Celtics vs. Cavaliers: Pierce On History Repeating Itself, Rivalry With LeBron James

Boston Celtics’ 107-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals saw them take a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series and Paul Pierce was delighted to see his former team prosper against one of the NBA title favorites.

The series now moves to Cleveland after they played the first two games at the TD Garden in Boston and the LeBron James-led Cavaliers will be keen to get back to winning ways at the earliest. But Celtics legend Pierce believes history could be repeating itself as he pointed to their victories over the Cavaliers in 2008 and 2010.

The first came in the Eastern semi-finals in 2008 when the Celtics beat the Cavaliers in Game 7 on their way to the title and the next came in 2010 when the former put away the Cleveland team in six games. It was during the second victory that Pierce and James’ rivalry was at its peak and it was after their loss in 2010 that James left the Cavaliers to join Miami Heat.

“We could be seeing history repeat itself,” Pierce told the Boston Herald. “That’s the funny part about it, because if Boston beats them, we all know he’s gone. He may be gone anyway.”

“I mean, they [Cavaliers] were our rivals,” he said. “You know, me and LeBron, we were like the top small forwards in the conference at the time, and it turned into a rivalry. We had a lot of good battles. That’s something that you just don’t forget. He’s one of the greatest players to ever play this game. I had a chance to take advantage of him for a couple of years, and after that you’ve seen his dominance. It’s nothing personal, but that’s what it was at the time.”

Pierce also admitted surprise to see his former team fare so well in the post-season playoffs despite being without two of their key players — Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. The former suffered a season-ending injury at the start of the season, while the latter, who had impressed during most of the regular season, was ruled out for the rest of the campaign in March due to a recurrence of a knee injury.

Like most, the 2008 NBA champion and 10-time All-Star also expected the Celtics to fall early in the post-season. But they have surprised everyone by making it to the conference finals and are now in with a chance of making the NBA Finals as they lead the Cavaliers 2-0 in the best of seven series.

“I’m more than surprised, man,” Pierce, a commentator for ESPN, said about his former team. “The thing is, when Irving got hurt, I just thought, like, no chance. They’ll probably lose in the first round.”

“But the surprising thing is how [Terry] Rozier has stepped up as a starter. You know, nobody knew how good that kid would be. And nobody knew how good [Jayson] Tatum would be. You knew he had potential, but you just didn’t know how well he’d step up in the playoffs. And then [Jaylen] Brown."

“For these guys to be so young and then be in the playoffs and then be in the Eastern Conference finals, that’s just helping them grow,” he added.