(2)Boston Celtics (55-27) Vs (4)Cleveland Cavaliers (50-32)

This year's Eastern Conference Finals features the 2nd seed Celtics taking on the 4th seed Cavaliers. Cleveland won 2 of the 3 regular season matchups against Boston, but both of these teams have undergone major lineup changes since those meetings due to trades and injuries. Boston will have home court advantage for the series.

The Celtics come into this matchup after defeating the 76ers in 5 games and they're bringing in a well-balanced scoring attack with 6 players averaging double figures. The obvious challenge for the Celtics in this series will be containing LeBron James. Boston does have two young athletic forwards to throw at him defensively with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Finding success, however, could prove nearly impossible. LeBron is arguably having his best playoff performance ever. Their best shot might be to try and force James to score while trying to shut down everyone else.

The Cavaliers swept the Raptors to advance to their 4th straight Eastern Conference Final. LeBron James has the Cleveland offense running like a well-oiled machine. The Celtics present their own form of challenges for the Cavaliers. They are a young athletic team and are very well coached. Both of these teams have found success in close contests during these playoffs. Lebron has nailed 3 game-winning shots in the first two rounds and the Cavs are 6-1 in games decided by 5 or less points. Boston has had their own success in close contests posting a 5-1 record in games decided by 6 points or less.

This matchup would be much more intriguing if the Celtics had a healthy Kyrie Irving on their squad. If he were available, I believe they would have a legitimate shot at beating Cleveland. Both of these teams have overcome obstacles to get here. After looking vulnerable throughout much of the season and the first round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers have flipped the switch. It looks like they will be representing the Eastern Conference for the 4th straight season. I predict the Cavaliers win this series in 6 games.

_{Photo Credits: Keith Allison - Hanover, MD, USA CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons}

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_{Author: @sevendst19
Editor: @liberty-minded}

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