Recap: Boston 117, Cleveland 78 (or, that’s no clover; that’s a buzzsaw)

The Cleveland Cavaliers, sans Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and LeBron James hung with the playoff hungry Boston Celtics for all of one quarter before the effects of missing four starters were too much to overcome. The Cavs imploded in the second period, when they turned the ball over eight times, and the Celtics ran rampant for 34-9 rout in 12 minutes.

Not surprisingly, the Cavs were unable to make up the 76.5 points per game that their four missing starters provide, and were outscored 62-47 in second half as well. Of course, the Cavs had little to play for with the second seed in the East sewn up, and the chance to rest their starters couldn’t be passed up. In a game like this, one must ignore the score and look for the silver linings in the clouds.

The Good (relatively)

Timofey Mozgov looked solid, especially on the boards. He struggled slightly shooting the ball, but looked aggressive in the post and as a dive man. He also did a nice job with the high-low action with Tristan Thompson. Despite his four turnovers, he executed the offense. Most of those turnovers were a result of getting used to playing with new floor combinations, and Boston’s defense. Nine points, eight boards and a block in 23 minutes isn’t a bad outing for the big fellow.

Tristan Thompson was another offensive player who didn’t look abysmal: 5-11 and 4-6 at the line in 26 minutes for 14 points. TT had some nice finishes through contact and finished 5-6 inside three feet (and 0-5 from four feet and out).

James Jones had a team high 15 points, as he went 4-7 from the field and 5-5 from the stripe. He even hit a couple mid-rangers. His quick release, and ability to hit open jumpers should net him some situational run in the playoffs. He has an uncanny knack for getting fouled at the three point line, too.

Joe Harris was aggressive, and though Boston ran him off the line (where he was 0-3), Harris had a couple nice moves towards the basket and mid-rangers off down screens. He 4-5 inside the arc for nine points. It will be interesting to see how much he improves by next fall when he has a chance to play meaningful games again.

Shawn Marion‘s mid range J and post game looked effective. He still can’t shoot threes anymore, but he finished with eight points and seven boards and looked confident shooting in the post. Blatt shouldn’t be afraid to go to Matrix at the small forward in the playoffs. He can post up and defend multiple positions on defense.

Iman Shumpert‘s mid-range game and ability to score off the dribble looked very solid tonight. He was 5-10 inside the arc (and 1-5 behind it). He also chipped in ten boards. His 20-foot jumper looked feathery and his handle looked pretty solid when he wasn’t giving the ball to the Celtics (more on that below).

It’s impossible to talk about “the good,” without talking about what a great job Brad Stevens has done with the Celtics. They’re relentless defenders, especially on the perimeter. Marcus Smart, Evan Turner, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, and even Phil Pressey are constantly pressuring the ball. Smart, especially, is going to be a holy terror for his career. He seems like a super buff octopus when he guards the perimeter. It’s impossible to move him or get a pass around him. The Celtics hounded the Cavs into 24 turnovers, 20 of them from steals. As a probable first round match-up, I could see the Greenies taking a game from the Cavs just on ball hawking alone. The Cleveland starters should beware.

In addition, Isaiah Thomas is one of the shiftiest players in the league. If he ever drops out of the NBA he could be a headliner for the Globetrotters. His handle is filthy, and he’s among the league’s most dangerous bench scorers. He finished with 17 points, six dimes, two steals, and only one turnover in 22 minutes. That, my friends, is efficiency. Stevens has figured out a perfect role for Thomas coming off the bench. Pencil Isaiah in for Sixth Man of the Year in 2016.

https://vine.co/v/euJgzV0JKtF

The rest of the Celtics are dangerous too, especially when their jumpers are falling. Evan Turner fits in well on this team after almost single-handedly destroying the Pacers last year. Avery Bradley has become a fearless and deadly shooter. Confession time. I’m a former Celtics fan, and though I’ll be a Cavalier for life now, Boston’s team is hard not to root for. They just need a dominant inside player to be scary. Cavs should handle them easily this year, but I don’t want to play them next year.

The Bad

Everyone else. The Cavs allowed the Celtics to shoot 55% from the floor and 42% from three, only forced seven turnovers, and sent Boston to the line 22 times. The Cavs shot 30% for much of the game, and clawed their way back to 39% by game’s end. The good guys were 3-22 from the three line. CLANK!

Matthew Dellavedova, after a five assist first quarter, only dished four more dimes and turned it over four times too. Marcus Smart ate him alive. Delly went 3-12 from the field, including 1-6 from three, where he bricked several open shots from the wing.

I had a nightmare last night. I was a child trapped in a burning building, and Kendrick Perkins was on the street below telling me to jump into his arms. I woke up right before he fumbled me out of bounds. Perk is the poster for the deep end of the Cavs’ bench. He’s a guy whose best contributions to this team happen off the court. Angry Smurf was only credited with one turnover in the box score, which makes no sense cause he was whistled for a moving screen and a travel. (He had a couple more uncalled travels.) Perk has hands of stone now and refuses to roll to the basket, mucking up the whole offense. Perkins had to responsible for at least five giveaways in 19 minutes. He’s the oldest 30 year old in the NBA.

Mike Miller can’t play two good games in a week. He’s probably like me at this point. It takes five days for the swelling to go down every time I run pick-up at the Y. Miller built an 0-3 brick house from outside, and I’m pretty sure Brad Stevens subbed his Mom in to score on Miller at one point. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Cleveland stretch pay Mike this summer.

The Ugly

Iman Shumpert’s seven turnovers were brutal. (To be fair, he got credited with some that were Perk’s fault.) Imankhamun had to have one of the worst single game plus/minus scores this season: a mind numbing -36. I understand he was trying to make stuff happen out there, but the Celtics aren’t the team to try that against. Despite a double double, between shooting and then not getting back on D and handing the ball over for layups, Shump had his biggest “trick-or-treat” game of the season.

So the Celtics figured out the Cavs’ lob game. They must have spent a lot of time in the film room, because the Cavs only converted one or two that I saw, and most of the oops ended up in turnovers. The rest of the league can thank Boston for the film on how to stop it, and I’m betting that Boston makes it a focus if they meet in the playoffs. Of course, it could be because the Celtics were packing the paint without the Cavs’ three best shooters in the game. Given Cleveland’s absent floor spacers Boston was able to key on the lobs much more easily.

With Andy hurt, there are four guys on this team who are basically cheerleaders. The Cavs’ playoff hopes don’t rest on them. If the Cavs have to rely on Perk, Miller, or Haywood in the second season, they’re probably done anyway. In the vein of WWPD — What Would Pop Do? — I hope the Cavs try to develop some talent on the end of their bench next season. I’d like to see more of a “next man up” mentality then.

Hard to blame David Blatt for this one, but it would have been nice to see Cleveland wear out Boston in the post and grind out this game. But it’s very hard for guys to switch gears from complementary role players to scoring starters. Best to just move on. Two more games to go till the playoffs. The season’s final back-to-back awaits, tonight. I doubt we’ll see many rotation guys those games, outside of the necessity to play an actual guard. I hope the Cavs send off Brendan Haywood with some run.

It’s official. The NBA regular season is too long. 76 games should be enough. Shorten the season by a week, and get rid of some back-to-backs. Let’s do this already.