Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals for 2017-18 NBA playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers is about to begin on Sunday at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Tencent Sports has invited the following five NBA experts from both China and the United States to share their previews about this game:

Dave McMenamin, senior journalist stationed in Cleveland for ESPN;

Ma Jian, former Chinese basketball player and game commentator;

Chris Forsberg, senior journalist stationed in Boston for ESPN;

Bao Renjun, special reporter stationed in Cleveland for Tencent Sports;

Micah Adams, data analyst of ESPN.

Dave McMenamin believes it is turnover controlling. The Cavs barely survived the series against the Indiana Pacers after seven games in which they committed 14 turnovers per game (more terrifyingly, 15.3 on average for the three games they had lost). By contrast, LeBron and his team reduced their turnovers down to 7.3 per game when they swept the Toronto Raptors home. The return of George Hill has contributed a lot to that. Less turnovers mean more shot attempts and better transition offense.

Ma Jian thinks the key is whether Cleveland can win Game 1 which could decide the trend of the series. Having taken days of rest, the Cavaliers should have better physical strength. They will definitely face toughness from the Celtics in Boston but with richer experience about how to play in the playoffs. Ma is confident that Cleveland has 50 percent of chance to sweep Boston home if they take Game 1.

Chris Forsberg bets on Kevin Love. LeBron James literally carried his team out of the series with the Pacers but walked over the Raptors way more easily because his teammates had much better performances, especially Love. If he can continue to make the Celtics pay both in the paint and from the three-point line, Boston will have so much to worry about.

Bao Renjun and Micah Adams agree that the Cavs' role players will decide the series. LeBron has been the WMD like he always was but there's no way for him to win all the games alone. Besides, Celtics' head coach Brad Stevens is likely to freeze LeBron at all cost to force his teammates to take over. If they can, like the rest four of the start-five made 71 percent of field goals (FG) in Game 4 against Toronto, which is highest FG percentage LeBron's teammates have ever made in his 228 NBA playoff games, the Cavs will have better chance of winning the series.

McMenamin considers Al Horford as a winning hand. Horford's team (the Atlanta Hawks and the Celtics) have lost 12 of the 13 games against the Cavaliers in NBA playoffs in the last three seasons. He made only 12.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, nearly like a "nobody" on the court. By comparison, Horford could get 17 points and 8.7 rebounds per game when he helped Boston knock out the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Which player will he become can decide which team wins the series.

Forseberg, Bao and Adams bet on Celtics' young players, specifically, Jason Tatum, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown. Boston has already lost Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving and thus needs someone to play their roles. Twenty-year-old Tatum has become the rookie with the most 20+ games in the NBA playoffs after Larry "Legend" Bird, can he do even better? Rozier has made unexpected contributions for the team multiple times by making all those unbelievable three-pointers. Will he still be able to do that? Brown failed to keep his promise of stopping LeBron last year but he is more willing to try again. How much can he contribute? If the Celtics want to win, the three young men will need to be more than themselves.

All five agree that stopping King James will be "mission impossible".

McMenamin, Ma, Forseberg and Adams believe the best tactic is to consume LeBron at both defense and offense. The Celtics have Brown and Marcus Smart who are tough and strong enough, Tatum and Marcus Morris who are tall with long arms and legs to distract LeBron when he tries to shoot and maybe Semi Ojeleye who made the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo so uncomfortable with his ground-growing lower body. Meanwhile, the Celtics need to have the player guarded by LeBron to strike more aggressively and decisively in order to make him lose his energy for everything as soon and much as possible.

Bao has different opinions of focusing on freezing LeBron's teammates instead of the King himself. Antetokounmpo and Joel Embild have both made good numbers respectively for the Bucks and the 76ers but failed to save their teams from losing. The Cavaliers have the second highest ratio of three-pointers made in their total scores next to the Houston Rockets. If Boston manages to take out this weapon from LeBron's teammates, it may be the best guarding strategy on him.

Ma and Bao bet on Love. When Love played poorly, like in the series against Indiana, the Cavaliers was on the edge of being knocked out almost in every game. By contrast, when he began to smash the Raptors, Cleveland won four games in a row and turned Toronto into "LeBronto". Bao believes if Love can score more than 20 points, the Cavs will win. Otherwise, Boston will smile.

Forseberg and Adams count on Marcus Smart. When Smart returned in Game 5 against the Bucks, he was everywhere to disturb, steal and guard, helping his team win this key battle. The same thing happened again in Game 5 with the 76ers when Smart showed up and reversed the trend of the game with his energy. He may not be able to stop LeBron, but he is able to freeze any other member of the Cavs when they seem on fire.

McMenamin votes for Tristan Thompson. Thompson became the surprise attack in Game 7 with the Pacers through his offensive rebounds and protection of the rim. Though he does not have the standard-center height, he is indeed Cleveland's best option for the position defensively, especially to guard Al Horford who was unstoppable in the first two rounds of series. Moreover, the Celtics is likely to make every game gladiator fights in which Thompson can make contributions with his strong body.