The set-up: The Game 1 result of the Eastern Conference final was pretty shocking. It's not just that Boston won (after all, the Celtics were 7-0 at home in the postseason entering their series with the Cavs) but the 25-point margin of victory was hard to digest (Boston roared to a 26-point halftime advantage). LBJ played his worst game of the 2018 playoffs, scoring just 15 points on 5 of 16 shooting (0-5 on threes). His supporting cast was just as bad. Love led the team in scoring with 17 points but that's after he had averaged 25.0 & 11.0 in the final three games against Toronto. Cleveland's three-guard starting lineup of Hill, Korver and Smith combined for only 14 points, on 6 of 19 shooting. Cleveland shot 36.0% for the game, including an awful 4 of 26 on threes. In contrast, Boston shot 51.2% as a team, as three starters topped 20 points. Jaylen Brown led with 23 points, followed by Morris' 21 and Horford's 20. Morris' defense helped hold James to 15 points on that 5-of-16 shooting and was part of helping force LBJ into seven turnovers.

Cleveland: Coming off a layoff that followed a four-game sweep of the Toronto Raptors, the Cavs offered little resistance in the opener. They missed their shots, lost their men on defense and allowed a whopping 60 points in the paint. Cleveland missed ist first 14 three-pointers and finished 4 of 26 from behind the arc. LeBron and the Cavaliers know they have to be better in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night at TD Garden. "I have zero level of concern at this stage," James said after the Celtics blew the Cavs out in the opening game -- a rare poor playoff outing for James. "I didn't go to college, so it's not March Madness. You know, you get better throughout the series. You see ways you can get better throughout the series."
Boston: Before Sunday's game, a video on the big board at TD Garden highlighted "experts" doubting these Celtics in the postseason. After all, there's no Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward, with valuable rookie bench center Daniel Theis also gone. Boston's balance has gotten them this far. Rookie SF Jayson Tatum leads the team at 18.6 PPG, guards Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier are both at 17.4, center/PF Al Horford at 17.2, PF Morris at 12.9 and reserve guard Marcus Smart is averaging 10.4. Brad Stevens is being called a "genius" and his decision to elevate Morris into the starting power forward spot was the big difference-maker. He was just 18-of-59 (30.5%) shooting in the five-game series against Philadelphia but made 7-of-12 shots and effectively hounded James (see above). Tatum scored 16 points in Game 1 to halt his franchise rookie record of seven straight games of 20 or more points and while Rozier had just eight points in Game 1 but also had eight assists against just one turnover.

The pick: Boston is now 8-0 at home in these playoffs and the Celtics have taken 2-0 leads in both of their previous series. The Boston franchise is 37-0 all time when taking a 2-0 lead in a series, so both teams surely realize this game 'matters!' It seems highly unlikely the Cavs can play as poorly as they did in Game 1 and I'm sure most expect LBJ will bounce back in a huge way. Will that be good enough? Note that Cleveland won three games at Boston by an average of 30 points in last season's conference finals. Also, the Cavs have gone 9-3 at TD Garden the last four regular seasons. I'm betting on LBJ. Make the Cavs a 10* play.