Tyronn Lue says Brad Stevens’s Celtics are harder to defend than the Warriors
"Brad's got them moving and cutting and playing with pace and everybody is a threat."
One win away from an NBA Finals re-rematch against the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers still aren’t looking past the Boston Celtics.In fact, according to coach Tyronn Lue, the Celtics have actually proved “harder to defend” this series than the historically high-scoring Warriors. Lue told Cleveland.com that it’s been a tougher challenge to prepare for Brad Stevens’s diverse array of sets — even compared to Golden State’s uber-efficient motion offense and especially since the Celtics lost All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas to injury.
“The stuff they’re running, it’s harder to defend than Golden State’s (offense) for me, as far as the actions and all the running around and all the guys who are making all the plays, so it’s a totally different thing. Like, they hit the post, Golden State runs splits and all that stuff but these guys are running all kinds of (stuff). And Brad’s got them moving and cutting and playing with pace and everybody is a threat.”
Lue said it had been like preparing for a “a whole new team” since Thomas was forced out after Game 2 due to a hip injury.“Isaiah goes down and they’re running a totally different offense than we prepared for so it’s been tough on us,” he said Wednesday, ahead of Thursday night’s Game 5 in Boston. Leading the series 3-1, the Cavaliers can secure a Finals rubber match against the Warriors with a win at the Garden.LeBron James also concurred that it had “very difficult” preparing for the Celtics without Thomas. “That’s the beauty of having Brad Stevens as your coach,” he told reporters following the Cavaliers’ Game 4 win Tuesday. “You’re able to reshape what you do offensively and still be in a good rhythm.”James added that the Celtics had been “killing us” on plays after timeouts. But following the team’s Game 4 win, he said they felt confident they had sufficiently adjusted their game plan for Game 5.
