Recap: Celtics 103, Cavs 99 (or, lots of new stuff)

Fresh off a 9-2 record in February, the Cleveland Cavaliers began a grueling March schedule by paying the Boston Celtics a visit at the TD Garden for a nationally televised game between what is currently the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Making matters more interesting was the fact that the game was also the debut of Deron Williams as the Cavaliers’ new backup point guard. Seeing how Williams fit with the Cavaliers, as well as what changes coach Tyronn Lue would make to the rotation, made this one of the more intriguing games of the regular season.

First Quarter

With the Celtics starting Al Horford and Amir Johnson, the Cavaliers countered with a starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Channing Frye, and Tristan Thompson. The game started quickly, as neither team seemed focused on the defensive end. An Amir Johnson three followed by a jumper by Avery Bradley gave the Celtics the early lead before LeBron James tied it with a three of his own. A put-back by Johnson put the Celtics back on top as coach Tyron Lue called time, presumably to address the defensive issues.

Iman Shumpert defied the odds by scoring on a jumper off the dribble, but was called for an offensive foul when he tried to do it again on the next possession. The Cavs then took their first lead of the game when James drove and dished to Channing Frye, who knocked down the corner three. Both teams began to lock in more on the defensive end, although they both missed their fair of open shots as well. James split a pair of freebies to push the Cavaliers’ lead to four, but a bucket by Isaiah Thomas and a pair of free throws by Jae Crowder tied it back up.  Irving hit a floater, but Thomas continued to get to the line, putting Irving and Shumpert on the bench with two fouls each, and getting the Celtics into the bonus with just under four minutes left. Deron Williams made his debut for the Cavaliers, and promptly wound up on his backside after being beaten off the dribble by Thomas. James had an interesting quarter, keeping the Cavaliers in the game while also being stopped at the rim with what appeared to be much more frequency than normal.

With the foul trouble for Irving and Shumpert, the Cavs finished the quarter with a lineup of Williams, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson, Derrick Williams, and Tristan Thompson. Deron Williams did a nice job of running the offense, hitting an 18-foot jumper and finding Tristan Thompson for a dunk to give the Cavaliers a 26-20 lead after one.

Second Quarter

The Cavaliers started the second quarter with a lineup of Deron Williams, Korver, James, Jefferson, and Derrick Williams. They scored quickly, as Jefferson threw down a lob from James and then Korver hit a technical free throw after Terry Rozier threw the ball off of Jefferson after his dunk. Jaylen Brown converted an and-one, but Deron Williams hit Derrick Williams for a corner three to push the Cavaliers’ lead back to nine. Kelly Olynyk then scored four straight points, and Avery Bradley drew a foul on Korver, splitting a pair to get the Celtics to within four. The flow of the game remained choppy, with neither team getting into much of a rhythm. The Cavaliers pushed their lead back to seven, but the Celtics came right back to tie it with seven straight points of their own, capped off by a Thomas three off an ugly turnover by Irving. For the briefest of moments, it was the Tristan Thompson show, as he had a nice dunk followed by a layup to give the Cavs the lead. But as was the case throughout this game, the Celtics came right back to tie it on a layup by Marcus Smart.

After a time out, Cavs fans got a bit of a scare when James slipped on a wet spot while driving to the basket. As has been the case for most of his career, James just tightened the laces on the ankle he rolled, and went back to work. The Cavaliers pushed the lead to five, but a pair of layups by Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford brought the Celtics to within one point as the Cavs lead 50-49 at the break.

Third Quarter

The Celtics took the lead for the first time since the first quarter on a three by Bradley, but Irving quickly tied it back up. Both teams had some ugly turnovers before a hook shot by Horford put the Celtics back on top. The Celtics were very aggressive early, and the Cavs struggled to get good looks. They adjusted by pushing the ball in the open floor, leading to a three from Irving. At this point the tempo again slowed, with both teams working in their halfcourt offenses. Irving and James were able to finish at the rim, while Horford continued to heat up with a corner three. The Celtics continued to do a nice job of making things difficult for James around the basket, while Irving and Thomas torched one another with several impressive finishes. With James struggling to finish, Irving took on more of the scoring load, scoring fifteen points in the third quarter alone. The lead continued to change, as the Cavs attacked the basket and got to the line, while the Celtics had some impressive threes by Crowder and Thomas. The Celtics took the lead as the Cavaliers stopped moving the ball, and weren’t able to set up their shooters, as evidenced by Korver having just three shots with two minutes left in the quarter. With James and Irving on the bench and Deron Williams running the offense, the Cavaliers struggled to score, but so did the Celtics, and they led the Cavaliers by a score of 74-71 heading into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavs started the quarter with the lineup of Deron Williams, Korver, James, Jefferson, and Derrick Williams. At this point, the crowd in the TD Garden was rocking, but both teams struggled to scored before a layup by Derrick Williams 1:20 into the quarter. Kelly Olynyk countered with a layup of his own, before giving up and and-one to Richard Jefferson that tied the game at 76. Thomas drew a shooting foul on James, but missed both attempts. A three by James briefly gave the Cavaliers the lead before Brown countered with a three of his own. The Cavaliers came right back with a three by Jefferson before Thomas narrowly avoided a jump ball as Marcus Smart quickly called time. Thomas then split a pair of free throws—surprising as he is shooting over 90% from the line this season—before a three by Crowder put the Celtics back on top. A slam by James and layup by Deron Williams gave the Cavs a three point lead before Jonas Jerebko tied the game with a straight on three of his own. A putback by James put the Cavaliers back on top, but he then fouled Horford on a shot attempt. Horford converted both free throws to tie it back up. The Cavaliers went with a crunch time lineup of Irving, Deron Williams, James, Derrick Williams, and Thompson, a group that had, obviously, never played together before. James split a pair, before the Celtics regained the lead off a monster dunk by Jaylen Brown. Irving was able to isolate on Thomas and finished an and-one to get a two point lead. Thomas then rejected a layup by Thompson, but Horford stepped out of bounds while collecting the rebound. Unfortunatley, Derrick Williams passed up an open three and picked up an offensive foul driving to the basket. Williams then drew another offensive foul while cutting to the basket on a pass from Deron Williams, and Crowder knocked down a three to give the Cavaliers the lead. Korver subbed in for Williams, and Irving was able to draw a shooting foul on Avery Bradley. Irving converted the pair, but Thomas drove and dished to Bradley, who knocked down the three to give the Celtics a two-point lead.  With a minute to go, things looked bleak, but Kyle Korver, after missing his first six shots, knocked down his first three of the game to put the Cavaliers back on top. The Cavs’ euphoria was short lived, as Thomas hit a DEEP three to put the Celtics back on top. Irving then hit a filthy layup to tie it up. Thomas came right back to draw a shooting foul on Deron Williams, to put the Celtics back on top. Irving missed a fade away jumper, but Thompson snagged the rebound and passed out to James. James found Deron Williams open in the corner, but he missed the three, and Crowder secured the rebound. Thompson fouled Crowder to send him to the line, but he knocked both down, and the Cavaliers fell to the Celtics 103-99 in what turned out to be one heck of a game.

