After sprinting to an unbelievable 25-3 start against the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Celtics crashed down to Earth when they lost sight of how they built that lead: three-point attempts.
Whether you love or hate watching Boston let it fly from behind the arc, the Cavs bullied the Celtics off the line and away from their game, and it’s a tough pill to swallow. The 123-116 loss is a reminder that Joe Mazzulla’s team has to commit to his philosophy of shooting volume, even when down two starters and facing a team as relentless as Cleveland.
Nobody could expect the Celtics to keep up the brilliant clinic they staged in the 38-26 first quarter. They made seven of 14 deep shots. But when the Cavs came roaring back within a possession before the half, it was Derrick White’s threes that kept their lead intact – and kept the Cavs mentally prone on their backs, dead-bug style.
NBA players like to extol how a 20-point lead isn’t what it used to be. There’s no better poster child for that mentality than Donovan Mitchell’s Cavaliers. He lives to dig his team out of a hole, as he’s demonstrated twice against Boston already this season.
So when you’re the defending champs and known for your historic three-point attempts, there’s no excuse to shoot the least amount in a half all season – especially against the team you’re chasing in the conference.
Boston finished the second half with just 13 threes attempted. That’s half of the 26 they got up in the first two quarters of the game.
Mazzulla recognized Cleveland’s defensive adjustment in the second half after the game:
“They were obviously a little bit more intentional about their shifts and their activity.”
It’s never just about one stat line. Boston fought an uphill battle on multiple fronts in the third and fourth quarters. Cleveland cleaned their clock on the glass, outrebounding them 27-17 during that stretch. Jaylen Brown got into foul trouble in the third and had to sit, allowing Cleveland’s defense to smother Jayson Tatum, and force him to drive downhill. Once Brown got back in, he and Tatum looked obviously frustrated that their combined 83-point efforts weren’t enough to stem the tide behind Mitchell.
And although Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were both out, Brown refused to lean on that reason for the loss.
“Regardless of who was sitting out, we should have won this game,” he said, after he complimented the Cavaliers’ ability to “climb back on the road.”
All of that context matters a lot, but 13 three-point attempts is too uncharacteristic to ignore. Porzingis is one of Boston’s best shooters, but Holiday only accounted for two three-point attempts when Boston last face Cleveland, on February 4th. They won that contest with 48 three-point attempts, much closer to their season average.
Boston can’t get bullied away from who they are – especially when they’re hosting the Nuggets, Lakers, and Thunder over the next two weeks.
Their relative struggles at TD Garden feel part and parcel with what 13 attempts demonstrates: an inability to dictate the game as they want it played.
Or, as simply as Brown put it:
“We need to be able to get to what we need to get to.”