BOSTON -- The Celtics and Cavaliers matched up against each other four times this season, but the Celts didn't save much of the game film.

Thanks to a late-February trade, coach Doc Rivers says the team the Celts took on last night in the playoffs had little resemblance to the one that struggled through large portions of the regular season.

"This is the first time we've faced this team. That's the way we're looking at it," said Rivers.

The two trade-deadline deals that transformed the Cavaliers were certainly a bit of a risk for general manager Danny Ferry, the former Duke star. Even with a club that was coming off a trip to The Finals last June, Ferry looked at a team that owned a 31-24 record and decided to blow things up. Since the trade, the Cavs finished the regular season 14-13 but played well in a first-round series win over the Washington Wizards.

The four new Cavaliers are backcourt starters Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak, center Ben Wallace and forward Joe Smith.

"I didn't think we were good enough to win the championship," Ferry said at the time of the trade. "I thought we had a very good team. But I do believe if we have a chance to make ourselves better we should try.

"Was it a risk in doing so? Yes, it was a risk. But we're going to have to make some decisions that have some risk in them if we want to continue to build and grow."

LeBron James said he appreciates the new cast as much as anyone. West and Szczerbiak have provided extra outside shooters that James can find when he's double- or triple-teamed. The Cavaliers have gotten better with every week, according to James.

"We're a much better team than the first few weeks," said James. "We knew it was going to take a little while. We're happy that we're playing the best basketball of the season now in the postseason."

The defensive help inside from Wallace and Smith has fortified the Cavaliers and helped balance an offense that can't load up on James.

"Any time you have guys around you who can shoot the ball, it helps a lot," said James. "Sometimes they don't want to double, but I know I'm not going to see any one-on-one defenses. It hasn't happened in the last four years. My guys will be ready on the backside to shoot.

Two good defenses

Both defenss dominated the action last night, and that's not a surprise to either coach. Rivers says Cleveland's defense is much improved since the team's two big trades, and the Celtics pride themselves on stout defense.

"They're one of the best help teams in the league," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "Everybody says they play man-to-man, but it's a zone, it's a legal zone. They do as good a job as anybody in this league of loading up on the strong side and then still taking away your stuff on the weak side. We're going to have to be aggressive and try to drive the ball and not be afraid to step in and shoot that thing even if you're open a little bit, because they're not going to give you a lot of clean looks."