Joe Mazzulla has repeated ad nauseam that the same details go into winning, regardless of the situation. The process remains the same: dominate the margins and be the harder-playing, smarter team for a full 48 minutes.
Sometimes, the Celtics can stray from that and still come out on top. They’re an immensely talented group—the six players whose faces were printed on the rally towels at every seat in TD Garden on Friday (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis) have combined for 18 All-Star appearances, six All-NBA selections, and nine All-Defensive teams. Talent alone will pull them through on certain nights.
But against the best-of-the-best, the elite teams in the NBA, that’s not enough, and the process becomes even more critical, as the Celtics learned firsthand in Friday night’s 123-116 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Not even a combined 83 points on 32-of-61 (52.4%) shooting from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown—the most they’ve ever combined for as a duo—or a 17-point third-quarter lead could save the Celtics from the reality of losing their identity against a top-tier team.
Even with a dominant 25-3 run to start the game, the Celtics were outshot from the field 94-89 (45-43 FGM), from three 40-39 (17-17 3PM), from the free throw line 19-17 (16-13 FTM). They were outrebounded 44-40 and committed three more turnovers (15-14 points off turnovers).
After taking a 10-point lead into the half, the Celtics were outscored 59-42 and got crushed on the margins, getting outshot 51-41 from the field (22-16 FGM), 20-13 from three (7-3 3PM), outrebounded by 10 (27-17) and turned the ball over four times to Cleveland’s one. They allowed 11 offensive rebounds (Boston had eight), resulting in 12 second-chance points.
“Give credit to Cleveland. They played well,” Brown said after the game. “They shot the ball incredibly well, made timely baskets, and they climbed back into the game on the road. That’s tough to do. So you got to give them credit. Do I think we had enough to win the game? I think so, for sure. We’ll look at it on film, get better, and see which spots we can all improve on. But regardless of who was sitting out, we should have won this game.”
Brown’s point is valid. It would be easy for the Celtics to point to the absence of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis as an excuse for a loss to the East-leading Cavs, who had their full roster. But the reality is that Boston was in control—until they lost sight of the details.
“They made a run in that third quarter [by] getting some offensive rebounds, they took more shots than we did. That kinda gave them some life,” said Tatum. “Then, in the moments that we needed to get a stop, we didn’t. It was tough.”
This is a game the Celtics should have won. Instead, it serves as a sharp reminder: if they don’t commit to the process, especially against the elite teams, it’s going to cost them.
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