(Photo courtesy of CBS Sports) “Jayson Tatum drives to the rim”
Liam O’Keefe
Connector Staff
Last Tuesday the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers marched into TD Garden to take on the reigning champion Boston Celtics. However, the Cavs couldn’t match up with the Celtics as the game ended in a 120-117 Cavs loss breaking the impressive 15-game win streak. This defeat kept the Cavs out of the history books as moving to 16-0 would have given them sole possession of the second-longest undefeated start to a season in NBA history behind only the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors’ 24-0 start. The team will instead be tied with the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and the 1948-49 Washington Capitols.
The first thing to mention about this game was that it never felt as close as the final score suggests. The Celtics had a 17-point lead at halftime behind a remarkable 14 of 22 shooting from 3-point range. The largest lead of the night for the Celtics was 21 points in the third quarter. When things started to seem hopeless for Cleveland, they turned it around with an 18-3 run to end the third quarter of the game but still failed to tie the game up with Boston at any point in the second half. Much of the credit for this offensive dominance for the Celtics came from forward Jayson Tatum who finished with 38 points and 12 rebounds in 38 minutes.
To the Cavs’ credit, they were very short-staffed in this game. Cleveland was without almost their entire wing rotation. Forward Dean Wade, guard Max Strus, forward Isaac Okoro and guard Caris LeVert were all inactive. Wade and Okoro are the best defensive answers to Tatum and Brown, outside of forward Evan Mobley, so losing both of them was a major blow. The biggest issue for the Cavs this game was Darius Garland’s offense. The point guard only made three of his 21-shot attempts. This performance is unfortunate but not unexpected as Garland hasn’t performed well against the Celtics in the past. Last year in the NBA Playoffs, the Cavs and Celtics met in the second round of the playoffs where Mobley shot 40% from the field and averaged just 16.8 points per game. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly the Celtics do that gives Garland so much trouble, but a lot of the credit should go to guards Derrick White and Jrue Holliday for their defensive significance.
Outside of this game, the Celtics have continued to be an absolute force. At the time of writing this article, they are 12-3 and seem primed to make another deep postseason run. Tatum hasn’t missed a beat and is leading the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
on a per-game basis. Jaylen Brown is also having a great season averaging 25/7/4 continuing the dominance that earned him Finals MVP just a few months ago. The biggest surprise for this season has been the emergence of backup center Neemias Queta. Queta’s role on the team has been increased due to starting center Kristaps Porzingis missing the start of the as he is nursing an injury, and he is making the most of it. Queta is averaging 6 points and 6 rebounds per game, but his physicality and defensive presence have given the Celtics a new dimension that they have needed with Porzingis out. This Celtics team is dangerous and, barring any serious injuries is the team to beat in the league as they look to defend the crown and earn back-to-back NBA titles.
