The first round of the NBA playoffs seems too easy for LeBron James.
He's never lost a first-round series. His teams are 39-7 in first-round games. And when Cleveland visits Boston in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference matchup today, James and the Cavaliers will be taking the court with a 3-0 lead.
If that wasn't enough, consider what James did Saturday in a video posted by his longtime personal trainer Mike Mancias - a clip that was all over the web within minutes. From one corner of the TD Garden court, James flung a ball quarterback-style toward the basket at the other end.
Swish.
That's probably not a good sign for the Celtics.
"You know the type of pressure that the opposing team is under. It's win or go home for them," James said Saturday. "And they're going to bring everything in the toolbox that they have to try to get this victory and compete. For us, we have to stay calm, play our game, do what we've been doing and treat Game 4 like a Game 1."
Sunday could be Sweepsday not just for Cleveland, but for Houston and Washington as well. Washington looks to finish off a four-game ousting of Toronto, and the Rockets have Dallas in a 3-0 hole in their first-round matchup.
Also, defending NBA champion San Antonio looks to take a 3-1 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Wizards haven't swept anyone since 1982, and that was in a best-of-three. Houston could be headed to the second round for just the second time since 1997, and could win a 4-0 series for the first time since the 1995 NBA Finals - the most recent instance of the Rockets winning the title.
"Our mindset is get greedy," Rockets guard James Harden said. "Get greedy, don't let up and just stay focused."
Maybe it was just coincidence, but not long after James' fullcourt shot in Boston set Twitter aflame, the Rockets' Dwight Howard connected on a similar heave.
Still, Dallas probably would enjoy seeing Howard do that in games, since they had no answer for his 26-rebound performance in Game 3.
The Mavs also thought Howard and the Rockets are getting help. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle got fined $25,000 for complaining about officiating after Friday's 130-128 loss.
"I accept the fine," Carlisle said. "I have strong feelings about how I feel about my team and I'm going to fight for my team."
The Spurs-Clippers matchup resumes after San Antonio rolled to a 27-point win on Friday night. On Saturday, Tim Duncan celebrated his 39th birthday, and another home win for the Spurs would make it about as perfect a weekend as the defending champs could have wanted.
