The Cleveland Cavaliers took a gut-wrenching 108-83 loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday. Even after such an embarrassing defeat, Cavs superstar LeBron James said that being down 1-0 in the series does not faze him at all.
James may not be concerned of the Cavs’ current predicament, but for TNT analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, LeBron James and the Cavs should be a little anxious by now.
In Game 1, James had a rare letdown performance, as he shot just 5-for-16 from the field and 0-for-5 from distance for only 15 points. He also committed seven of the Cavs’ nine turnovers. It’s not James who was out of synch in the series opener, as the entire Cavs team made only 36.0 percent of their shots from the floor and put together a hard-to-look-at 4-for-26 line from the 3-point area.
However, that was not the first time that the Cavaliers lost a Game 1 in these playoffs, as they also fell to the Indiana Pacers in the kickoff game in the first round before eventually winning the series, four games to three.
The Celtics have been a big surprise this postseason, thanks to their sustained success despite missing Kyrie Irving, and if they manage to take down the Cavs and book a ticket to the NBA Finals, that would be a huge feat already on its own.
Game 2 of the Cavs-Celtics series is on Tuesday at TD Garden.