They’ve survived amid turmoil for months Authentic Mikael Backlund Jersey , their season morphing into the NBA’s most compelling reality show – or, as some have called it, spectacle.

The must-watch Cleveland Cavaliers have been hardened by the nonstop drama around them. So it’s not a surprise they’re calm despite trailing the Boston Celtics 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals.

”We know what it takes,” coach Tyronn Lue said. ”We’re down 0-2. No need to panic.”

”We know what we’ve got to do,” added All-Star forward Kevin Love on the eve of Saturday’s Game 3.

The Cavs have been in dire straits before in the postseason.

Just two years ago, Cleveland trailed 2-0 and then 3-1 in the NBA Finals to Golden State before coming back to win in seven games and end the city’s 52-year championship drought. And back in the 2007 playoffs, LeBron James rallied the Cavs from a 2-0 deficit against Detroit, the hardwood king commencing his legacy by scoring Cleveland’s final 25 points during a Game 5 road win.

But while Cleveland has some comeback history on its side, Boston has momentum and the Celtics intend to keep it.

”We’re just gonna try to use it,” said forward Marcus Morris, ”and ride it.”

As expected, James responded from a sub-par performance in Game 1 by scoring 42 points with 12 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 2. Still, the Cavs lost and the lack of production from several teammates, most notably guards J.R. Smith and George Hill. They have been totally outplayed by Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier so far, and that could be deflating.

Not to the Celtics, who gained confidence in shrugging off James’ haymaker.

”That’s a game-changer in itself,” said Morris Authentic Mats Zuccarello Jersey , one of the many defenders Celtics coach Brad Stevens is using on James. ”LeBron came out and did everything he could. To his guys, they see that and they still came up short. That’s a feeling going back up, it kind of puts you in a mood you don’t want to be in.”

Speaking of moods. James, who hasn’t spoken to the media since Tuesday’s game, screamed an obscenity in frustration while working on his jump shot following practice. He made 12 straight before a miss, but James, who is seeking his eighth straight Finals, knows he’s going to need to be near perfect from here on out.

James, Love, Smith and Tristan Thompson are the only holdovers from Cleveland’s 2016 title team, which mounted its historic comeback in the Finals and now must rally again.

”I was talking to some of the guys in the training room and I was telling people it was already the Eastern Conference finals,” Smith said. ”Being in this situation repetitively for the past couple years, I don’t want to say you get numb to it because you don’t want to take it for granted because obviously guys don’t have this opportunity too many times, but this season alone has been an extremely weird year and we just got to figure it out.”

To the outside world, Cleveland appears in trouble. They’re facing a younger, more physical team that has been written off several times already.

To the Cavs, this is just another bump in the road. They’ve already staved off elimination against Indiana.

”We played a Game 7 Youth Mikko Koivu Jersey ,” Lue said. ”The danger’s not like we come out and don’t play well tomorrow and lose, it’s over. We still have games to play. It’s not like it’s a Game 7. They did a good job taking care of their home court. They played well. Now we’re back at home.”

ROAD WORK AHEAD: The Celtics haven’t traveled well in these playoffs.

They’re just 1-4 outside Boston and their shooting percentages have dipped on trips to Milwaukee and Philadelphia. But after losing three road games to the Bucks in the first round, the young Celtics showed poise in stealing a Game 3 win in Philadelphia that has convinced them they can win in Cleveland.

”We’re pretty confident,” Brown said. ”Just as confident as we are at home. It’s different between being on the road and at home, just the energy disparity. At home, it’s for you, away it’s against you. But if you do what you’re supposed to do and you are who you are, it’ll show home or away.”

NEED FOR SPEED: The Cavs know they need to play faster. On too many occasions in Games 1 and 2, Cleveland was slow bringing the ball up the floor, which allowed the Celtics to get back and set up their defense.

Lue has been harping on his players to quicken the pace.

”We have to come out with a sense of urgency to attack early, don’t ease into the game or let this team off the hook,” Lue said after practice Friday. ”We know they play well at home and they had two good games, so now it’s our turn.”

—


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bob Sutton was asked this week to discuss what he liked and didn’t like about the way the Kansas City Chiefs played against the Chicago Bears last week.

Their defensive coordinator didn’t come up with a whole lot of positives.

The Chiefs gave up gobs of yards against the Bears’ backup offense, watching their own ex-backup quarterback, Chase Daniel, move the ball at will. Their cornerbacks struggled Jake Dotchin Jersey , their pass rush was largely ineffective and their young prospects did little to instill confidence.

“Obviously,” Sutton said, “we didn’t play as well as we wanted to.”

That alone is a fairly big indictment of the defense, considering Sutton has a habit of defending his players to the max. He’s made from the same mold as Chiefs coach Andy Reid in that he’d rather take the blame for his team’s poor performance than single out any individual.

Yet there reaches a point where the players on the field simply aren’t getting it done.

“We didn’t convert on third down, which was big in that game. We had some scrambles that got out that hurt us early in the game,” Sutton said. “Like most touchdown drives or scoring drives, you find a big play or penalty in the drive. That played true up in Chicago for us. To eliminate those are big for us. I would say the other aspect, I don’t think we tackled as well as we would have liked.”

That pretty much runs the gamut of problems. And the reality is the Chiefs don’t have a whole lot of time to make corrections. Their starters are unlikely to play much, if any, in their preseason finale against the Packers on Thursday night before turning their attention to their season opener.

By that point, the Chiefs could be trying to get some new guys up to speed.

They already signed cornerback Orlando Scandrick late in camp, and the compressed time frame that he had to get ready for the Bears was evident in his performance. But given the way their defense has performed so far, they could be scouring the waiver wire after roster cut-downs this weekend.

“The neat part about this game (Thursday) is everybody gets to get out there and play an extended time, and like we told them from Day 1, try to make the final evaluation as tough on (general manager) Brett Veach as you can,” Reid said. “There’s going to be some competition there.”

If there’s any reason for optimism the past couple of weeks, though Duncan Keith Jersey , it’s this: The Chiefs have yet to have their full complement of starters on the field at any time during the preseason.

Inside linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Reggie Ragland finally got to play against Chicago, but the Chiefs were still missing cornerback Steven Nelson and safety Eric Berry from the secondary.

Nelson was just cleared to return to practice Monday after dealing with a concussion, and Reid has said he expects Berry to be ready for the season after dealing with a bothersome heel.

Throw in defensive end Allen Baily’s knee injury, and the loss of Daniel Sorensen for the start of the season because of a broken leg, and that’s a hefty dose of missing pieces.

“We have enough time to do what we need to do. You need to drill down,” Sutton said. “There’s a lot of things in there from a coaching perspective I don’t think are too difficult.”

Reid said Tuesday that everyone will dress for the preseason finale, though he doesn’t expect many of the regulars to play. He did say some of the younger players, such as rookie defensive end Breeland Speaks, would likely get onto the field in some capacity.

“How much? I can’t tell you that,” Reid said. “Just have to play it by ear.”

NOTES: TE Travis Kelce missed practice Tuesday for personal reasons. He’s expected to be at the game Thursday night. … Backup TE Demetrius Harris will play against the Packers, then begin his one-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. “He’s practiced with that group all week and made sure he got some reps,” Reid said. “He needs to get the work in before his break here.”

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