ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Reveals Celtics’ Playoff Message To Cavaliers: ‘We’re Not The Raptors’ [VIDEO]

Now that the Boston Celtics have knocked the Philadelphia 76ers out of the NBA Playoffs and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, Stephen A. Smith has a message for the Cavs.

Stephen A. Smith On Celtics’ Message To Cavs

The ESPN First Take host issued the message on behalf of the Celtics on Thursday: “We are not the Toronto Raptors.”

“Don’t think for one second that we’re going to bow to the altar of The King,” added Smith, referring to Lebron James’ nickname.

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Cleveland swept Toronto in the second round to reach their fourth straight Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics eliminated the Sixers in five games.

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The winner of the series between the Cavs and Celtics will play the winner of the Houston Rockets–Golden State Warriors series in the NBA Finals. Game 1 of the first series will be held in Boston on Sunday at 3:30pm EST and will air on ABC. The opening game of the latter series will take place in Houston on Monday at 9pm EST, and will be broadcast on TNT.

In other NBA news, the Raptors fired head coach Dwane Casey on Friday. The move comes as a surprise, as Casey was named the Coach of the Year earlier this week after leading Toronto to the top seed in the East this season. The Raptors’ 59 wins in 2017-18 were a franchise record. They beat the Washington Wizards 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs. Casey had led Toronto for seven seasons.