I was impressed by Cleveland’s hatred. That city loathes Lebron James. In the words of Susan from Survivor: if Lebron was sitting there dying of thirst, Cleveland would let the vultures take him. The city showered him with boos, chants, and homemade posters, all designed to make Lebron feel some sort of pain.

The Cavs, on the other hand? I wasn’t so impressed with them. Not in the least. They joked with Lebron, smiled as he stood in front of their bench jawing. They showed no competitive fire, no spine. If I had to choose one word to describe the Cavs last night, it would rhyme with wussies. Lebron jetted in for fast break layups, and nobody put him on his ass. He mocked the bench and nobody, save for an assistant coach, told him to shove it.

Why should the players want to beat Lebron as badly as the fans did, you ask? Because when he left, he effectively told his former supporting cast they weren’t good enough. He couldn’t win with those chumps, is what Lebron’s departure meant. He wanted to go elsewhere, where he could surround himself with talented teammates, where he could finally win his first title. Lebron leaving Cleveland was a direct slap in his former teammates’ faces. He thought it was their fault he went ringless during his first seven seasons.

THAT’S why the players should resent Lebron, or at least want to beat his ass on the court. Not because he made The Decision such a public debacle. Not because he showed no remorse to the city that had loved him for so long. Not just because he left. But because when he left, he showed no respect to the Cavaliers. “I feel like it’s going to give me the best opportunity to win,” LeBron said after The Decision. He added, “I want to be able to win championships. And I feel like I can compete down there.”

In other words, “Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao, Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao suck.”

Still, the Cavs showed no spine. Chris Webber called them “as soft as wet toilet paper.” Then he added, “in a puddle.”

Meanwhile, Lebron used the crowd’s hatred as fuel. Finally, in this season where Lebron is the most despised man in basketball, he embraced the role of villain.

I wrote my latest piece for SLAM Online on Lebron’s vindictive spirit in last night’s game.

The only problem was, LeBron James didn’t stop tormenting Clevelanders in July. He came back at their throats last night, like he, not they, had been wronged. There was a different bounce in his step, a bounce Cleveland had seen on occasion. No taunts were going to distract LeBron James in this game. He was a man with a singular mission, to take the crowd’s hatred and silence it. All season long, we have wondered how the public’s disdain would change LeBron James. Would he use it as fuel, or would it affect him more negatively? On this night, clearly galvanized by his role as enemy, LeBron played the villain perfectly. By the end of the third quarter, when LeBron had already set a season high with 38 points, the crowd’s jeers — so damning and violent at the game’s start — had become nothing more than a form of entertainment to make a blowout more exciting. [...]

These Miami Heat have all too often played uneven, uninspired basketball. But if LeBron James can be such a vindictive S.O.B. each night, the toughest, most determined man in the gym will also be its most devastating talent. He will continue to quiet crowds and leave haters defeated, and he will accomplish all that with a knowing smile on his face.

Click here to read the rest of my piece.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “In the end, though, they played a game of double-dare with Rondo, and he dealt them their demise. ‘He showed that he can beat you,’ Pierce said. ‘They came in and said we’re going to try to make Rondo beat us. They showed in the way they defended him. They went under all the pick and rolls, played him loose, let him get to the rim, get out to the break. He was phenomenal. He took up the scoring load for us and it showed that if teams are going to settle and try to let Rondo beat them, he’s capable of doing it.’ Once upon a time, letting Rondo beat you might have seemed like a safe bet. ‘When it comes to the NBA,’ Kevin Garnett said, ‘I don’t bet at all.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “The sad part for Cleveland is that it actually thought it had a chance because Rajon Rondo (hamstring and foot issues) was thought to be hurting. ‘We know that he’s not at 110 percent,’ Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said earlier in the day. ‘Rondo’s one of the best young point guards in this league. We know he is the key that makes that engine go over there. The one thing we want to do is apply as much pressure as possible.’ But Rondo came out of the pressure looking like a diamond. He had game-highs of 23 points and 12 assists, hitting 11-of-17 attempts from the floor after Scott said the Cavs would much rather have him than his teammates shooting. ‘I took maybe four or five jump shots out of 17, but the rest of them were layups,’ said Rondo, who now has seven double-doubles and a triple-double. ‘If they’re going to give me layups, then it’s cool. But I was still trying to pass the ball. I’m a pass-first point guard. I want to keep my teammates happy.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘When the second unit came in, they got to what we were trying to do to start the game,’ Rivers said. ‘They pounded it down low with Baby andMarquis [Daniels]. I thought those were the two guys that changed the game for us.’ Rivers had given Davis a not-so-subtle nudge, saying the forward was trying to do too much the past three games. Last night, from his defense to his 17 points and 11 rebounds, he gave what the coach was looking for. ‘He was absolutely sensational,’ Rivers said. ‘Defensively, he challenged shots and offensively, he was patient. I thought he set the tone early on. We got on him about quick shots and I thought in the first half, he passed up two quick shots. Set another pick and got someone else the shot. He’s just got to trust that the ball will come back to him. We are an extremely unselfish team, and I thought he learned that [last night].’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Shaq did have a contrite word for some when he got on the plane. ‘I apologized to the three, but not anyone else,’ he said of Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. ‘I just apologized to the generals who I am consulting, and that’s it. It’s just not a big thing. It’s not like I’m one of those players who said, ‘(Expletive) it, I’m not coming to practice today.’ It was just one those things. But it won’t ever happen again.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Shaquille O’Neal, who spent last season with James in Cleveland, is among those who plan to watch Thursday night’s game. The winner of that game, for O’Neal at least, is irrelevant. ‘I’m like one of those silly fans,’ O’Neal said. ‘I’m not worried about the game. I’m anxious to see if he does the powder [bleep]. (James usually starts every game by tossing powder high into the air, something Cleveland fans used to love.) We got bets that he doesn’t do it.’”

