Cavs vs. Celtics Memes Fly as Twitter Dunks on Cleveland's Sad Game 5
The Cavs played like trash.
After another crushing loss to the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers are once again getting destroyed on Twitter. With LeBron James suffering the effects of having to carry Cleveland for the past month of the playoffs, Boston’s strong defense was able to secure Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals 96-83. The loss further confirmed to fans that LeBron James is the only thing keeping the Cavs from being an abject disaster.
James led all scorers with 26 points at Wednesday night’s game, but the rest of the Cavaliers only shot 38.5 percent. The Celtics’ win now gives them a 3-2 series lead, meaning they are one win away from their first NBA Finals since 2010. If James wants to advance to the championship round, he’ll need help from the rest of his team next time. Twitter isn’t optimistic, though.
The tweet above was prescient, given that the Cavs continued to fumble over themselves, handing Boston easy baskets off turnovers. It wasn’t the only video to perfectly describe Cavs performance on Wednesday.
If it’s not clear, the Cavs played like trash. Twitter ensured that message got across with the subtle use of metaphor.
Not only was James missing for part of the game, but Kyle Korver was rarely seen as well. The shooting guard only played 18 minutes of Game 5. After Wednesday’s loss, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue claimed they didn’t play Korver because the Celtics chose not to play Semi Ojeleye, and Lue wanted to rest Korver for a time when he’d have to face Ojeleye. Fans on Twitter didn’t appreciate this excuse and flooded the account with memes in response.
If the Celtics win Game 6 on Friday, they’ll head to the NBA Finals. However, James is known to thrive under pressure and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he put the team on his back for two more wins. After all, he’s averaging 34 points in the playoffs and seemingly turns it up whenever facing elimination.
Given that Game 6 is in Cleveland, where Cleveland is 7-1 in these playoffs, this could turn the tides for the Cavs, but it will be up to James if his team is going to see Game 7.
