Ever heard of the saying “don’t poke the bear”?
It’s a common phrase of warning to prevent someone from doing something that might provoke a negative response from someone else. It is also exactly what Marcus Morris did a day before Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals when he called out Lebron James and dubbed himself the best Lebron stopper on the planet, save for maybe Kawhi Leonard.
This kind of statement could be seen as playing with fire to even the most confident of Celtic fans, as the last thing the team needs is to feed more motivation to the best player in the league. Marcus Morris got his wish, getting the starting nod and and defending Lebron a team high 39 possessions as the Cavs averaged 89.7 points per 100 possessions in that matchup. Lebron finished the game with 15 points on 5-16 shooting, 7 turnovers, and an abysmal -32 plus/minus rating.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, right, fights for position against Boston Celtics forward Marcus Morris (13) during the third quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday, May 13, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
The Celtics jumped ahead early, utilizing a 17-0 first quarter run to build the lead up to as high as 21 and never looked back, emerging with a dominant 108-83 victory. Jaylen Brown led all scorers in the game with 23, Al Horford chipped in 20 and the rookie Jayson Tatum added 16. Marcus Morris was hot all night, beyond his stellar defense on Lebron James he produced a double double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with a team high +25 plus/minus.
Entering today’s game the Celtics were betting underdogs for the 2nd straight series. Not many have given this team much of a chance all postseason, and the team continues to embrace this doubt as motivation to prove the world wrong. They have shown no indication of backing down from the tall task of ending Lebron James’ dominance on the East.
“Our confidence is very high,” Morris said. “The younger guys to the older guys, we think we can compete and play with anybody. At the end of the day, all the talking done off the court. Once we step between them lines, we have to compete no matter who we have out there, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
The Celtics improved to a perfect 8-0 at home this postseason. If they have hopes of keeping their unblemished home record alive the team is going to have to be prepared for a heavyweight punch in the mouth from Lebron and the Cavs. If history shows us anything it’s that Lebron James isn’t about to roll over after a single loss. After the game Lebron said he has “zero concern” moving forward and that game ones are “feel out games” to him. He will come into game 2 with adjustments that the Celtics are going to have to be able to handle and do their best to adjust to on the fly.
Game 2 of the best of 7 series tips off on Tuesday night at 8:30 pm.
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