The team said on Saturday that Love, who bashed heads with the Boston rookie Jayson Tatum in the first half of Cleveland’s Game 6 win on Friday night, experienced concussion-like symptoms before the team’s flight and has been placed in the N.B.A.’s concussion protocol. “I think (coach Tyronn Lue) said it best: ‘We’re going into a Game 7 with the baddest dude on the planet on our team.’ I like our chances”.
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The Boston Celtics know that their homecourt advantage won’t make the winner-take-all Game 7 any easier against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Love has had at least two other known concussions in his career.
The Cavaliers won games three and four with their forward Tristan Thompson dominating the Celtics, but he did not have the same impact on Wednesday with Baynes paired up with Horford around the basket.
Assuming nothing gets worse, Tatum will be available for the Celtics in Game 7 on Sunday.
“To do what we want to do we still have to beat this team one more time”, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. They weren’t very competitive in any of them – just like Boston had trouble hanging with the Cavs in the three games in Cleveland.
That machine was on full display in Game 6 Friday night, unleashing a monstrous display of domination. James had 32 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block, but lost the series in Game 7 despite putting up 45 points on the road.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, first and foremost”, said Terry Rozier, who scored a team-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
The Celtics have two chances to go to their first Finals since 2010 – the past year a non-LeBron team represented the East. They played for Kevin. “I mean, I don’t enjoy being in a position where it’s like, you lose, you go home”, he said, adding that he hasn’t won every elimination game and has been “subpar” in some of them.
For James, it’s an opportunity to extend the season for his hometown team and put off another summer of questions about his future. You just move on and you get ready for the next one, and you play it as well as you can. Limiting their impact will be among the chief goals for the Celtics heading into Sunday’s Game 7 matchup.
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If daytime sports television is any indication, we’re going to be having the LeBron vs. Michael Jordan debate almost every day for the next several years, if not several decades. This young bunch is eager to come out and throw another punch of their own on their home floor, where they are 10-0 this postseason.
