There are no moral victories in the NBAbut the Cleveland Cavaliers can draw a lot of optimism from their 120-117 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, which ended their 15-game winning streak to start the season. With everything going in Boston’s favor in this game, and everything that worked against the Cavs, being within two points on five different occasions and losing by just three says a lot about how formidable a full-strength Cleveland team can be. in a potential playoff matchup with the Celtics, or anyone else.
Here are three reasons why the Cavs can feel good about the fight they put up in this game knowing that these factors could tilt in their favor next time.
Cleveland had its wings clipped
Cleveland was without the services of three key wings: Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert and Dean Wade. It doesn’t matter that Okoro and LeVert are making over 44% of their three-pointers this season; This is a matchup that requires a group of perimeter defenders to combat Boston’s relentless three-point pressure.
Okoro is a top star scoring defenseman. Individually, we miss him dearly in this game. Wade and LeVert are 6-foot-9 and 6-6, respectively, and that kind of positional size is a must in order to build a true shell against Boston’s drives and kicks and effectively shift and scramble toward shooters.
Without these three wings, Cleveland’s defensive lineups become very extreme with two really big guys in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley and two really small guys in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.
The Celtics, as saturated with mid-size and skill as any team in history, were able to manipulate the matchups they wanted with simple half-court ball screens, and there were plenty of advantageous crossovers available in transition with the 6-5 Ty. Jerome (that’s generous), 6-4 Sam Merrill and 6-1 Craig Porter Jr. logged a combined 72 minutes.
Everywhere you looked, the Celtics had a one-on-one advantage, and they used it to drive and kick up to 41 three-point attempts. This dynamic was demonstrated in the first three of Boston’s game.
Garland confronts Jaylen Brown, who pushes the mouse into the house until Mitchell is forced out of Jrue Holiday in the corner to close in and double Brown, who simply kicks out to Derrick White, who is open because Merrill now has to separate. the difference between it and the abandoned Holiday. Holiday then spins the ball for a corner. 3. Bang.
A few possessions later, it was Jayson Tatum isolated at midcourt against Merrill. Mitchell knows Merrill can’t contain that matchup on his own, so he sucks up to the elbow to provide help in Tatum’s driving lane. That leaves Brown open on the wing. Tatum swings it. Pop.
The Celtics relentlessly take advantage of these perimeter advantages to create open 3-pointers against teams overly leveraged to help get shooters back in time. That’s how they hit 22 three-pointers at a 54% clip. Which brings us to…
Huge 3 point disparity
Yes, Boston routinely empties the 3-clip, taking 50+ and gaining 19+ per game. Both brands lead the league by a considerable margin. That is to say, Cleveland losing the 3-point battle to Boston is not a surprise, but the margin by which they lost is the important factor.
Cleveland is not far behind at 3. On the season, the Cavs win more than 15 per game. But they only made 10 on Tuesday. Do the math, and that’s a discrepancy of 36 3-point points between Boston’s 66 3-point points and Cleveland’s 30.
Simply put, losing the 3-point battle by 36 points and only losing the actual game by three is an extremely positive statistical sign, especially when the Cavs were without two three-point shooters in LeVert (45.8%) and Okoro (44.4%).
Now, don’t fall for the bait that this was just a random shooting night for the Cavaliers that will magically revert to average next time. Boston’s defense is incredible, and it had a lot to do with Mitchell and Garland, in particular, making 14 of their 17 three-pointers.
Cleveland has created more than 20 open 3-pointers per game this season, according to NBA.com tracking (which defines open shots as those made with the nearest defender at least six feet away), and Cleveland was making those shots at incredible speed. 49% cut. That number will eventually go down, whether Boston or any other team is on the other side.
That being said, Mitchell and Garland, as far as I remember, didn’t hit a single open 3-pointer on Tuesday, and there were very few to go around in a Cleveland uniform. That’s not likely to change. For the Cavs to beat the Celtics in a playoff series, Mitchell and Garland will have to do a lot of things, and I mean lotsof contested shots.
But they are capable. Mitchell is one of the deadliest shooters in the league, and Garland entered Tuesday making nearly 42% of his 3-pointers off the dribble, according to Synergy. These are bona fide scoring studs who combined to make just 14 of their 50 total shots on Tuesday. If they make a few more shots, just a few, the Cavs, even without their three defensive ends and even with Boston shooting at full strength, will probably win this game.
Speaking of Darius Garland…
Garland was atrocious on Tuesday. He missed 18 of his 21 shots and all six of his three-pointers. Once again, it would be irresponsible to suggest that this is simply a random bad game. Garland has thrived this year when he’s been unprotected, something he can’t rely on against Boston. You saw the struggles that come with strong contentions. His floaters were tight. His three-pointers were contested. Its space was minimal.
That said, Garland could have the entire state of Massachusetts guarding him and isn’t likely to go 3-for-21 and 0-for-6 from 3 again.
And so, to recap: The Cavs got nine points on 14% shooting from Garland, who is averaging nearly 21 points on 49/43/93 shooting splits. They lost the 3-point battle by 36 points, while the Celtics shot 54%, which is very good even by their standards, from beyond the arc. Okoro, Wade and LeVert were eliminated. And Cleveland still only lost by three points, on the road, to the best team in the league?
