The Cleveland Cavaliers did not look anywhere near the championship-level team they aspire to be in their 125-105 beatdown to the Boston Celtics. The Cavs were a step slow on defense, couldn’t end possessions with defensive rebounds, and were far too reliant on the outside shot to have a well-balanced offensive attack.
This stood in stark contrast to a Celtics team that hit a ton of threes, was able to get Cleveland’s defense in rotation, and was extremely disciplined on the defensive end. It was an impressive
performance from a team that has struggled to establish any momentum in the early part of the season.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with a game-high 30 points on 12-20 shooting to go along with five rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. Sam Hauser was lights out off the bench as he went 7-13 from beyond the arc for 21 points in as many minutes. Payton Pritchard contributed 10 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals.
This was a disastrous showing for Cleveland. They gave up 23 second-chance points and allowed their opponent to have eight more field-goal attempts. Both are trends that head coach Kenny Atkinson will need to figure out how to combat if this team is going to reach its potential.
On the other end of the floor, the Cavs’ only source of offense was the three-ball. Over half of their field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc as they went 17-52 from distance (32.7%). By contrast, they attempted just 12 shots in the restricted area all game. You want your offense to take a lot of threes, but this was not a healthy balance by any stretch.
It didn’t help that Donovan Mitchell wasn’t at 100%. He was added to the injury report a few hours before the game with a hamstring injury. Mitchell played, but didn’t have his usual explosiveness.
Nine of Mitchell’s 12 shots came from beyond the arc. He made his first five threes, but didn’t register a single point after the start of the second quarter. Mitchell finished with 15 points on 5-12 shooting.
Evan Mobley and Jaylon Tyson led the team with 19 points. De’Andre Hunter added in 18 points on 5-17 shooting with six rebounds and two helpers. Jarrett Allen supplied 16 points and six rebounds.
The loss breaks the Cavs’ three-game winning streak and drops their record to 3-2. They’ll head back to Cleveland to take on the Toronto Raptors on Halloween.
