a view of late in the game when the Cavs had a possession as they attempted a miracle comeback. Celtics fans were getting a little uneasy at this point in time:

That's right … that's what I saw of a Wally Szczerbiak three-point shot. In the corner of the picture is the corner of my computer screen. Then there's this view from the second quarter when the Celtics were starting their comeback:

Moral of the story: They're great seats until something … well … actually happens and all the Celtics fans decide to stand up. Thing is, the fans on the other side of the court did not stand up at these times. Makes a person wonder if there's some sort of conspiracy going on here.

Let’s not minimize the loss of Daniel Gibson. Boobie was the fifth best three-point shooter in the league this season (among guys who took at least 100 threes). He made 44 percent, a very high percentage. Now he sits with a separated shoulder. And it’s not good. LeBron James trusts Gibson – to the point that when Gibson returned from a sprained ankle coach Mike Brown refused to take him out of the rotation even though he was struggling late in the season. Gibson was a guy who played at the end of games, which says something about his value. Now someone must make threes, and for some reason I don’t have a lot of faith in Sasha Pavlovic. Not sure why he’s gotten the minutes off the bench in this series, but he has. I say (again) that it may be time to dust off Damon Jones. The guy can shoot, and there are times the Cavs simply need someone who can put the ball in the basket. He helped during the regular season. It may be time to see if he can help now.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas played 26 minutes in Game 5. That does not seem like enough, especially when Anderson Varejao was 1-for-3 from the field and 2-for-6 from the line. Varejao did have seven rebounds, but he was not nearly as effective on Kevin Garnett as he was in Game 4. At a certain point it seemed like the Cavs needed points, which might cry for Z and Jones (or someone other than Pavlovic). But there also is the argument that to get back in a game you have to stop the other team, and the Cavs got a few stops only to see long rebounds go to the Celtics. Brown is a defensive coach, so he's usually going to go with the defensive lineup. But there are times when the team needs to score. And now the Cavs will be without Gibson.

The Cavs just have to find some way, any way, to win. Blowout, one point … doesn’t matter. They have to win this game (that’s a ‘duh’ statement if ever there was one) and then take their chances in Game 7.

LeBron James ended his news conference with this statement: “A LeBron James team is never desperate.” It came when someone asked him after the game if the Cavs would be desperate in Game 6 having lost Game 5. It’s one of those silly questions the media asks that a guy can’t win by answering. “Yeah,” he said. “We feel hopeless now. We’ll really be desperate.” Would that work? Don’t think so. So James said a LeBron James team is never desperate. Don’t expect me to argue with him. He’ll tell me to sit my you-know-what down.

Hate to make LeBron angry, but Wally Szczerbiak did say the Cavs are now “desperate.” I’m sure he didn’t mean it.

I thought the Cavs really let the Celtics back in the game late in the first half and in the third quarter, but the more I think about it the more I think the Celtics went and took the game and the Cavs didn’t stand up to them until it was too late. Cleveland led 43-29, then saw Rajon “Bingo Smith” Rondo hit consecutive threes. This is not supposed to happen. Rondo made five threes the entire regular season, so you figure if the Cavs are going to let anyone shoot a three it would be Rondo. He did, and he made them, and that was a problem because it gave the Celtics momentum. Then Paul Pierce took a last-second shot in the first half that bounced up and down on the rim a few times before dropping. Momentum, Boston. Of course the Cavs helped by starting the second half in a daze. And at that point Boston attacked. As James said, “They turned up the pressure.” The Cavs did not answer … and by the time they did it was too late. So this loss was not just a case of the Cavs not doing things well, it was also a case of Boston taking the game.

I think the Celtics had a little discussion at halftime and it went this way: “Man we stunk for a while. … We were losing bad to these guys. … Hey, if we lose we’re down 3-2 … Really? … Yep … Heck with that.” They started the second half like they were storming the Bastille.

