Game On!

The Cavaliers seemed rested and ready on Sunday evening at Cleveland Clinic Courts, after having dropped the Washington Wizards in D.C. for the third straight season two nights earlier.

On the bus ride from the arena to the airport on Friday night, nearly everyone aboard was checking their BlackBerry to see who would be Cleveland’s Second Round opponent. On Sunday afternoon, it only took the Celtics one half of basketball to provide the answer.

Now, the Cavaliers will face the Celtics in the postseason for the first time since their memorable matchup against Larry Bird’s bunch 16 years ago. The series tips off on Tuesday night (8 p.m.) in Beantown.

Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak are the only two Cavaliers who have been part of Boston’s recent – (and rather ignominious) – era, and were part of the trade that allowed 1/3 of Boston’s Big Three – Ray Allen – to move east. The Celtics then went on to have the biggest single-season turnaround in NBA history – improving from 24 wins in 2006-07 to 66 in ’07-08.

Szczerbiak, who struggled on and off during the First Round, was vindicated big time on Friday night, exploding for 26 points on 6-for-13 shooting beyond the arc. Aside from LeBron, Wally will probably get the majority of the fans’ Bronx cheers.

“I had a great time in Boston; it’s a class organization – from Doc Rivers to Danny Ainge, up and down the line,” said Szczerbiak. “They’re great people over there and they brought in some great players and they did some special things this year. And now that we have an opportunity to go at it, I’m a Cleveland Cavalier and I want to win this series more than anything.”

These are obviously not your father’s Celtics – far different than the Bird Era C’s and far, far different than the sorry squad that was re-tooled in the off-season. And as big an addition as Ray Allen has been, the heart and soul of the new-look Celts is obviously this year’s Defensive Player of the Year, Kevin Garnett.

The Cavaliers, however, have one of the deepest and most-skilled frontlines in the East. And they could give the Big Ticket fits on both ends of the court. But, as Cleveland’s bigs know, he’s still one of the toughest players in the league to stop.

“It’s tough with the way he’s been playing all season long,” said Joe Smith, who will certainly get his chance at Garnett. “But at the same time, you have to try to cut his air space out a little bit, don’t let him get comfortable when he gets the ball to face up, don’t let him get comfortable in the post, and try to do whatever you can to contest his shots up top.”

The Celtics could have never envisioned their First Round series going seven games. Throughout the series, Boston demolished Atlanta at home – including Sunday’s 34-point trouncing at the TD Banknorth Garden, but had a difficult time with the high-flying Hawks down in Dixie.

But did the series help to illustrate any chinks in Boston’s armor?

“We’re a different team than Atlanta,” reasoned LeBron. “They have a lot of athletes. We can’t try to approach the game like Atlanta did; we don’t have those types of athletes. We’re going to approach any series like we always do. Defensively, try to get stops and offensively, execute.”

One player that will be a welcome addition to both sides of the ball is Sasha Pavlovic – who recovered from an ankle injury in the final days of the First Round. Pavlovic’s athleticism will be huge in trying to contain Ray Allen on the perimeter. Wally’s coming-out party in Game 6 at Washington all but cemented his spot in the starting lineup, but Pavlovic gives Mike Brown one more bench weapon against a team that has a bunch of them.

This season, the Cavaliers have split four games with Doc Rivers’ club with each team holding serve on their home turf. One of Boston’s wins at the Garden – it should be noted – took place with LeBron James watching from the bench in street clothes. So, while the Celtics might have dominated the rest of the league, they didn’t exactly send shivers up the Cavaliers’ spines.

“It doesn’t mean much,” countered Mike Brown, referring to the Cavaliers’ moderate success against Boston. “I think we went 2-0 vs. San Antonio during the regular season and had beaten them three out of the last four games, and it didn’t mean much in the Finals. I think Washington had our number this year, and it didn’t mean much in the series.”

With all the pieces in place, the Cavaliers look to return to the NBA’s promised land for the second straight season. Their journey this season will be more challenging than last year’s run, but the Wine and Gold feel like they’re playing their best basketball of the season and are up for the challenge.

“(Boston) has been playing great basketball all the way around,” said Daniel Gibson, who was huge in Friday night’s big win over Washington. “We have to be prepared and we have to be locked in, going into a different arena – especially one where a team is playing so well. But, again, it’s just a matter of us understanding what we have to do and just being prepared to take care of business.”