Maybe this is why we watch the game and do not give up. Did Cleveland peak too soon? How many times does a team lose by 30 plus points and come back to win the next game in a NBA playoff series. It happens mote often than you think.
This was a law of averages game where the Celtics banged away all night and Cleveland stopped hitting threes.
Rebounding may well do us in but if we can keep bringing the effort up and down the lineup who knows where we might end up. 
No, the Cavs did not peak too soon.
People made the mistake of convincing themselves that those two ugly losses were a result of Clevleand's greatness. They weren't. They were a result of Boston's going in to the series playing like they were 'spectators' (watching Lebron in awe) rather then basketball players who believed they were there to try to beat him.
Boston went in to the series with no confidence. No belief. No heart. They went in buying all the "nobody has beaten Clevleand" and "8-0 in the playoffs" hype and allowing that to convince them that the Cavs were unbeatable. And so they didn't even try.
I've called it since before the playoffs even started, that Boston matches up very well with Cleveland on a per-position basis. We match up well with Clevleand on talent. Yes they have the edge (purely thanks to Lebron), but we are competitive.
So long as we play with everything we have, and give it our everything, we will give ourselves a chance to beat that team every single night. And that's all we need - a chance.
All we need is to keep the games competitive, and keep the games close enough (within 5 or so) - because when you have a close game, with 2 minutes left in the 4th, anything can happen. A game can be decided by one or two defensive plays. It can be decided by one or two big (and unlikely) shots that happen to go in - or one or two unlikely opponent shots that happen to miss. It can be decided by poor officiating, with one or two bad calls quite capable of swinging a game. Or a couple of ill-timed unforced turnovers by the opponent.
Just look at that Miami / Spurs series a few years back - San Antonio had that series in the palm of their hands until Ray Allen hit a [dang] near impossible shot on the buzzer, and suddenly everything changes. That shot doesn't go in, and people would be hating on Lebron right now for going 1-4 on finals runs during his Miami tenure. Instead they praise him for winning 2 titles in 4 seasons, and its all because of one impossible shot from Ray Allen.
If you go in to the 4th down by 15 with 2 minutes left, then the game is over. If you're within 5 points with 2 minutes left then you have a game, and it can go either way. All it takes is for one guy to go on a quick hot streak (e.g. Olynyk in the Game 7 of the Washington series, Zerebko today) and that can be what wins you the game.
Topic: See We Can Do This Job (Read 976 times)