The Cavaliers suffered their worst home playoff loss in team history Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, falling to the Celtics by 32, 120-88. Not only was the loss the worst in franchise postseason history for the Cavs, it was also the largest margin of defeat in any Game 5 where the teams were tied 2-2 entering the fifth game. Cavs fans were so disgusted by the team’s horrendous performance in such a big game that they decided to boo. They were particularly displeased around the eight minute mark in the third quarter when they really let their feelings be heard, and apparently the few who stuck around for the final buzzer booed as well. Unlike Joe Johnson who said he didn’t care if Hawks fans showed up after hearing it, LeBron handled the boos well:
“We played awful. They’ve got every right to boo us if they want to. No disrespect to the fans, they’ve been great to us. We try to go out there every game and try to give it our all. They see us at the highest level and they see us at the lowest level. If they felt they had the right to boo, so be it.”
The Cavs have given those fans the top record in the league each of the past two seasons. Last season, they only lost twice at home out of 41 games. This year they went 35-6 at home and 4-2 in the playoffs (1-2 against the Celtics). I realize that the fans are extremely disappointed with the result of the game, LeBron’s poor performance, and the Cavs’ seeming lack of energy. I understand their frustration on all levels. The more I see of this series the more I’m convinced the Cavs need to utilize Shaq on the offensive end and tell him not to go more than five feet away from the basket on the defensive end. The more I see of this series the more I feel like Mo Williams is the team’s biggest liability because of his inability to guard either Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen. Despite all that, the Cavs still have not been eliminated from the playoffs and they’ve still given the fans one heck of a season. Yes it was a horrible game, but the fans should have thought better of booing their team.
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