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Cleveland vs. Boston has potential to be a very entertaining series, and a tough one for both teams. During the regular season, the teams split their games against each other- with Lebron James missing one game in Boston. Cleveland seems as well equipped as anybody to really challenge regular season jaugernaut Boston.

Of all the subplots in this series- defending Eastern Champ vs. the League Favorite, Superstar Lebron vs. Boston's Big Three, etc.- the one that intrigues me the most is the potential for Wally Szcerbiak to redeem himself against people who gave up on him.

If you recall, Szcerbiak has some history with the team he will face in the second round of the playoffs... particularly with Boston star Kevin Garnett. Wally spent his first 7 NBA seasons in Minnesota playing alongside KG. It was a marriage that was much maligned, as rumors abounded that Garnett and Szcerbiak did not get along well. Garnett was the undisputed superstar; an acomplished scorer and defender- and a guy who had a reputation for playing with passion and doing all the intangibles on and off the court. Szcerbiak was the #2 man; a talented shooter, but also a player heavily hampered by injuries. Szcerbiak has always had the size to be a good rebounder and the potential to be a much better defender than he has been up till now.

After 7 seasons of struggling alongside Garnett in Minnesota, Szcerbiak was traded to the Boston Celtics. In Boston, Szcerbiak's career seemed all but over as he again struggled through injuries, which did not help his already poor reputation as a defender. He seemed to be marked as a once gifted shooter who had lost his edge- and he appeared to be one more injury away from being an ex-NBA player. After 2 frustrating seasons on one of the league's worst teams, Szcerbiak was dealt to the Seattle Superonics in a draft night deal that brought Ray Allen to Boston, and ironically, set in motion the creation of Boston's current Big 3 phenomenom. It seemed Szcerbiak's once promising career had ended with him becoming a footnote in the construction of another great Celtics team.

But Szcerbiak actually thrived in his lone partial season in Seattle. As an elderstatesman on a team full of youth and chaos, Szerbiak shot a career high .428 from three point range and averaged 13 points off the bench for the SuperSonics.

Later in the season, the Cavaliers made a trade to obtain Szerbiak, hoping to bring his hot shooting hand to an offense that desperately needed a shooting compliment to Lebron James. It has not necessarily been smooth sailing for Szcerbiak in Cleveland. In the 25 regular season games he played with the Cavaliers, Szcerbiak shot just .365 from three point range (.359 overall FG%). At times, he has appeared to be forcing his shots and trying too hard to get his shooting form back. But in several of the games I've seen since the trade, Szcerbiak has shown an intensity I have never seen from him before in his career. Lately, Szcerbiak is putting a lot of energy and pride into his defense. He has been driving to the basket to get points and using his size (6-7 245lbs) and strength to make the kinds of intangible plays he has never been known for. He has also had a couple of encouraging nights where he has shot the ball pretty well- especially game 6 of the playoff series vs. Wasington- where hs scored 26 points off of 6-13 shooting from 3 point range. He is beginning to show potential to be a good #2 man for Lebron James. I really think that his experience with KG in Minnesota has helped him realize what he needs to do to be an effective sidekick to a superstar. I am really hoping that he keeps playing the way he has been playing- with a lot of heart and energy.

And so here we are- awaiting game 1 of a playoff series that pits Szcerbiak against a team, and a teammate, that gave up on him... maybe rightfully so at the time. Wally seems to have matured a lot as a player in the short time he has spent in Cleveland. Now facing a team his trade helped create, Wally has a great opportunity to redeem himself and make some history in the process. The Cavaliers have a tough series ahead of them- Boston may be too good for them to overcome- but if they can come together and if Szcerbiak can finally be that perfect compliment to Lebron James- how sweet would that be?