Could the Cavs have won? Sure they could have won. But when you’re on the road against the top seed in the East you can’t do silly things like turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions and miss free throws and take a few minutes off. Pretty quick recipe for disaster there, and that’s what happened.

It was kind of amazing how LeBron James got to the rim in the first half. For whatever reason, Boston wasn’t cutting him off like it had in previous games. So he took advantage with some fantastic finishes – and 23 first-half points. The Celtics sure changed that in the second half. Every time James went to the rim he was cut off by a ravaging horde of Mongol warriors … err … Celtics. Evidently, they got their “rotations” correct. Had to be it. “Rotations.” Those things are important in basketball anymore. Rotations. R-o-t-a-t-i-o-n-s. Rotations.

Kevin Garnett had a pretty large game with 26 points and 16 rebounds. As did Rajon Rondo (20 points, 13 assists). A few folks – notably Kenny Smith on TNT – said after Game 4 that the Celtics were frontrunners, that they could win when ahead but did not have the ability or wherewithal to come back when behind. The Celtics did not disprove that statement because they pretty much were ahead in the second half. And in fact, they came kind of close to giving the game away.

Got on the Boston T after the game – that’s the subway system, the same one where fans were singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” after the ALCS in October and I had to listen to that celebration then and it’s still in my mind, or what there is of a mind – and sitting in the same car was former Celtics standout Cedric Maxwell. He’s now the Celtics radio analyst. For some reason it seemed comforting to be on the same subway as Cedric Maxwell after the game. A few kids referred to him as Mr. Maxwell, which would have made Bob Knight proud I’m sure.

Happened to be sitting in the press room when the Celtics cheerleaders walked out of their dressing room down the hall in their short shorts and tiny tops. Some might call this fortuitous, but that’s a topic for another blog. At one point, they all stood in a circle and the cheerleader coach or organizer or den mother or whatever she’s called told them: “Have a good game girls.” They did not put hands together, though, and chant one-two-three-win. Walked by the same coach at halftime doing an interview (interview?) and she was saying how her squad likes to dial it up for the playoffs just like the team. She didn’t use dial it up, but the point was the same. So glad to know the cheerleading squad was prepared.

Delonte West struggled guarding Rajon Rondo, but did have 21 points, four steals and four assists. Daniel Gibson left with a shoulder contusion. Be tough if he’s at all limited in Game 6.

Some postgame quotes:

Z: “I think (they were) more aggressive, forced the turnovers. Really got into our bodies, took us out of our offensive sets. We just couldn’t run anything. A couple times the shot clock went down and we threw up a couple prayers. Really, they were the aggressors.”

Garnett: “The beginning of the third, man, we started with a lot of defensive energy and that’s pretty much it, man. I thought we weren’t as aggressive as we should have been in the fourth, in the late fourth, but for the most part we had high energy to begin the half.”

Ray Allen: “Close out games are always the hardest. The team is going to fight, the building is going to be behind them. You just have to go in there doing the small things and the overall big thing of being aggressive with that defensive energy.”

Doc Rivers: “I just thought we were not playing very well. LeBron was playing great and I knew that at some point we would play well. Like I said, we will need to win a game when LeBron plays great. I don’t think he has been playing poorly to begin with.”

LeBron James: “Can’t get outscored by 12 on the road and turn the ball over like we did in the third quarter. As a team we didn’t turn the ball over a lot, but when we did they made us pay for it.”
Mike Brown: “We didn’t do the things necessary defensively and again we let their aggression bother us.”

