Let’s do this, folks.
All right, we got Game 6 coming up in about a half a hour. The Cavaliers are down 3-2 and a loss away from being eliminated, but as I’m walking up to the arena looking mighty dapper if I may say so myself, didn’t feel a buzz in the air.
Oh wait.
Let me pose.
Black suit. Bluish Purple shirt with a purple, gray, blue and black striped tie with a black hat and black shoes.
It’s the playoffs. Got to dress to impress.
Now talking to people who’ve been to Boston for the playoff games for this Eastern Conference semifinal series, they say it feels like a beehive inside and outside the TD Banknorth Garden before the games.
Not the same feel here right now.
The one who remains the same regardless of the situation is LeBron James.
He reiterated his statement of the Cavaliers not being desperate, which is what James said to end his press conference after Wednesday’s Game 5 loss at Boston. He came in three hours before the game to get up shots as he’s done before big games in the past.
However, James had recently done and interview speaking out against China and the way the people have been treated there. Before the game, James was asked about it and he responded by saying the following:
“You talking about people’s human rights,” James said. “Anytime, it doesn’t matter what part of the country it’s in. Whether it’s the United States, China or anywhere in Europe, people human’s rights are being taken away from them for reasons we may not know. I don’t know for sure, but if I can shine the light on the situation where it can help the situation and good for the people, then I’ll make some comments about it.
Now James said he’s not going to get up on “a podium” and speak about it, but he will answer questions about it. There are a few things to take away from this.
One, the upcoming Summer Olympics is in China. James is playing for Team USA so it’s relative. Two, there has been a reporter from China who covers the Cavaliers home games and he’s been teaching LeBron phrases throughout the season.
Three, James will pick his spots to say something. Now this is the first time I’ve ever heard him say something in this manner, but he’s not the cookie cutter guy that people may think. Sure he was molded into following the footsteps of others like Michael Jordan, but he’s not as vanilla as Jordan was as far as saying anything controversial.
LeBron is not Charles Barkley, either, but he will say something.
Kind of a out of character subject considering this is the playoffs, but then again, in these situations when you don’t have a ton of access to a player like LeBron, you ask him what you can when you get the chance.
Outside of that, things were normal in the Cleveland locker room other than Ben Wallace has let the fro go. He’s been wearing the corn rolls for most of the playoffs, but the one time he did wear the fro, James said his kids asked Wallace to do it.
Maybe that asked him again.
I tell you what. No one has to ask Damon Jones if he’s ready to play. The guy has been itching to get a chance, but because he’s not the best defender, Mike Brown hasn’t been giving him the time of day on the floor.
Tonight, Brown may have to because Daniel Gibson isn’t playing due to an injury. All smiles when talking about this, Jones said he’s ready to go, hasn’t lost confidence and says this is not the end of the road for him.
Meaning he’ll likely be somewhere else next year. It will be too bad because Jones is a breath of fresh air.
Going inside the Boston locker room, the Celtics seem relaxed. Talked with Ray Allen a minute about winning on the road. Just kind of drawn to the guy because one, I wish I could have shot like him when I played and two, he’s got that shaved head like me.
Allen just started smiling when I began the question, but I put a twist on the normal one he’s been given.
See, most people are asking about why can’t they win on the road in the playoffs. Boston is 0-5 heading into this game. What I did was ask him since they have so many new players on the team, what have they learned from these playoffs as a unit that will enable them to play better on the road tonight.
He said they have to start the game strong and end it strong. Looking at Game 3, the Celtics fell behind by 10 early in the first quarter before getting blown out. In Game 4, they scored only 12 points in the fourth quarter and lost it down the stretch.
Looking at Allen, he’s averaging just 10.4 points in this series, which is two points below his regular season average, three points below his playoff average.
The reason?
He’s only taken 47 shots in five games, but make no mistake, Allen is ready to fire.
“It’s hard to say,” Allen said. “You know, I’ve been a guy that I’ve taken a lot of shots in my career and scored a lot of points. Really that would be a question for the coach (Doc Rivers) because I’m always available.”
Considering Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have both said they’d want Allen to take the big shots, maybe he’ll get some looks tonight.
OK. Game time is near. Time to locate my seat. I just went back out to the floor and the place is buzzing. It’s a little beehive in there.
Let’s do this.
– Duane Rankin