Respect His Authority

Today in Cleveland, you wouldn't give the visiting Celtics much of a chance. They were facing the Cavs, who were a mere 38-1 at home this year. They were without their best player, Kevin Garnett. And they were facing LeBron James on a nationally televised game.

On the other hand, being down 31-9 at the end of the first quarter is a bit much.

The Cavs wound up running layup drills with confetti buckets in this one, winning 107-76 in a game were James didn't have to play most of his 30 minutes.

What does it mean, really, for the upcoming playoffs? Probably not much, although one wonders if Garnett's return is going to matter very much if Paul Pierce is going to unfurl more 4 for 17 games. You just have the feeling this year, after watching James more or less put both hands around the MVP award and crush it like an anaconda, that the playoffs could just be a coronation until we get to the finals.

He even has a bench now, since Darnell Jackson gives good minutes, Joe Smith can defend, Wally Szczerbiak can shoot and Ben Wallace now sits. With Delonte West and Mo Williams providing very good support from the back court, and Anderson Varejao finally getting the starter minutes he deserves (welcome to the conscious world, Mike Brown!), it's hard to see how Boston or Orlando really touching them in a seven game series.

And as for the Finals, it's clear that the Lakers have an open path now that the Spurs have lost Manu Ginobili for the year. Honestly, it's really hard to see how that the Rockets are supposed to win playoff games while relying on Ron Artest, the Blazers before they have any real experience, the Nuggets without any real defensive talent, or the Jazz with the same old half-court offensive issues and road ineptitude as previous years.

So, well, it's up to the Celtics to detail the LeBron Train, and who knows, maybe they can summon up last year's memories to get there. But, well... Garnett's good and all, but is he really that much better, to make up 22 points in a quarter and keep the game without reach?