Before we get to LeBron’s dunk …

The more you think, the more it seems that all the pressure rests on the shoulders of the Boston Celtics right now. They are playing at home. They were supposed to win this series. They led 2-0. They are shooting terribly. They scored 12 points and disappeared in the fourth quarter of Game 4. They know that Detroit waltzed through their series against Orlando in five games. They know Orlando was seeded higher than Cleveland in the playoffs. And they know that the Cavs have LeBron James. Boy do they know it. The home crowd will give the Celtics a lift in Game 5. Of that there is no doubt. But the Cavs have proven they can win big games on the road late in series. Cleveland has won the last two Game 5s they’ve played on the road, both in Detroit. They’ve also won the last two Game 6s they’ve played on the road, over Washington twice and over New Jersey once. The last time they lost a late-series game on the road was Game 7 against Detroit two years ago. That was also the last playoff series the Cavs lost a playoff series in the Eastern Conference. Do not think for one second that the Cavs and coach Mike Brown (the guy everyone wants to run out of town after a loss) are not aware of this fact. It is a huge mental edge to the Cavs. Does it mean they will win? No, but it means they can enter Game 5 in the Garden with confidence. It’s anyone’s guess what attitude the Celtics bring to the game.

Right now the Celtics are not in sync offensively. The Cavs have something to do with that. Paul Pierce is shooting terribly. Ray Allen has taken fewer shots than Rajon Rondo and five more than Sam Casselll, and that’s all out of whack. Kevin Garnett had some hard things written about his MIA fourth quarter Monday night. Garnett has had a good overall series, but Charley Rosen of Foxsports.com wrote that Garnett posted up five times and took the ball to the basket once. “Garnett has exposed himself as being strictly a finesse player who leads the league in fakes-per-shot,” Rosen wrote. Boston’s fans seemed to start this series doing their best Bill and Hillary imitation – acting like they deserve to win merely because of who they are. The sense of entitlement was strong. The Celtics still may win, but they’re going to have to earn it.

Sometimes the words of athletes mean nothing, but Kevin Garnett’s response to Doc Rivers saying the team needs to play better under stress was interesting. “I wouldn’t say we’re lacking poise,” Garnett said. “In a situation like ours, we are trying to do everything that Doc wants us to do .He makes all the calls. He gives us direction. For the most part, we pretty much try to do what he wants.” Sounds like a man not pleased with the calls or direction – or perhaps not pleased that he and Ray Allen spent almost the first five minutes of the fourth quarter of Game 4 on the bench. That one was hard to understand. Here’s Paul Pierce’s comment on Rivers’ stress statement: “I don’t know what he means. I’m stressed every game. Stressed to get a win.” Maybe this book would help.

LeBron James often takes time to get the lay of the land. The Cavs’ overall record in Game 1s in the playoffs isn’t sterling, and part of it is because James takes time to find out how he’s being defended, what will work and what won’t. The Celtics threw an interesting zone defense behind the man playing him, and it took James a little bit of time to decipher that defense. There were signs in Game 4 that he was starting to feel a little more comfortable, that he was not rushing his drives, that he was taking his time;. That started in Game 3 actually, when he had some nice assists by being patient. Then he threw down that dunk at the end. I’ve been saying prior to every game that James was about to bust loose, and he hasn’t yet hit his outside shots. So it’s easy to say that James will have that bustout game tonight – I mean, it’s got to happen sometime, right? But if the signs are correct that he has started to decipher the defense … well that’s certainly a good thing for the Cavs.

Here’s some interesting tape of Doc Rivers talking to the Celtics during the game (persevere through the commercial).

Now for that dunk … for those who somehow have not yet seen it by now, we’ll get to that. But it was much written about the day after the game.

Ian Thomsen of SI.com wrote that James dunked “as if he had jumped down off a roof.”

Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com wrote an entire story about the dunk, saying it was ” one of the more vicious dunks that Kevin Garnett has ever been on the receiving end of.”

Here, NBA.com has Mike Brown and LeBron talking about the dunk.

And here listen to several broadcast voices describe it as NBA.com provides 10 angles.

If you don’t want to link, here’s the video … and I love the statement: “Ooooh … LeBron James with no regard for human life.”

Finally … couple interesting statements from out of town stories … Paul Pierce said “We’ll get the next one” in a Boston Globe story headlined “Celtics collapse … ”

And the Boston Herald started a column with: “The series is now best-of-three. One team has LeBron James and one does not. Who you gonna pick?”

