4. How does Boston approach defending LeBron James?
Nobody has come close to solving this riddle since Golden State in the 2015 Finals. And even then, James put up insane counting stats. But the Celtics have no choice but to try and stop James from dominating. If Bradley starts on Irving, that leaves Jae Crowder as the only person who has a prayer of checking James in the starting lineup, and maybe the entire roster.
Marcus Smart is good enough defensively to give it a go when Cleveland puts James out there with the bench guys. But with a four-inch height disadvantage, it’s tough to see how he survives. Jaylen Brown has the height and some defensive ability, but nobody in their right mind is comfortable with a rookie on LeBron James in a playoff series.
Unless they match Crowder’s minutes up with James’, Stevens will have to take the plunge with somebody. Even if he does keep Crowder on James the whole time, there’s no guarantee that will work. Crowder is a darn good defender — the Celtics are over three points better per 100 possessions with him on the court this postseason — but James is the best player in the world, coming off a week of rest.
You have to imagine the Celtics would live with leaving Crowder on an island and letting James isolate 30 times a game if James would play into that strategy, but that won’t happen. Boston will probably dare James to pull from deep, but he’s shooting 46.8 percent from three during the postseason. If he stops hitting those, he can isolate and wait for help or run a deadly pick-and-roll with Irving — no team has found a solution for this with James as the screener or ball-handler.
James is the biggest reason that the Celtics come into the series as heavy underdogs and he’ll likely be the biggest reason they eventually lose. He can destroy a team’s best-laid plans with ease, and he hasn’t even been forced into third gear since last season’s Finals. There’s simply no good answer to this question.