Cavaliers' Major Concern Exposed in Loss to Celtics

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a major flaw that was exposed in their loss to the Boston Celtics.

Nov 19, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers still can't find a way to beat the Boston Celtics, and one glaring issue is a big reason why.

The Cavaliers fell to the Celtics by a score of 120-117 in NBA Cup action on Tuesday night. They trailed by as many as 21, and while they definitely made a run, they were never able to get over the hump.

One of the primary culprits in the loss was Darius Garland, who scored just eight points off 3-of-21 shooting. It was an absolutely disastrous outing for Garland, who struggled getting by the Celtics perimeter defenders and attempting to finish over the top of Al Horford.

It was also a bit of deja vu.

Remember: it was last year in the playoffs that Garland put forth a less-than-stellar effort against Boston, averaging 16.8 points per game while making just 40.2 percent of his shots and 30.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

Garland's performance in the five-game series loss was a major factor in many calling for Cleveland to trade the star guard during the offseason.

The 24-year-old also posted a paltry true-shooting percentage of 48.5 percent in three regular-season meetings with the C's last year.

Clearly, Garland has difficulty against the Celtics, and it's not just Garland: it's guards who employ Garland's style of play. Just ask Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, who was bottled up by Boston's guards last June.

The Cavs have a small backcourt. We all know this, and it's a primary reason why Cavaliers fans were calling for the team to add a larger wing over the summer. Brandon Ingram was a hot candidate for a minute. Jerami Grant also represented a potential option.

Of course, Cleveland stood pat and went into the 2024-25 campaign with its roster intact, and it has certainly appeared to pay dividends. After all, the Cavs had gotten off to a 15-0 start before finally falling to the defending champs.

But the Cavaliers are going to have to beat the Celtics in order to make a finals run themselves. Boston proved on Tuesday evening that the Eastern Conference still runs through Beantown, regardless of how impressive Cleveland has looked through the first month of the season. And remember: the C's don't even have Kristaps Porzingis yet.

The question is whether or not the Cavs can do that with the 6-foot-1 Garland representing their clear No. 2 scorer.

Whether it's Derrick White, Jrue Holiday or Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have answers for Garland up and down their roster. They showed it last May, and they showed it again this week.

Garland is a very good player, and he can terrorize most teams in the NBA on any given night. But Boston is cut from a different cloth, and he has found that out the hard way.

The good news is that there is still plenty of time for the Cavaliers to adjust. The trade deadline isn't until February, and Cleveland remains a terrific ballclub regardless.

But the Cavs still have work to do, and whether or not they can actually beat the Celtics four times out of seven games as currently constructed is dubious, at best.