Who’s the pressure on now? Is it on the Cavs, who must win on the road in Game 5 in Boston to maintain their momentum and keep from having to win a Game 7 in Boston? Or is on the Celtics, who seemed to tighten up in the fourth quarter in Game 4 in Cleveland and who now head back home hoping they can continue their home-court magic? I know this much – the Cavs have changed the momentum of this series, and ending the way they did – with LeBron James’ thunderous dunk – will only give them more momentum heading to Boston. It does not mean they will win there, but if I’m taking a guess (and that’s pretty much what I’m paid to do) I’m guessing the Celtics are feeling the heat a little more than the Cavs right now.

It’s getting to the point where I’m going start fawning over LeBron James. That is frowned on in our profession. But the guy is simply amazing. He has another “off” shooting night, gets 13 assists, a huge fourth-quarter three and then ends the game with a slam dunk for the highlight reels. I’m not sure if TV can convey the power and force that was present when James drove that ball through the hoop. To think he went by two Celtics defenders – two pretty good defenders – and slammed the ball in over Kevin Garnett … it was electrifying. The Q went bonkers, and the Celtics had to try to strategize during a timeout with that replays of that dunk playing over and over and over again on the Q’s big screen. Imagine sitting on their bench and glancing up and seeing that slam replayed again and again and again. Kind of takes the air out of a team.

Boston is averaging 81.5 points per game and shooting 40.5 percent in the series. Those are numbers that should make the Cavs defense proud, and those are numbers that are good enough to win a series.

I’ve been pretty hard on Anderson Varejao in these playoffs. Dr. V’s swooping drives to the basket had started to become maddening. But in Game 4 Varejao played an excellent, excellent game in defending Kevin Garnett. Garnett started strong, making his first four shots. He finished 6-of-13 and missed his only two shots in the fourth quarter. Varejao seems to play sometimes like one of those toys you got when you were a kid, where you press the bottom and the figure on top flails around, arms and legs going any which way. That’s Varejao. And it seemed to bother Garnett.

I don’t know why Garnett sat almost the first five minutes of the fourth quarter (along with Ray Allen). That one’s hard to explain. The Celtics lineup early in the fourth was Glen Davis (“Big Baby”), P.J. Brown, James Posey, Sam Cassell and Paul Pierce. It stayed that way until 7:26 remained in the game, when Garnett and Allen returned. Garnett wound up missing two shots in the fourth quarter, and Allen took one three and missed it. The “big three” in crunch time? Three-for-10. In Game 1 Doc Rivers and the Celtics bench lost track of the shot clock in a key situation, but skated because Boston won. In Game 4, that lineup started the fourth quarter.

Rivers did have a cogent quote on James following the game: “You think LeBron is struggling? He had 21 points, 13 assists, six rebounds. He probably forced 15 fouls. We don’t look at that as LeBron struggling. You only look at field goal percentage. We don’t. We look at the way he’s playing his total and he’s making plays. The Gibson threes and those threes don’t happen without LeBron James. We are forcing him to take tough shots, and having said that I think he’s playing terrific.”

Paul Pierce, meanwhile, continues to be a bit of an enigma when he’s on the court with LeBron. Pierce has a tough time scoring over James, and when James scores Pierce seems to feel the need to score. Pierce is now shooting 18-for-52, or 34.1 percent. Aside from a decent Game 2, he’s been outplayed by James. Quite frankly.

Pierce’s foul on James in the second quarter looked bad, but wasn’t. Even James admitted that. He said Pierce held him up, which helped protect him. It could have been called a “clear path” foul, but Pierce had the angle. That being said, it produced a comical sight when Gloria James, LeBron’s mother, got into things with LeBron, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. As Gloria yelled at Pierce, LeBron told her to sit her tush down. He didn’t use tush of course. As James said, “the commissioner doesn’t care if this is your mother. You can’t allow fans and players to get involved with each other. And I can’t afford for my mom not to be at every one of my games.” James said he should have chosen better words, adding: “Thank God it wasn’t Mother’s Day.”

