#1 A loss was going to happen sooner or later
The Boston Celtics‘ last loss was to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1. They won their next 11 games. Sooner or later, a winning streak comes to an end. Oftentimes, that end isn’t a pretty sight. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, the Celtics squandered a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter.
It was ugly. It was frustrating. And it was deflating. A questionable call on Jayson Tatum’s final shot. A decision not to call a timeout. And, then the refs missing a (likely too late) time-out call by Joe Mazzulla made the loss harder to stomach. Still, sometimes, you need a dose of reality. I would much rather the Celtics be humbled and forced to re-focus than have them winning games where they’re straying from the plan.
Boston boasts a 48-13 record this season. With so much winning, the losses sting a little bit more. However, I’m not about to sit here and overreact by claiming the sky is falling. Tough losses happen. Questionable on-court application can occur. That doesn’t change who this team is or what they’re capable of achieving.
#2 The Cavaliers walked down Boston’s lead
With 9:21 left in the fourth quarter, Payton Pritchard scored a layup to put the Celtics up by 20.
It was a scrappy basket that came via a second-chance opportunity. In truth, this was a scrappy game. The Cavaliers came to play. They used their size to muddy things up. Their pick-up points were high. We can talk about that in a minute, though.
20 seconds after Pritchard’s bucket, Tatum hit a putback layup. Then, the Cavaliers turned up the heat. They rattled off a 22-6 run over the ensuing six minutes. Dean Wade was at the forefront of that run.
There is no reason to send two on Georges Niang in a pick-and-roll scenario, not when his screener is the guy with the hottest hand on the floor. A quick cut as Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet try to blitz Niang provides an easy pocket passing lane. Jrue Holiday is a split second too slow to rotate over, and it ends in an easy bucket for Wade.
In truth, though, Cleveland’s success came from the perimeter. They went 8 of 11 during the fourth quarter, with all of those buckets occurring during their surge back into the game. Notably, the Cavs hunted Boston’s bigs on the perimeter. Their first three perimeter buckets came from players being guarded by Luke Kornet — who is not a perimeter defender. Another one came against Kristaps Porzingis as he closed out onto a corner shooter.
The Cavs had a game plan. It worked. You learn from it. Chalk up the loss. Move on.
Nevertheless, we can’t ignore that with each shot the Cavs made, the pressure got a little bit heavier on the Celtics, and in turn, their offense began to devolve.
#3 Lack of action down the stretch
All season long, Boston’s offense has been purring. They stick to their principles. They move the rock. They cut. The pass. It’s a system built of selfless ball movement and finding the right shot. So, can someone please explain why we suddenly hopped into a time machine and went back three years?
Because, for the stretches of Boston’s limp toward the finish line, they relied on single high-ball screens, held onto the ball a beat too long, and took some difficult shots late.
Single-ball screen. Tatum drives to the elbow and is tightly guarded. There is no space creation. A man right in his grill pulls up anyway with 10 seconds left on the clock.
Celtics are in a horns set. White gets tunnel vision when driving the lane, forces a contested shot around the rim. That’s uncharacteristic of him. Usually, White finds the right pass and creates great scoring opportunities.
Of course, some of the Celtics offense was down to not making shots. There were a few possessions where they got good looks; they just couldn’t convert.
This shot is a prime example. You can get a much better look for Porzingis. We’ve seen him consistently convert this jumper from this exact play where the guard is dragging their dribble all season long. It just didn’t fall. There was nothing wrong with the process or execution. I’m ok when this happens. It’s the stuff highlighted above that can be irksome.
But for a stretch there, it felt like they had devolved into some hero ball, which we’ve seldom seen from this iteration of the team. Personally, I’m chalking it down to a short and isolated spell of bad decision-making.
#4 Sometimes, role players get hot
Wade went seven-of-seven from the field in the fourth quarter. He was five-of-five from deep. Sometimes, role players get hot. It happens. When it happens you do the best you can to contain everyone else on the floor and force the hot hand to try and beat you. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers raised their level as Wade continued to pull them back into the game.
This is one of those “tip your cap” moments we hear about.
#5 Empty side actions
One thing I did notice from the Celtics in this game was that they incorporated some of the empty-side actions we saw during the season’s opening weeks. Part of this was likely to try and manipulate Evan Mobley’s positioning on the floor and to create a logjam around the paint.
It was also likely due to the Celtics’ interior scoring ability and the number of pull-up shooters within the rotation. It makes sense to attack the Cavs off the dribble; that’s where their defense often looks weakest.
In this clip, keeping the corner empty on the initial action allows Jrue Holiday to cut to his spot as he receives the release valve pass from Jaylen Brown. He doesn’t knock down the three. Nevertheless, Holiday is one of the most reliable corner shooters in the league, so you take that attempt 10-out-of-10 times.
Here’s another example. This time, the Celtics are in a high pick-and-roll. With no weakside low man to help on a cut or a roll to the rim, the defense has to track back with Holiday, limiting their ability to keep two on the ball and giving Tatum an easier look at the rim from deep.