Ben Rohrbach, WEEI – “Despite having three guys — Allen, Garnett and Pierce — shooting 89, 85 and 84 percent from the free-throw line, the Celtics entered Tuesday night’s game ranked 21st in the NBA in foul shooting. And they didn’t do themselves any favors, shooting just 13-of-23 from the charity stripe against the Cavaliers. Shaquille O’Neal’s struggles at the line are a given (he’s at 57 percent). It’s really only Rondo who can help the Celtics improve in that arena. The Celtics point guard is shooting a putrid 47 percent from the line this season, and he made just 1-of-4 against the Cavaliers. This problem may not have much effect on the C’s success during the regular season, but there’s no doubt it could be an Achilles heel in the playoffs, when games are more physical and tighter at the end. After all, the Celtics ranked eighth in free-throw percentage when they won the title three years ago.”

Elliott Teaford, Los Angeles Daily News – “Suddenly, the Lakers have serious issues. Their defense isn’t as tight as it should be, which means they’re trading baskets with opponents instead of stopping them and building and nurturing leads. Their offense isn’t clicking because they’re playing from behind instead of from ahead. What’s more, some of their best players are playing too many minutes because of injuries and lack of experience. A string of close games has underscored the Lakers’ lack of depth behind center Pau Gasol and power forward Lamar Odom. So, in hindsight, it hasn’t been a surprise to see the Lakers struggling recently. Their 98-96 loss Tuesday night to the Memphis Grizzlies was their third consecutive defeat, only their second three-game skid since Gasol was acquired Feb. 1, 2008.”

Mary Schmitt Boyer, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “If this was a boxing match, as Cavaliers coach Byron Scott suggested, the Boston Celtics registered a second-round TKO. ‘You get punched in the face, you want to see how you’re going to react,” Scott said after the Celtics pounded the Cavs, 106-87. ‘I thought we staggered, but we never really threw a punch back. I thought that was pretty much the difference.’”

Bill Livingston, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “The wisdom of the Celtics’ rebuilding stands in contrast to the Heat’s fantasy league approach. Before the 2007-08 season, the Celtics traded for Garnett, the big man they needed for interior defense, and for Ray Allen, the shooter they needed to complement Pierce. The emergence of Rondo completed the puzzle. ‘Everybody said it would take a year, but I told them we didn’t have a year. We were too old,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘We didn’t have complementary players. We had willing players. Everybody had a vested interest in making it work. ‘I don’t want to hear that players don’t mix or match. All of our players dropped off that first year in minutes, in shots. But they were willing to do that.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The play was ugly, the effort was slim, a few minutes remained in the first quarter, and the Celtics trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers — yes, the Lebron-less Cavaliers — 21-14. The second quarter was coming soon, which is normally bad, and part of the bench was already in the game, which doesn’t usually bode well for Boston. So, naturally, Rajon Rondo took over the scoring load and the second unit turned the game around.

Wait, huh?

Okay, so it wasn’t the C’s average formula for winning. It still worked. Rondo ended the game with a season high 23 points, to go along with 12 dimes, and the C’s avenged their earlier loss to the Cavs with a 106-87 win.