Give credit to Joe Smith, who quietly plays like a true professional, which is what he is. It was painful to see him take the shot in the you-know-where in the fourth quarter from Sam Cassell (accidental), but Smith stayed in the game and came up with some key rebounds. Earlier he had come up with some key shots. Smith doesn’t get the mention of the acquired guys who now start, but he has been invaluable the last two games.

Watched Mike Brown when he signaled offensive plays in to the Cavs. It seemed like every time he did, the play resulted in a basket or open shot. During a timeout, Brown called the play that set up Daniel Gibson for a key three in the fourth quarter. There was one play the Cavs ran in the fourth quarter that saw Gibson run around some screens to try to get a three, but the Celtics cut him off and then cut off James, the next option. Sometimes the other team plays good defense. Point: Brown is not an offensive mastermind, but the Cavs do have an offense that can work when it’s run effectively. And Brown was very smart in the use of his timeouts. Most came at key times when he needed to settle his team down, or to remind it do things like … um … move the ball.

The maturity of James continues to amaze. Consider what he said in the huddle after his ferocious dunk with 1:45 left. “We need to get another stop.” Right after the play of the year, a play that will be talked about for years, he’s thinking what to do next.

Some quotes:
LeBron on his dunk: “Our fans deserved it. They were great. Our team deserved that type of play.”
Doc Rivers on the Celtics’ fourth quarter: “We have to play better under stress. I call them ‘hero’ shots and I thought we took a lot of those instead of just stressing what we do.”
Mike Brown; “To end up with seven turnovers, 35 baskets and 24 assists against these guys, in a game like this, is pretty good.”
Wally Szczerbiak: “We have got to take the positives that we got in Game 1 and Game 2. We could have gotten Game 1; we were right there. Game 2 we got off to a great start. I don’t think that there is any question that we can win, but have to play well for 48 minutes.”

It's surprising only in that it came fast: Already a story has been written speculating that the hiring of Mike D'Antoni as coach means the New York Knicks will make a strong run to sign LeBron James in 2010. Geez, the guy's only been hired for two days.

The story details the lust the Knicks have for James (big surprise there) and how James would fit so well in D'Antoni's high-flying offense. It goes into some great detail for an event that is pure conjecture, and a couple years away if it happens at all.

I can only imagine the panic a story like this will cause in our area …

It's no secret that a guy like D'Antoni would love to have James. No coach with a working brain in the NBA would not want to have him. If a coach would turn down the chance to have James on his team then it's time he open an umbrella stand outside Canal Park.

Second, James would probably love to play in D'Antoni's offense. He's called him a genius or mastermind or something like that. No NBA player with the ability to score would not want to play for him. If a guy who can play did not want to be in D'Antoni's offense, then he should open a lemonade stand next to the umbrella stand.

What does this mean? For now, nothing. James said the other day that he has no idea what the Knicks want to do.

But we should all probably get used to these stories, because they won't go away. The notion of James in New York has to be enticing — for James and the league. The best player in the league on the biggest stage? Whew. Newsday speculates in its story that the Knicks could be $28 million under the salary cap in 2010. Which is a lot of subway tokens to throw at a guy. But New York won't be the only team lusting after James if he does go to free agency. Every team in the league would maneuver to get him.

So expect these stories to increase as the final year of James' deal approaches (he has an option to opt out after the 2009-2010 season). The Cavs can offer James more years, more money and better annual raises, but James left money on the table with he took a three-year deal for this contract. Too, he makes so much money from his endorsements you wonder how much an NBA deal actually means to him.

It seems that the thing that would keep him in Cleveland is a chance to win championships for his hometown team. Michael Jordan won a bunch, but he wasn't from Chicago. Larry Bird went from Indiana to Boston and won. Magic Johnson went from Michigan to LA and won. James would stay home and win — and that would be unique.

