Elsa/Getty ImagesAfter all is said and done, today may go down as the biggest sports day of 2010. It's Opening Day in Major League Baseball. The college basketball National Championship Game is a mere few hours away. Later this afternoon, Tiger Woods is set to give a press conference, which apparently will be different from the other three he's already had. Oh, and Donovan McNabb is now the quarterback of the Washington Redskins, proving that the world might actually be coming to an end in 2012, if not sooner. But I'm not here to talk about any of that. I'm here to talk some NBA basketball, and the playoffs in specific.Now I know right about now you're all going into Jim Mora mode and thinking to yourself: "Playoffs? Playoffs? But Aaron, what about Butler Reebok Baltimore Ravens #27 Ray Rice Realtree camo Jersey
vs. Duke? What about Red Sox-Yankees? What about Tiger Woods and his Army of iHop waitresses? Playoffs?" And don't get me wrong, those things are all important. But after attending the Cavaliers-Celtics game on Sunday afternoon, the playoffs are what's on mind. That's right, I was in the crowd for Cavs-Celts on Sunday, and all I can say is wow. Wow to the hotly contested battle that saw six technical fouls, and more bloodshed and heavy hitting than Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins on Saturday night (A lot more actually). Wow to LeBron James and his ho-hum 42 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter. Wow to Kevin Garnett and his icy cool game-clinching free throws. And most importantly, wow to the Boston crowd, for making this one feel like the deciding game of the Eastern Conference Finals. (This is just PART of Aaron's piece on the Celtics-Cavaliers game from Easter Sunday. To read this piece, in it's entirety, please visit him at www.aarontorres-sports.com)As a matter of fact, when I bought tickets for this game, that was my biggest concern: How would the crowd be? Sure it was the Cavs, and whenever LeBron is in town people always show up. But still, it was also Easter Sunday, and the Red Sox and Yankees were playing just hours later. Heck, that's why I went about trying to get tickets in the first place, I knew that this was the perfect storm of circumstance, maybe the only chance in my life I'd get to see LeBron in a meaningful game, at a discount price. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up, even if I wasn't sure about the atmosphere and quality of play once I was inside the arena.As usual though, when I showed up in Boston, the fans brought their "A," game. Upon entering the city, eating lunch and walking the streets around the TD BankNorth Garden, the crowd was already abuzz, moving briskly and excitedly on the warm spring afternoon. Scalpers had an extra pep in their step, as they knew one day they'd be telling Reebok Baltimore Ravens #52 Ray Lewis Realtree camo Jersey
their ticket-scalping grand-children about the wonderful Easter Sunday of 2010, where Sox-Yanks and Celts-Cavs lined their pockets full of extra cash. Vendors were yelling and screaming, moving a mile a minute, selling t-shirts, posters and whatever else they could fit Brian Scalibrine's face onto. And as the gates got set to open, a line of fans formed around the block. Sons with their fathers, guys with their girlfriends and old women accompanied by older men, all clamoring to get into the arena and get the first glimpse of LeBron, Kevin Garnett and all the other combatants set to due battle. Once in the arena, the circus only intensified, as people blew past ushers and climbed over seats, all with the hope of getting close enough to snap a few pictures of LeBron. After all, when the King rolls into the arena, you re-arrange plans and get to the arena early. Even if that means skipping Easter brunch and putting Josh Beckett, David Ortiz and Evil Empire talk on hold until later.After player introductions and the tip, the arena remained in a prolonged buzz, as late-comers filed into the few remaining empty seats. And the buzz only intensified, as Ray Allen made a bounty of runners, jumpers and cuts to the basket, and Kendrick Perkins got a slew of easy dunks off some nifty Rajon Rondo passes. Forget Easter Sunday. Forget the fact that these two teams had already clinched playoff spots. The Celtics and the Cavaliers came to play Sunday afternoon, and so did their fans.For those of you who watched, you know what happened next, mainly that the Celtics could do no wrong. Everything was going right. Everybody made the extra pass. Glen Davis was hitting open looks. Tony Allen was playing lockdown defense. Nate Robinson spent more time dancing during timeouts than he did listening to anything that Doc Rivers was saying. Even Rasheed Wallace was all smiles, regardless of whether it was because of anything basketball related, or just that he was getting excited about the postgame meal. And the crowd was right behind their team, taking it all in. They cheered with every made basket, jumped to their feet when Rondo hit a three to end the first half (That group included my mom, a baseball fan who was only at the game because I forced her to come. By the time Rondo hit that three, she was already thanking me profusely.) and became deafening during a third quarter run that saw the CelticsReebok Chicago Bears #54 Brian Urlacher Realtree camo Jersey
go up by as many as 22 points. But like any great team, you knew the Cavs wouldn't go down without a fight...
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