Recap: Cavs 95, Celtics 87 (Or, that went well)

2010-10-27 Off By John Krolik

Overview: The Cavaliers were able to win their season opener against the defending Eastern Conference champions, outscoring Boston 27-14 in the fourth quarter en route to a 95-87 victory. J.J. Hickson had 21 points to lead all scorers, and Ramon Sessions filled in for Mo Williams by combining for 30 points on 29 shots.

Cavs-Related Bullets:

-First of all, that was awesome.

– First bullet goes to Hickson, who exploded to the basket, stayed patient and let the game come to him, kept the defense honest from outside without falling in love with the jumper, and catch-and-dunked his way to 21 points on 11 shots. I’m not sure that anything would have been a better omen for this team’s future than a huge game from Hickson tonight. Huge success on every level, and don’t forget that Hickson fed Parker for the biggest three of the game.

Of course, this is going to make everybody wonder why Hickson didn’t get more playing time against the Celtics in last year’s playoffs. Nobody ever wins.

– Sessions was aggressive as hell, as was Boobie. Their low shooting percentages are a product of what happens when you attack that Boston defense with impunity, but both of them set the tone. Too many teams get whistled for one charge or commit one turnover against Boston and immediately start settling for jumpers and letting Boston dictate the tone. If you push a team hard enough, they’ll eventually slip, and that’s what happened to the (old and on the tail end of a back-to-back) Boston team in the fourth quarter.

– Hollins definitely showed me something tonight. I continue to worry about Antawn, although KG might just be in his head at this point.

– Cavs only got 10 fast-break points to Boston’s 17, but won anyways. Running will be a big part of the plan for this team, but it’s good that they know they can win a half-court game against a good team.

– Bullets of Randomness:

The thing that makes the Celtics so unpredictable at times is that Pierce, Garnett, and Allen are all jump shooters at this point in their career. On Tuesday, they were at home, they had their shots going, and calmly dispatched the Heat. On Wednesday, they combined to go 12-33, and made a grand total of four shots at the rim combined. Rondo got his, because he’s a freak, but Boston becomes very beatable when their three veteran leaders can’t get their shots to fall. Also, the Cavs wanted this game tonight. Great win. Until tomorrow.

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