Coach Lebron being undefeated on the weekend, #1 PG in America Dominating and SFG winning at the buzzer!

Austin Rivers, who was one of the most legendary mixtape players of all time, reacts to his old high school mixtapes and discusses.

The top-seeded Boston Celtics are well aware of the challenge ahead, facing a rival that is determined to prove their worth as they gear up for the Eastern Conference semifinals

Both the rested Celtics and the Cavaliers, pushed to their limits, will be aiming to strike first blood in Game 1 set to take place in Boston on Tuesday.

After overcoming the eighth-seeded Miami in five games, Boston is set to face a battle-tested Cleveland team that extended its season with a thrilling 106-94 victory over the Orlando Magic, thanks to Donovan Mitchell‘s impressive 39-point performance in a seven-game series.

“This is why I’m here,” Mitchell said. “It’s my job.”

“I don’t mean this disrespectful, but it doesn’t really mean much. We didn’t come in just to win the first round. We accomplished one goal, now we have to do it again. That’s the mindset.”

Dealing with a persistent left knee injury this season, Mitchell delivered a remarkable 50-point performance in a Game 6 defeat against Orlando. Throughout his 52 playoff games, he has scored 30 or more points in 23 occasions.

“That’s what special players do when it matters most,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He was special when he needed to be.”

Both teams are anticipated to have key absences. Boston’s center Kristaps Porzingis is expected to sit out the entire second round due to a right calf injury sustained in the series against Miami.

“It’s something, not nothing, so it will take a little bit of time, for sure,” Porzingis said. “But I’m doing everything I can to speed it up because I want to be back out there as soon as possible. But understanding, like, the worst thing would be probably to reaggravate that. So being smart.”

“You would have to ask the medical people about the specifics of it. I’m kind of just following the plan. But I’m hoping for a return as soon as I start to get better.”

On the other hand, Cleveland’s center Jarrett Allen missed the last three games due to a rib injury. Allen had a career-best regular season averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 77 games. In the playoffs against the Magic, he averaged 17.0 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.

Despite being down by 18 points in the first half, the Cavaliers staged a remarkable comeback to secure victory in the decisive Game 7.

“We showed a lot of fight,” Cleveland’s Caris LeVert said after scoring 15 points off the bench in Game 7. “We showed what we’ve been showing all year long. We just kept fighting.”

“We’ve been there several times this year, not just games, just as a unit. We’ve been banged up. We’ve been injured. But we got a next-man-up mentality and we just never quit.”

During the regular season, the Celtics triumphed in two out of three encounters against the Cavaliers. Mitchell was absent during Cleveland’s narrow 106-105 win on March 5, while the Celtics claimed victory in consecutive games in December with scores of 120-113 and 116-107 on their home court.

The second game of the series will be held in Boston on Thursday as part of the best-of-seven playoffs. The Celtics aim to secure their spot in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season, while the Cavaliers are ready to embrace the challenge.

“We know who we are – a team that’s a contender,” Mitchell said. “We did what we’re supposed to do. In the grand scheme of it all, we just took seven games.”

“So for us coming into Boston, I’m pretty sure everybody thinks they’re going to come in and kick our ass. We just need to be who we are.”