This only means that his decision will come down not to money, but to the ability to win. The Cavs know this. They know that they must get him help so that the Cavs are a championship contender, not just an Eastern Conference-best team.

D'Antoni's hiring in New York really doesn't change anything. If D'Antoni were in Phoenix and James were to be a free agent, it's a safe bet he'd like James in Phoenix as well. The thought of James actually running that offense is pretty enticing. But … and this is key … D'Antoni has not shown his system can win a title. It can be exciting. It can bring a player great numbers. It can be fun to watch. But it never got the Suns out of the West.

Every NBA player pays attention to his numbers, but James seems bigger than numbers. He seems to be devoted to winning titles, and if he can do that in Cleveland the Cavs' chances to keep him are good. Think about it: What good is it to run a 110-point offense in New York if you can 't even get to the NBA Finals?

So the onus continues to be on the Cavs front office to build a team around James that can win. That was true a week ago, a month ago, a year ago. It hasn't changed just because D'Antoni was hired in New York.

What do the Cavs do to win Game 4? Just what they did in Game 3. Sounds simple, really, but that’s really it. Move the ball to find the man open for a shot, them make the shot. As Zydrunas Ilgauskas said: “The best way to attack this team is to move the ball and make them chase it.” The Celtics eventually are going to play good game on the road, but Cavs coach Mike Brown is more concerned with his team. “If we play our game we feel confident in or abilities no matter who we’re going up against,” he said, adding: “Our concern is going out to Game 4 no matter where it is and playing the right way, basketball wise.” When he said it, he had extra emphasis on the words “right way.” Which indicates the Cavs did not play their way, or the right way, in the first two games. Which is why to win Game 4 they need to remember how they won Game 3 and repeat it.

The Cavs were the first team to shoot 50 percent in the playoffs against Boston. Of course they’ve only played Atlanta and Cleveland.

They may be nothing. But there are some factors surrounding the Celtics that might have me concerned, were I inclined to root for the team from Boston. Start with the horrid shooting of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen (a combined 20-for-61). Continue through Rajon Rondo getting not a single assist in Game 3. Then think that the Celtics have shot lower than 50 percent in nine of their 10 playoff games. These are not encouraging signs. Time will tell if they’re just statistical blips or indicators of problems to come.

When Ben Wallace is on his game (emphasis on HIS game) he really helps, but let’s be real here … his taking part in Game 3 wasn’t exactly Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel dragging a bad hip.

I predict LeBron James makes more than half his shots in Game 4.

The four guys acquired in the midseason shakeup – Wallace, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and Joe Smith – scored 63 points in Game 3.For one night, the trades looked real good.

Here’s one more blogger who claims James “dives’’ when getting hit: “For someone who's built like an NFL tight end, LeBron sure has an aversion to contact - I think he dives more than all of the Montreal Canadiens combined.” Evidently when a guy gets hit in the throat going full throttle he’s supposed to shrug and skip to the line.

The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy had some nice things to say about Cleveland, the city.

By the way … how did he do this …

That’s the way a team is supposed to play, the way a team is supposed to run an offense. The Cavs claimed they did nothing different, but there had to be some new wrinkles in the Cavs' Game 3 win. The key thing they did different – especially early – was make shots and protect the ball. For some reason, all the Cavs followed their leader in Boston, so when LeBron James shot poorly everyone else did too. In Game 3, they made shots, shooting 65.5 percent the first half.

Lot of contributions to this win. Five guys were in double figures (LeBron, Z, Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith). The Cavs had 29 assists, 11 in the first quarter when they grabbed the game by the throat. James had eight assists, West seven and Z six. That’s just good team basketball.

