Cavs-Celtics: On to Game 5; and a Rare Gem for the Tribe

Well, the Cavaliers stepped up Monday night and evened the series with the Celtics with an 88-77 victory. Now they head back to Boston, where they must win a game in order to win this series. As poorly as the Celtics have played on the road this postseason, all they have to do is keep winning at home and they'll be in the finals.

The playoffs have clearly been frustrating for Boston. They were a league-best 66-16 during the regular season. Sixteen losses over six months; that's two, maybe three a month. They've already lost five in the postseason alone.

The fact is, playoff series are different. Opponents have time to adjust, and coaches come up with plans designed specifically for you. A younger, faster team can give older teams (like Boston) fits. To be more specific, younger, faster superstars can give older ones problems. Think it's tough on LeBron James to play so many games a year? He's 23 and built like an ox. Think of the toll it takes on Kevin Garnett, who's 32, or Ray Allen, who's almost 33 -- or Sam Cassell, who is 38.

Even so, Boston is still in the driver's seat as long as they win at home. They're living dangerously, but they're living.

To the bench...

The Cavaliers' subs have stepped up in games three and four. Last night Cleveland's reserves outscored Boston's 36-17. Daniel Gibson tossed in 14 points, and Anderson Varajeo had his best game of the postseason with 12 points and six rebounds, actually logging more minutes than Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Joe Smith continued his sterling play off the bench.

I've commented many times in the past on Mike Brown's tendency to bury players on the bench after using them in prominent roles only days or weeks earlier. The latest Cavalier affected is Devin Brown, who was a key contributor all season, spending significant time in the starting lineup. He's been MIA this series. Damon Jones has barely moved from his seat for the last month or more. Sasha Pavlovic is getting a few minutes here and there.

The playoffs are a time when a coach has to find a rotation that works. Each series is different. And while it's not likely Jones, despite his shooting ability, will get off the pine any time soon, it's entirely possible that Brown could once again play a role should the Cavs advance to the third round.

It's all about matchups, and it's the life of an NBA reserve. You've just got to stay ready.

Look, Mom...

Had to love the scene when Paul Pierce wrapped up James on a drive to the hoop in the first half -- right in front of LeBron's mother Gloria. She jumped up to give Pierce a piece of her mind, when Garnett stepped in to calm her down. LeBron glared at her and shouted "sit your (expletive) down."

And we all had a front row seat. Pretty funny stuff. When's the last time you saw an NBA superstar in that situation? LeBron admitted after the game that he used language he shouldn't have, joking that it's a good thing it wasn't Mother's Day.

Gloria's reaction wasn't exactly a case of Minna Wilson wielding her shoe in the boxing ring -- she jumped into the middle of her son Tony's fight in 1989 and whacked his opponent, Steve McCarthy, in the head with the heel of her shoe, opening a cut that stopped the fight -- but Gloria's reaction was an honest example of how every parent feels when their sons or daughters are threatened in a sports contest.

The irony is, most of us aren't protecting kids who are 6'8" and 250 pounds. But try, she did. One can only imagine the laughs LeBron will share with Pierce and Garnett after the dust has settled on this series and season.

Meanwhile, at The Prog...

The Indians and the Blue Jays sought to underhit each other in a doubleheader last night. After Cleveland took the opener, 3-0, the Jays grabbed the nightcap by the same score.

Of course, Toronto's win came only after Cliff Lee exited. Lee hurled nine shutout innings at the baffled Blue Jays but was denied his seventh win of the season when the Jays scored three off of Rafael Betancourt in the tenth. Lee's ERA is now a microscopic 0.67.

The game also featured an unassisted triple play by second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera. It was the first by an Indian in a regular season game since Neal Ball turned the trick in 1909 -- which also happened to be the first one in baseball history. Another Indian, Bill Wambsganss, completed the only one in World Series history in 1920.

How rare is the unassisted triple play? Cabrera's was only the 14th in major league history. There have been more perfect games thrown (17) than that. That's how rarely it happens.

With all the attention Lee is getting, and deservedly so, let's not overlook Fausto Carmona. His win in the first game raised his record to 4-1 while lowering his ERA to 2.40. Cleveland will only go as far as their pitching takes them, so Carmona's consistency is every bit as important right now as Lee's.