The Cleveland Cavaliers play the Boston Celtics on Friday. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast via the links provided below.
Cleveland heads into Boston still looking to find their rhythm. They've won two straight, but sit at .500 with a 3-3 record. Cavaliers superstar LeBron James has admitted the team needs time to gel, and heading to Boston, he expects a rowdy crowd at TD Garden.
"Their fans know the game of basketball, they appreciate the game of basketball, and I love a little adversity," James said, via ESPN. "They're one of the best at creating adversity, so it should be fun."
James, though, also said he enjoys the Boston fans.
"Oh yeah, you hear them," he said. "... They've been great. Even in negative times, they've been great. Just to compete in that building, the rivalry that I have with the Big Three (Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) when they were there over the years has been cool."
For first-year Cavaliers coach David Blatt, Friday will be a homecoming of sorts.
"I grew up in Framingham," said Blatt. "Twenty miles west of Boston. Down the Mass Pike, up Route 9 and on the edge of Woodmere Road. ... It's kind of special, but nothing that's going to keep me from doing my job to the best of my ability. I was a Celtics fan growing up. I grew up listening to Celtics' broadcast, Johnny Most, with a transistor radio stuck to my ear for many years. Bill Russell was my childhood hero. I have a lot of fond memories of the area, of the people and of the NBA game that I grew to love through following the Celtics."
Boston, meanwhile, is 3-4 after having their two-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday by the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder. While the Celtics have struggled early on, star Rajon Rondo has looked like his former self now one full season removed from ACL surgery - he's averaged 10.8 points, 11.3 assists and 8.2 rebounds per game.