The Cavs now have succeeded in changing the psychology of the series. Boston was on a high coming off Game 2’s easy win, but now they have lost four in a row on the road in the playoffs and it has to be in their head a bit that they might not be able to win on the road. The Cavs, meanwhile, have to figure they can beat Boston in Boston because they had a chance to do just that in Game 1. As for Game 4, the Cavs have to like the fact they are at home and coming off a big win. It’s why a team always, always, always has to look at these games one at a time (to use a cliché) in these seven-game series.

Big credit to Ben Wallace in this win. Wallace wasn’t supposed to play due to an inner ear infection that was exaggerated by the air in Boston, which is tough for allergy sufferers. Wallace played very well early, with big rebounds, hustle plays, a steal, and baskets. Yes, baskets. He was a big factor in the fast start. He did shoot a free-throw air ball late in the game, but his contributions in the win should not be minimized.

Interesting that Mike Brown actually shortened his bench in this one. Sasha Pavlovic got no time until the final two minutes. The Cavs used three guards – Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson.

So much is made of LeBron James and his shooting struggles … perhaps it’s time to take a look at Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Pierce went 3-for-8 Saturday and now is 12-for-35 in the series (34.3 percent). Allen was 4-for-12 and is 8-for-26 (30.8 percent). Combined, two-thirds of the “big three” are 20-for-61 (32.8 percent). James? He shot 5-for-16 in Game 3 and is 13-for-58 (22.4 percent).

Games like that one make a person wonder if Delonte West might really be able to be a fulltime point guard. Like to see that kind of game game in and game out, though.

James was the victim of another hard foul, but it was properly called. James Posey actually looked like he reached out to grab James, but he got him in the throat instead. It was a hard foul, but it was not the same variety that Washington gave James – like when Brendan Haywood shoved him from behind after he was already in the air.

LeBron James on the first quarter: “You couldn’t ask any more out of a team in the first quarter. It was unbelievable.”

Yes, LeBron James leads the Cavs. Yes, he is a superstar, a standout, an All-Star, a guy who feeds hungry pigeons, protects nearly-endangered polar bears and does the ironing for several assisted living centers in the Akron and Cleveland area. James pretty much does it all for the Cavaliers.

Which may be part of the problem as the Cavs head to Game 3 tonight against Boston If James does everything for the Cavs, then no one is there to pick him up when he's doing short of everything. And that's what is happening lately. James has had two poor shooting games, but nobody has helped him out. Instead of someone else stepping forward, the Cavs have seemed to follow, so when James struggles the rest of the team mucks around and waits for something to happen instead of making it happen. And when that happens against a real good team like Boston, the result is what it is.

Z tried in Game 2, but for inexplicable reasons the Cavs stopped going to him. Others have not done enough to help in a time of need, so the entire team suffers. To win tonight the Cavs will need LeBron to be LeBron, but they'll need a player or few others to step forward and contribute.

And if they don't it will just highlight the offseason need to add another player or two who can be counted on to contribute more often than he doesn't.

Sometimes a team is not good enough to beat the other team, no matter how good one player on a team is. Michael Jordan went through that for a time in Chicago. He needed other dependable players, and he got them.

I'm not ready to say yet that the Cavs as a team are not good enough, not until these two games at home are played. The Cavs easily could return to Game 6 form against Washington and send the series back to Boston tied, which would end all the teeth-gnashing and wailing and crying from these parts these days. The Cavs are good enough to have that happen. They beat Boston twice in the regular season, and they can do it again.

LeBron will have to return to LeBron-like form. But somebody has to help him.

Meanwhile, there's one pretty important person in Cavs-land who apparently feels the series is going back to Boston. The story is here. By the way, the individual mentioned denies what is reported.

As the final seconds of Game 2 ticked down in Boston, LeBron James stood up on the Cavs bench. He turned and told the coaching staff to get up, then went down the bench, one by one, slapping hands with all his teammates. When the game ended, James did not turn and leave the court as most NBA players do. He went on the court and shook hands with every one of his teammates. He wanted to get a message across: The series is not over. "I’ve got to let them know that I’m not frustrated and I’m not getting down on this series," James said. "Being down 0-2, that’s a tough hole to dig yourself out of it, but we’re going to have to do it if we want to move on. So, me being the leader I can’t look like I’m down on the series or down on my play or down on my team’s play." OK then.

