Right from the opening quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers sent a strong message to the Boston Celtics that they are not messing around. In fact, the way James is treating the Celtics, we may need to start calling them the Rodney Dangerfields because the Cavs superstar is giving them no respect.
Seemingly toying with the Celtics, James scored 15 of Cleveland’s 30 points in the first quarter. That’s right: James scored half of the Cavs’ points in the opening period.
James scored at will against the Celtics, driving right at defenders like Kelly Olynyk and finishing at the rim. And adding insult to injury, James scored in such a manner that was just truly disrespectful to the Celtics as he simply didn’t care who was guarding him. He would just frequently size up the opposition, dribble for bit and then take a running start before scoring with relative ease.
James even added a little flair on some of his drives, showing that the Celtics literally cannot stop him.
LBJ feelin' it early! #CavsCeltics #DefendtheLand https://t.co/IIw5V90eQk
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) May 18, 2017
This is, of course, not the first time James has played with such disrespect towards an opponent. Against the Toronto Raptors in the second-round, James called for an off-the-backboard alley-oop in Game 1, pretended to drink a beer and spun the ball to himself like he was about to shoot a free-throw before nailing a three.
James hasn’t broken out similar tricks against the Celtics just yet, but then again it is only Game 1, and if his choice of attire at yesterday’s media availability was any kind of an indication, there’s likely much more to come.
