Down (and out?)

Last night, the janitors at Quicken Loans Arena were given the night off, with their brooms laying idle somewhere under the gym's concourse.  They can thank the visiting Boston Celtics, who swept, mopped, and virtually wiped the floor with the Cavs in the all-important Game 5.  I'm still in a state of shock, so pardon the complete lack of fluidity to this post.

• First, I really wish that the media, as a whole, would reserve their comments regarding LeBron's "no-show" performance.  He is still the best player in the world, and it would be terrific if every analyst/writer wouldn't give him any extra motivation for tomorrow night.
  
• While I'm not disputing the fact that LeBron had a sub-par performance, I'd like to see the Celtic's defense get some sort of credit for the outcome.  I watched every possession, and I thought the C's did a great job of taking him out of his game.  They took away his lanes, crowded him when he had the ball, and generally made certain that the only thing he saw in front of him was green.  The Celtics do a great job of trapping the ball, and then getting out to contest shots.  Their defense is essentailly based around every player being on a string, if you will.  When one guy goes to help, the next guy rotates, and so on.  This usually means someone is left open, but the C's do an excellent job recovering quickly, and running out to the shooters.  It's not rocket science, just great execution, which is bad news for LeBron and Co.
  
• The Celtics were firing on all cylinders.  Kevin Garnett was great throughout, especially in the first quarter when the Cavs were hoping to open up a lead.  Pierce finally got it going, which I hope will lead to more production tomorrow night.  Big Baby came off the bench with his trademark energy, and Ray Allen was just cold blooded, ending any hopes a Cleveland run, by drilling back-to-back three's to start the second half.
  
• I love how the Celtics are talking.  They know that they need to approach Game 6 as if it's a must win.  Last night's win was great, but it means nothing if you lose tomorrow.  Believe me, the Celtics DO NOT want to go back to Cleveland for a game 7.  It's not that they can't win, because they've already proven(twice) that they can.  It's the uncertainty of a game seven, on the road, with the potential for bad officiating...yea, let's not.  Plus, there's no denying that the league has a serious hard-on to have both LeBron and Kobe in the Finals.  Ugh, even the thought is making me nauseous.
  
• On the flip side, the Cavs looked rather dejected at the conclusion of that game.  It really looked as if they had seen a ghost, and in one respect they did, it's the ghost of the 2008 Celtics, whom this year's edition is really starting to resemble. 
  
• Finally, I know it's premature, but is there a, dare I say, Celtics/Lakers rematch looming on the horizon?