It was weird to see Rondo call his own number so often, but he was more aggressive going to the hoop than usual. He wasn’t settling for jumpers, for the most part. He was simply beating his man all the way to the hoop. It looked like he saw his teammates lollygagging through another road game, and said, “You know what, guys? Hop on my back, at least until you get your heads out of your asses.”

When Rondo started doing his scoring damage, he was surrounded by the second unit that has been much-maligned in recent days. But the reserves were splendid tonight, almost every single one of them. (Yes, the almost is mostly intended for Nate Robinson. I liked his eight points. The ten shots it took to score said eight points, not so much, even if all the shots were good looks.)

Marquis Daniels took advantage of good matchups and opportunities throughout the game. Doc Rivers upheld his vow to mix and match the first and second unit, and one of the units he concocted included Daniels as the shooting guard, alongside Pierce at small forward. With a small shooting guard (Boobie Gibson) defending him, Daniels was free to unleash his advanced post game. Gibson was no match for the array of herky-jerky up fakes Daniels offered, which Daniels only needed to utilize when his sheer size wasn’t enough. The braided, part-time rapper scored 16 points, another season high.

Also excelling on the bench was Glen Davis. That has become pretty normal, even if Rivers wasn’t thrilled with Davis’s production the last few games. Davis scored inside, he scored outside, and most importantly he didn’t force any bad shots. Of course, he didn’t need to force any bad shots — devouring Antawn Jamison was easy enough. It’s weird seeing Jamison now, but he used to be an All-Star. Even as recently as last season, he was supposed to be the key to a Cavaliers championship. Strange to think about now, no? I know Jamison’s not always as bad as he was tonight, but still. Alright, enough about Jamison — back to Davis. Ramon Sessions, Glen Davis does not allow you access to his kitchen.

Kevin Garnett notched a double-double, even though he didn’t play great. Shaq played like a man who didn’t practice any of the last three days, which he actually is. The Big Diesel made one beautiful touch pass, but also decided to conserve his energy defensively. On at least four occasions I noticed, Cleveland big men took jumpers while Shaq laid five or six feet off, with his hands by his side. Not too surprising, but not at all perfect.

Moving on, who else am I supposed to talk about? Ray Allen didn’t do much, but one floater he made was magnificent. Paul Pierce thought he was Dwight Howard for a little while. Semih Erden scored zero points and snatched only three rebounds, but still somehow pleased me, likely because of his two blocks and solid energy. There were even Luke Harangody, Avery Bradley and Von Wafer sightings, which was exciting if ultimately not very life-altering.

Also, it was sad to see the Lebron-less Quicken Loans Arena. I’m normally against arenas playing music during games, but Cleveland is an exception. Without music, the arena would sound like someone hit the mute button. The fans are THAT silent in there, or at least they were tonight. The deafening silence wasn’t just because the Cavs were blown out, either. Even when the Cavs started the game with a 12-4 run, you could have heard one of Ray Allen’s swishes from the nose bleeds.

Back to the Celtics, tonight’s win was a good one. Not against the best competition, granted, but the Celtics played well. The second unit started to hum a little, Doc Rivers may have found Marquis Daniels a new position, and the Celtics have now won four games in a row.

If it weren’t for the wedgie I’m currently experiencing, it would be difficult to complain about anything at all.

The Boston Celtics travel to Cleveland tonight, where they will look to avenge an early-season loss at the hands of the mediocre Cavaliers. Here are three keys to the game:

1. Stop the athletes – The Celtics have earned a reputation as a team that struggles against long, athletic players. While I think the reputation is unfair, it is still deserved. How is the reputation unfair yet still deserved? That sounds oxymoronic, right? And maybe it is. But what I mean is this: when the Celtics use full effort, they can — and do — stop long, athletic folks like Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson. It’s when the Zombie Celtics come to play that the Celtics are outworked by long athletes. If the effort is there tonight, Hickson and Varejao should be limited. And if the effort isn’t there? Hickson might look like an MVP candidate, and Varejao will probably pull down 15 rebounds or so.

2. Guard play – The three guard/wings Cleveland started against Memphis the other night? Mo Williams, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham. You don’t need a basketball-ology degree to know Rondo should have his way with Williams, and methinks Pierce and Allen should get the best of Parker and Graham.  Parker, by the way, is a statistical anomaly. He’s shooting 51.4% from three-point range, but only 38.3% from the field.

