The Cleveland Cavaliers have managed to brush the Boston Celtics aside in four games, but the highly-physical series have also put themselves in a very precarious position ahead of their upcoming second-round clash with the Chicago Bulls.
LeBron James recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and Kyrie Irving added 24 points and 11 rebounds to power the Celtics back to the Eastern Conference semis with a 101-93 win over the Celtics.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, their first-round triumph came at a heavy price. Love, the third-wheel of the Cavaliers' juggernaut offense, suffered a dislocated shoulder after what he called a Bush-League play by Celtics big men Kelly Olynyk seven minutes into the game.
The prospect of having Love already banged up going into the second round of the playoffs has become a lot worse when J.R Smith got ejected from the game after striking Jae Crowder on the face. Smith has been a valuable component for the Cavaliers offense, providing them with three-point shooting and floor spacing on the floor. The NBA is expected to look closer into the incident, and based on history, a player striking another on the face with ill-intention usually tantamount to multiple-game suspension.
While Love is scheduled to undergo further evaluation to determine the extent of the damage, the Cavs could be in a very tough situation as they wait for the Bulls to wrap up their own series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The possibility of losing Smith for one or two games and playing an injured Love would be a serious handicap for the Cavaliers against a Bulls team that's beginning to see big time performances from former MVP Derrick Rose and budding swingman Jimmy Butler. After all, the Bulls were already picked as the most legitimate threat to the Cavs' playoff run with or without Love and Smith.
It's safe to surmise that the Cavaliers postseason bid would once again fall on the broad shoulder of James and his newest side-kick Kyrie Irving. But will this be enough to upend the equally-talented Bulls? All of these questions will be answered when these two Eastern Conference titans collide this week.