That's all well and good, but things are not looking good at all right now. They usually don't after a blowout. But the Cavs have not shown they are able to cope with Boston's defense. Their offense that was so fluid in Game 6 against Washington has disappeared. I think it starts with James' offensive struggles. It's not fair to put it all on him, but as he goes so go the Cavs. There is no other standout player to turn to if he struggles. And in Game 2 the Cavs didn't even turn to the guy who played a standout game. Zyrdunas Ilguaskas made his first six shots in the first quarter. He took six shots the rest of the game. That's not smart basketball, and it stands out because when Z was getting the ball early the Cavs were moving the ball. When they stopped moving the ball, he stopped getting it. The Cavs played well the first quarter, but let it all go away the second. They can't afford that kind of quarter against Boston. The Celtics are too good.

Lot of theories why James has had such a miserable offensive two games, why he's shooting 8-for-42, which is less than 20 percent. It seems to me that the Celtics throw some long-armed big guys at James, and that Kevin Garnett or whoever "spies" behind the defender. James might get by James Posey or Paul Pierce, but when he does Garnett or Kendrick Perkins or Leon Powe is waiting. James said it's because the Celtics have "athletic bigs," which is better than having athletic supporters obviously. Those athletic bigs do not let James beat the "second line of defense," he said. He's got a point, as he usually does. When he goes for some of these layups, a big guy is there, and James has really struggled getting the ball to the hoop, much less in the basket. I said it in Friday's Beacon Journal, and I say it here: If the Cavs do not find a way to get James going, the series is over.

What else are the Celtics doing? Let's let the players talk. Ray Allen: "We forced him into zones where we wanted him to score, where we thought it was best for our defense." Kendrick Perkins: "Just making sure he can't turn the corner. We want him taking contested twos." Zydrunas Ilgauskas: "When he gets past somebody they have bigs there and they're making it tough for him to shoot."

Z did a good job explaining the Cavs offense, which has scored 72 and 73 points, which is pretty brutal. "We're in the wrong spots," he said. Which is not good. "We are just in the wrong spots sometimes," he said. "We have bad shots sometimes. We have not been a very good offensive team." No argument here.

Boston took 38 free throws. Does that not seem like a huge number?

The Celtics being the Celtics, they pass out a sheet prior to game-time describing what has happened on this date in Celtics history. The first item the day of Game 2 read: "An Arizona newspaper reports that Dennis Johnson and Johnny High used cocaine when playing with the Phoenix Suns. Johnson denies the report at a press conference. Boston loses to Milwaukee 126-121 in OT, as a fan taunts McHale into a fight." Safe to say of the many things one expected to read from the long and storied history of the Boston Celtcis, that particular item was not one of them.

Just saw on ESPN that James' two-game shooting performance is the worst by a guy with at least 30 shots in two playoff games since 1948. Where do they come up with this stuff?

James has missed all 10 of this threes. Can this really continue?

At one point in his press conference, James said (and the wording comes right from the quotes sheets handed out post-interviews): "We tried to get (me the ball) in some DHL shakes … I don’t know if you know what that is." Of course every reporter in the room nodded knowingly as if he or she had actually designed the DHL shake.

Wally Szczerbiak said James is frustrated. "He's gotta be frustrated," Wally World said. "He's such a good player and he has so much on his shoulders that sometimes it's really tough on him." James said he's not frustrated. "I'm more frustrated with the turnovers I’ve had more than anything," he said. Those turnovers number 17. Hard to believe this will continue all series. But I repeat: If it does, series over and time to go fishing with Charles Barkely.

By the way, will the 10 folks who did not vote for LeBron James as first-team All-NBA declare themselves?