CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t overcome an awful 10-point second quarter as they fell to the Boston Celtics 109-98.
Boston is a bad matchup for Cleveland. They can press the Cavs in a lot of the areas they struggle with most on both ends of the floor.
Offensively, they can spread the Cavs’ defense out and force them to guard one-on-one. This isn’t ideal for a team that has struggled with point-of-attack defense all season. And if the backside help comes, the Celtics have capable enough
playmakers to find the open man and make them pay with their three-point shooting.
Defensively, they stay out of rotation due to their willingness to switch everything. They trust each player on the court to hold their own in any matchup, and they mostly do. This allows them to limit the amount of disruption an off-ball shooter like Sam Merrill can cause or the effectiveness of the pick-and-roll because they’re okay with giving up mismatches if it means slowing down the offense’s ball movement.
The problems this can cause the Cavs came through, particularly in the second quarter when the game got away from them.
The Cavs lost this game in the second quarter. They mustered just 10 points, went 0-14 from three, and just 4-25 from the field.
“I think that first half man, it was really just about shots,” Donovan Mitchell said.
The Cavs generated good looks in the second quarter that simply didn’t fall. Below is a clip of eight threes that were either quality attempts or, at the very least, open enough that you’re okay with the shot in a vacuum.
“If we get a couple shots to fall, layups, threes, anything…it’s a different ballgame,” James Harden said. “It’s draining when you feel like you’re getting easy looks and they’re not going, but it’s part of the game.”
Missing threes in the second quarter wasn’t an issue for the Cavs; their inability to find other ways to score was.
“Part of basketball is missing and making shots, but our competitive nature, our competitive spirit [needs to be there] for a full game,” Harden said. “That’s what we do. We force the game to be in our hands.”
This is what the Celtics did better, particularly in the second quarter. They also shot poorly, going 1-9 from three in the second, but they found ways to attack the basket and get to the free-throw line.
Boston only scored 21 points in that frame, but their ability to keep their offense on schedule allowed them to create separation. If the Cavs hadn’t abandoned trying to get inside in the second quarter, they might’ve been able to stay in the game until their three-point shot came around.
The same three-point looks that weren’t falling in the first half fell in the second. They went 11-23 (47.8%) from three en route to a 62-point half.
If you look at most of the makes below, you’ll see that the offensive process that led to the attempts wasn’t too different. It’s just that the shots went in this time around.
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“I think we did an unbelievable job in the second half,” Harden said. “We just kept fighting and giving ourselves a chance.”
The Celtics don’t have an answer for Evan Mobley. This is a matchup he’s historically done well in, and did so again on Sunday. He punished mismatches when he got the switch and did a good job of getting into the paint on opposing center Neemias Queta.
While the Cavs don’t have an answer for Boston’s wings, the Celtics also don’t have an answer for Cleveland’s bigs. This was evident even though the Cavs were without Jarrett Allen.
Boston’s role players were the biggest difference in this matchup.
Both teams had good enough games from their stars. The same can’t be said about the supporting cast.
The Celtics’ bench outscored the Cavs’ 41-13. This included standout performances from Payton Pritchard (18 points) and Baylor Scheierman (16 points). Sam Hauser was a starter, but his 15 points were more than any Cavalier outside of Mitchell, Harden, and Mobley.
Conversely, the Cavs received a substandard performance from everyone outside of their stars. Jaylon Tyson provided eight points and didn’t make an impact defensively, Sam Merrill went 1-7 from three, Dennis Schroder registered just two points, and Keon Ellis didn’t score at all.
Even though this game felt one-sided at times, the Cavs aren’t far off.
The Celtics are the standard in the East. They’re the only proven, championship team among the four top teams in the conference. Games like this show why. They understand who they are and what they want to do on both ends. That came through in the stretches where they weren’t getting their shots to fall in the second quarter, and didn’t let it affect how they played. That, in the end, is what won them the game.
The Cavs aren’t on the Celtics’ level right now, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get there.
“In that second half, we found something in ourselves,” Harden said. “That’s the level we got to get to, Boston. Once we’re there, because I know we’re good enough. We will get there, then we’ll be a much better team.
“If we’re making shots, we’re going to blow teams out. And tonight we didn’t make our shots.”
