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Message: [QUOTE="champs99and04, post: 2733178, member: 488"] I find this hard to reconcile when you were just yesterday emphasizing the loss of Kevin Love. The fact that the Celtics were missing 40% of their lineup was a legitimate disclaimer two months ago when guys were stepping into their new roles for the first time. By last night, they weren't missing anybody. They were the team they were and they had - at least - the three best players on the floor not named LeBron, regardless of whether Boston's players were 28 or 12. If LeBron played 40 minutes yesterday I would be inclined to agree with you. The fact that he, at 33, played all 48 minutes - not even accounting for the absurd usage that probably made it feel more like 60 - makes this an anomaly of anomalies. The gap was [I]so [/I]big between the two teams that the Cavs literally could not risk resting him [I]for a single second. [/I]Think about that what means: Cleveland was so much worse than Boston that a sample of four minutes could have swung the outcome. That's inconceivable because of the mere fact that they are both professional basketball teams. As [USER=8028]@MadDogRevival[/USER] points out, it isn't as if Cleveland lit it up from three. They shot 9 of 35 and still won as an underdog, even though Vegas had already built 48 minutes from the best player in the world into that line. Of the other four players who started for Cleveland last night, not a single one can be undisputedly considered a starting caliber player. And they're going to the finals. [/QUOTE]

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