Final example. This time, White flows into an empty side “Get DHO” with Porzingis. Darius Garland does a great job of getting into the space in front of White and forcing him to rethink the action. It ends with a poorly executed lob play for Porzingis. Still, you can see where the thought process is going and how the Celtics can build on that execution moving forward. Good offense doesn’t always end in a bucket.
#6 Cleveland’s passing lane defense
The Cavs ended the game with 11 steals and a further 11 deflections. They came into the game looking to punish the Celtics’ swing passes and how they drag out ball screens before pitching it back to the big man. Cleveland has the length to be a pest in passing lanes. They do a great job with their “no middle” defense, thus (to an extent) controlling the angles that passes are coming from.
We see the Celtics make passes like this all the time. Sure, they’re usually a little crisper. Still, this wasn’t a reach from Brown. It’s part of their post-play. They generate high-quality looks from possessions like this and have done so throughout the season.
It is bound to be frustrating to consistently encounter resistance when trying to execute your base offense. This likely contributed to the Celtics’ decision to incorporate some additional isolation plays throughout the game—according to Synergy, Boston had 19 isolation possessions compared to the Cavaliers’ five.
#7 Welcome to the block party
The Celtics recorded nine blocks throughout the game. Porzingis was an immense rim protector. White was a fantastic chase defender, and both made their presence felt when contesting shots. White led the game with four blocks to his name. Porzingis had three. Kornet also chipped in with two swats to his name.
Unlike Porzingis and Kornet, White is incredibly mobile on the defensive end. He can change direction at speed, navigate screens, and block shots from anywhere on the court, making him the best shot-blocking guard in the NBA.
As such, the Cavs got lucky when they heated up from deep. The Celtics’ interior defense, specifically in shot defense, was operating at a high level from start to finish. Unfortunately, blocking transition threes and jumpers at the end of solid ball movement sequences is tough. We’ve seen the Celtics succeed in those moments all season, so it’s no surprise the Cavs looked to replicate some of that gameplan.
#8 Not calling a time out
I’d be remiss with not mentioning this one, at least in passing. We all know by now that Mazzulla prefers his team to problem solve on the fly. He gives them rope to figure things out. We’ve come to understand and respect that throughout the season. However, in a close game, with the Celtics needing a bucket and a stop, you have to draw something up.
Boston is among the best teams in the NBA for points per possession after timeouts. According to Mat Issa of Basketball Insiders, they average 1.28 points per ATO play. Why would you not want to draw up a play and give your team an opportunity to take the lead, thus putting pressure on the Cavs? It makes no sense to me.
By all accounts, Mazzulla eventually conceded and attempted to call a time-out, but the refs allowed the game to continue. Failure on both sides, perhaps?
#9 Tatum’s first half
Tatum will undoubtedly receive some criticism for his performance in the second half. However, he also deserves some praise for the efficiency he displayed and the impact he made during the opening two quarters. He went seven-of-nine from the field and five-of-six from deep. He had eight rebounds. He had dished out two assists.
At the time, it felt like we were en route to a dominant performance from the five-time All-Star. However, a 1-for-12 showing from the field in the second half saw his impact fizzle out as the Cavs upped the pressure on defense and started to tug on the thread of Boston’s lead.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen more games like the first half than we have the second. Tatum has been exceptional all season. A tough 24 minutes in a random early-March loss doesn’t change that. Still, you hope that those tough stretches will be minimized as we move toward the playoffs.
Buckets like this one are when you know Tatum is feeling it.
#10 The need for a short memory
After a loss like this, the Celtics need to have a short memory. After all, this is still the same team that dismantled the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. It’s the same team that cooked 11 straight teams heading into their contest against Cleveland. And the same team is expected to make a run back to the NBA Finals.
Perhaps there was a slight hangover from the Warriors game. Perhaps the Celtics came into the second half expecting talent to win out and were totally shellshocked by the time it became apparent they needed to “switch things on.”
The Celtics can’t dwell on what might have been. Yes, a one point loss based on a questionable decision from the refs is hard to swallow. It won’t sit right — with the team or with the fanbase. Yet, nothing that gets said will change the outcome. The Celtics have shown great resilience this season. They bounce back quickly and emphatically. And that’s exactly what they need to do here.
Looking ahead
Things don’t get any easier for the Celtics. They’re heading to Denver to face the reigning champions on Thursday. They will need to be much better on both sides of the floor if they want to prove to the world that their bid for a banner is more than just talk. This is the game where you prove everything you’ve been working toward is within reach. This is the game that announces you as the team to beat in the postseason.
The Celtics have to show up. Denver already has 42 wins this season. They don’t take many possessions off, and they rarely under perform. They have the consistency of a championship-caliber team. I’ve got this game circled.
Regardless of the outcome, I’ll be back here on Friday morning, writing the takeaways and trying to pinpoint lessons we may have learned. Until then, I hope everyone has a great day!