3. The bench – Ahh, my least favorite part of the Celtics team — the bench. Someone besides Glen Davis needs to step up as a consistent contributor soon, and fast, or else. The C’s starters are playing far too many minutes, and for once I can’t even blame Doc Rivers for that – I wouldn’t play that damn bench, either. Every time the second unit steps on the floor, a lead evaporates into thin air. Rivers said it’s time for him to switch his rotations. He can’t keep playing the second five as a single unit, because that unit — in a word — sucks. The rotations Rivers uses are something to keep an eye on. He has to make changes to help the bench, but hopefully those changes won’t hurt the starters’ production.

I know there’s a pretty big game tonight, between the Celtics and the Southeast Division’s third-best team. I wanted to have a Heat-Celtics Highlight Reel of the Day, desperately. There’s just no way I could deny J.J. Hickson his due. He seized the Highlight of the Day.

And yeah, Hickson only played 9.3 minutes per game in the Celtics-Cavs series last spring. At least it’s not like the Celtics struggle against athletic power forwards or anything! Ahh, right. They do. Well at least Antawn Jamison held his own against Kevin Garnett! No, no, no he didn’t. Then Hickson must have played badly when he did get minutes? Not exactly. He had 11 points in 12 minutes in Game 1, and 13 points in 19 minutes in Game 2.

Perplexing that he couldn’t find his way onto the court, no?

I almost felt bad for Cleveland fans. The fans at last night’s game had their hearts torn out this summer, on national TV, by the one man (Lebron James, obviously) who was supposed to end the city’s streak of bad luck. Not only that, but the season-ticket holders were forced to renew their tickets last season, before they knew whether James would return. So the fans at last night’s game might not have even wanted tickets to the J.J. Hickson era. It was no wonder the arena had a strange vibe at the game’s beginning.

Have you ever been to a funeral before, when someone giving a eulogy makes a joke? What follows is an uneasy laugh, an almost forced laugh. People want to celebrate a life at funerals, but they are also grieving a death. People at a funeral need laughs and need joy, but laughing isn’t easy. That awkward funeral laugh was the Cleveland crowd to begin last night’s game. They wanted to celebrate a new season, but they were still mourning the loss of a (once) loved one. Their cheers were forced. They seemingly only rooted for their team because it was expected. Remember, a portion of the crowd probably resented even having tickets. They renewed their tickets still hoping Lebron’s return. Instead, they get to pay for J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao. That’s a fierce drop, clearly.

But something happened as the Cavs erased last night’s 11-point deficit and climbed ahead. The crowd started to go crazy. The fans weren’t rooting for Lebron or any other stars, but you know what? The Cavs were giving a game effort. They were sharing the ball. And they were beating a Celtics team that Lebron himself couldn’t the night before. The crowd rallied around its new team, the PA announcer stopped being the only voice heard, and before long the funeral aura was gone. By the time confetti was released from the rafters after the Cavs’ win, the crowd had fully embraced its new team.

Cavaliers fans still haven’t fully accepted Lebron’s departure. I’m not sure they ever will. But in their mourning period, they’re desperately searching for something else to make them happy. It’s like a rebound relationship. Maybe the new girl in your life isn’t ideal, but having her beats having nothing to take your mind off your ex. You don’t need a perfect rebound girl, but you need someone, anyone, to bring you a little happiness. Yet maybe this year’s Cavs are better than that.

Maybe this year’s Cavs are the perfect team for Cleveland to embrace. They don’t have any stars and very few egos. No Cav this year is important enough to depart Cleveland and leave a big crater in the city’s fabric. It’s safe to love them, and they’re a lot more “Cleveland-ish” than Lebron is. Lebron was the home-grown boy (well, he was from Akron and later said he grew up hating Cleveland — but still), yet he never fit the city’s blueprint. Cleveland is a blue-collar town, a scrappy town, a town filled with Average Joes who take a lunch pail to work, while Lebron was a prima donna who has eaten from a silver spoon since his high school years. When you look back, Lebron stood for very few qualities Cleveland does. He was an amazing basketball player, but he was never Cleveland-ish.

If last night was any indication, this year’s Cavs team is. Byron Scott started the night he could only make one promise: his team would always play hard. Then his squad backed up Scott’s words, outhustling and outworking a more talented Boston team. Scott later said the crowd appreciated this year’s Cavs team more than last.

“I feel like they’re more behind us than at any point last year in the sense that it feels like this is the true fans. It’s the people who have come up in Cleveland and have gone through it. They’re Cavs fans for life, and in spite of what everybody’s saying outside of Cleveland, they believe in us.”

Maybe they don’t believe in the Cavs yet. Maybe this year will be more pain than reward for Cavs fans. But they need something, anything, to give them hope and reinstill their belief in Cleveland basketball. They’re on the rebound from a breakup they’d love to forget.