Cavaliers 124, Celtics 95 (Cavaliers lead 2-1)

For those of you who missed this game, the score indicates everything you need to know about Game 3. For those of you who watched this game, did you really have nothing better to do on a Friday night?

Going into Game 3 in Boston, the Celtics had a chance to prove themselves to be better than everything they’ve been made out to be the second half of this year. As it turns out, the expectations that came back up after their Game 2 shellacking of the Cavs were nothing but a farce. On Friday night, they looked more like the team that lost to the Nets in March than the team that won a championship two years ago. So much for stealing a game in Cleveland and controlling the series. Now they are facing a situation where they must win yet another in LeBron’s house, instead of simply winning all games in Boston.

As for the team that actually won this game, the Cavs couldn’t have played a more picture perfect game than they did on Friday. Right off the bat they held a 36-17 lead following one quarter, and they never had to look back. At one point in the game, Boston actually trailed by 35 points. That’s not even funny! Not only did the Cavs pick up their biggest playoff road win in team history, but they also gave the storied Boston Celtics their worst playoff home loss in franchise history. No, this isn’t the Bill Russell or Larry Bird Celtics, but this is a team with a supposed ‘Big 3’.

I’m sure you all saw this coming – here is my LeBron James rant of the night. Let me start by giving you the stats: 38 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks. Great game. Awesome game. Certainly an MVP-like game. I take nothing away from Mr. James, especially after 21 points in the first quarter and 28 in the first half. He is an incredible player. So here it comes………..

LeBron is NOT hurt.

Did he tweak his elbow at some point? I don’t doubt that. I tweaked my elbow typing this sentence alone. Was he too hurt to play? Never ever. Does the media love to give him credit for playing through injury? More than anyone in recent memory.

Now, The Ref hates how much I hate LeBron. He actually didn’t like him much, but after hearing me and ‘my bias’ he admits that his hatred has decreased (yeah, doesn’t make sense to me either). Well he had his chance to keep me quiet by covering this game tonight, but he didn’t and now I will continue to say what I want.

No more breaking news on LeBron practicing. No more making excuses. No more glancing at the elbow to see if it’s still connected. No more super human, injury references. No more comparisons to Kobe and his injuries. He is not hurt. And Doc Rivers agrees with me:

“I think he’s healthy. His elbow looked very good tonight. So enough with the elbow injury. I think we can go ahead and focus on basketball.”

Thank you Doc.

Something I am wondering is: did Mike Brown make the best decision of his coaching career to act completely LIVID after the Game 2 embarrassment? I compare this to Hawks head coach Mike Woodson, who was waaaay too calm after their 43-point loss in Game 1 vs. Orlando. Brown made no excuses, and he expressed his criticism of how his team played. Either they listened, or Game 2 was a total fluke.

What to expect from Game 4 on Sunday:

Cavs are going to win. Celtics are going to lose. I predicted Cavs in 5, and I stick by it.

-Shooter

BONUS COVERAGE: Rapper Jay-Z, also a part owner of the New Jersey Nets, was at the game with his wife Beyonce. I didn’t see him at one Nets game this entire season, and yet he makes a trip up to Boston to see LBJ? This better be a recruiting job more than anything else Mr. Z.

I've never sat courtside, but I hear it's really sunny.