Top two teams in the conference. Isaiah clutch three. LeBron triple-double (28p/13r/10a). What else do you need.@celtics top @cavs, 103-99 pic.twitter.com/96CN3bkwzZ

— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2017

Things I Noticed

"I know I can help this team win." – @DeronWilliams on joining @cavs. @JaredSGreenberg also gives an update on KD. #GameTime pic.twitter.com/58KwNeFHVT

— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 2, 2017

It’s great to hear Williams talk about not focusing on minutes, but on helping the Cavs win. Hopefully Bogut feels the same way. The one reason to be worried about the Cavalier’s newest addition is that a defined role and minutes were supposedly important to him when choosing a new team. While there’s no doubt that he can assume Timofey Mozgov‘s old role as enormous rim protector—and will be a great asset against the likes of Andre Drummond, Jonas Valanciunas, and Marcin Gortat—it’s important to remember that Mozgov played very limited minutes in the playoffs last season. While Bogut may play a regular role while Love is out, it is hard to see that happening if/when everyone is healthy.

At the shootaround before the game, Lue said that one of Derrick Williams or Richard Jefferson would likely be out of the rotation with the addition of Deron Williams, instead, both played due to foul trouble for Irving and Shumpert, to go along with James needing to rest. In fact, both continued their role with the second unit, while Frye played just the first six minutes of each half. This was likely due to the Celtics’ going small and pushing the pace on offense, making it difficult for Frye to stay on the floor. That shows the brilliance of this depth. When one player is game planned off the floor, the Cavaliers have another player on the bench to fit what they need.

Williams wasn’t great in his first game as a Cavalier. He struggled from the field and with guarding Thomas. However, he did show his ability to run the offense and get the other players solid looks, something that will only improve with time together. He also showed the ability to play off the ball with James or Irving running the point. The scoring will come, and the defense will improve as he acclimates to the Cavs’ schemes.

Say what you want about Isaiah Thomas, but he’s an excellent offensive player who demands so much attention. He has no fear and plays incredibly hard. It’s nice to see a player overcome the odds the way he has.

Al Horford is a really good player. He’s extremely skilled, and is a factor on both friends of the floor. He also likely has nightmares of the Cleveland Cavaliers. If you just watched Horford play against the Cavs, you’d think that he’s an average-at-best player instead of a four-time All-Star.

If you don’t think the Cavaliers miss Kevin Love, then watch them get beaten on the board by the Celtics, one of worst rebounding teams in the league.

Kyle Korver struggled tonight. It happens. Apparently the man is human and not just a shooting machine. Who knew?

Much has been made of Jefferson’s struggles from deep, but it’s worth pointing out that he is shooting the best percentage of his carrer on two-point attempts.

Derrick Williams came back to Earth a bit tonight, particularly in the fourth quarter. He’s been great for the Cavs, but probably shouldn’t play ahead of Korver, Jefferson, or Shumpert in crunch time, even if those players have struggled that night. Still, there’s no harm in Lue experimenting with lineups. Given the recent additions, he will likely do a lot of that before the playoffs.

It would’ve been nice to see the Cavaliers win this one, as a victory would’ve given them a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference standings, but this loss is by no means the end of the world. They went on the road and played a good team down to the wire while using lineups (and players!) they never had before, and still nearly pulled off a victory. If there is anything the Cavs can gain from this game, it’s that they need to improve on the defensive end, both in terms of transition defense, as well doing a better job of not leaving shooters open in the pick-and-roll. Nevertheless, a great effort in one of the better games of the regular season.