- Iman Shumpert was amazed by LeBron James’ unmatched power against the Celtics
- He was shocked at the control LeBron James has over his opponents
- Shumpert said LeBron ran the same play again for an entire quarter
During his second stint at the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James made a mockery of the Eastern Conference. He made the NBA Finals four years in a row while sweeping one team after another. There were two teams that LeBron tormented during his reign. One was the Toronto Raptors, while the other was the Boston Celtics.
The history of LeBron destroying the Raptors is pretty well known, but the history with the Celtics is actually far more complex. At the start, the Celtics teams got the better of LeBron, which forced him to the Miami Heat. After this move, the Celtics were never able to beat LeBron in the playoffs.
Iman Shumpert, who was LeBron’s teammate for three years, narrates how LeBron used to dominate against the Celtics. In an episode of his show ‘IMAN AMONGST MEN’ with Miles Brown, Shumpert detailed the power that LeBron held over the Celtics:
“We played Boston in the playoffs and I can’t remember the set he called a set. It was basically us playing pinch post.”
“Bron asked for this cause he said like somebody was like playing lazy on the weak side… So he wanted that man gone. So they call a timeout and Bron says he wants a shooter in there… We came back with a lineup set for just this set. “
“We get a rebound, we getting ready to push.likeslike no, walk it down, run it again. But he saying like Boston quite as f**k. They ain’t said sh*t.”
“They quiet cause they like, ‘Huh, like you gonna tell us all, we know to play’. He like, yeah.”
“He like, no, don’t do that stand right there. And when he said it, the man didn’t know what do no more. I was like bro, I’ve never seen power like that. Not like that.” (41:05)
Shumpert said that LeBron refused to run any other play, and he did this for an entire quarter. Celtics called two timeouts to figure out the play, which proved to be useless. LeBron ran the same play the entire quarter and dominated the Celtics.
LeBron James’ History With The Celtics
LeBron James has had the most matchups against the Celtics in the playoffs. He has faced them a total of 41 times with a record of 25-16. LeBron has knocked out the Celtics five times from the playoffs and he has dominated against them. But this wasn’t the case at the start of his career.
LeBron faced the Celtics for the first time in 2008 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics had a super team at the time with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Still, LeBron pushed them to the limit and the Celtics eventually won in seven games. They would go on to win the 2008 NBA title against the Lakers as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZhCU6dncrA
They faced off for a second time in 2010, this time in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, in what would turn out to be LeBron’s last series for the Cavaliers in his first stint. The Celtics would emerge victorious again in six games and LeBron would infamously remove his jersey while leaving the arena.
After this, LeBron moved to Miami, and it was one-way traffic after that. The Celtics would meet the Heat in the 2011 and the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. And both times, they would lose to LeBron and the Heat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN17J-KMWnY
After LeBron returned to the Cavaliers, it turned worse for the Celtics. In 2015, they would get swept by LeBron and the Cavaliers in the First Round. And in 2017, they would meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would lose 4-1 in a lop-sided series.
Their best chance to beat LeBron again came in 2018 when they faced a weakened Cavaliers team. But the Celtics came up short yet again, as LeBron willed the Cavaliers to the Finals in seven games. LeBron also averages an insane 29.6 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 1.3 BPG against the Celtics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPWJMrLGSHc
The most decorated franchise in NBA History has been toyed around by LeBron James for years now. And they might continue to face the music in the next few years, as LeBron has shown no signs of slowing down.
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