Celtics Size Up Cavaliers: 'More Offensive Firepower'

Bobby Krivitsky | May 7, 2024

Dec 14, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and guard Darius Garland vs. the Boston Celtics. / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics are about to engage with the Cleveland Cavaliers in an Eastern Conference Semifinals clash that starts on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

"I think we're all excited just to play again," voiced Derrick White on Monday at the Auerbach Center. "Cleveland's going to be a big test, each opponent's a different challenge, and it's gonna be a good team. It's going to be a big challenge, and we're all looking forward to it."

With Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley anchoring their defense and Isaac Okoro playing a pivotal role in slowing down opponents on the perimeter, the fourth seed in the East yielded only 110.2 points per contest in the regular season, the seventh-fewest.

"They change matchups, they change coverages, and they mix it up," said Joe Mazzulla. "I think they're an underrated defensive team. They're at the top, but they're underrated at some of the intricacies that they do with the ability (that) they have to change matchups, the ability they have to change coverages on the fly, and you gotta be sharp and ready to attack those within the game."

However, despite the offensive firepower in a backcourt featuring Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, Cleveland ranked 20th in points per game, averaging 112.6.

The Cavaliers made just 8.6 threes per matchup in their seven-game series against the Orlando Magic, the fewest of any playoff team. Boston buried the most shots from beyond the arc, drilling 15 per contest.

Their struggles to produce from three-point range had a noticeable role in dropping Game 6 in Orlando despite Mitchell erupting for 50 points. To lopsidedly lose the battle from behind the arc against the Celtics would likely present a challenge they don't overcome.

Still, Mitchell and Garland present more dangerous threats off the dribble than Boston dealt with against a depleted Miami Heat team in the first round.

"More offensive firepower" than Miami, stated Jaylen Brown. His head coach conveyed the correlation between having a stingy defense to fuel an attack that can turn lethal when the Cavaliers are stringing together stops.

"Cleveland's a tough team," said Mazzulla. "One of the things they do well is their ability to go on runs just kinda with their talent, effort, and defense. So, managing the game is super important because they have the ability to really make you pay for your mistakes. And I thought they did a good job of that, especially in Game 7. It's good to focus on the details that are important for attacking and defending them and be ready to go tomorrow."

Detailing the difference in defensive approach between the Cavaliers and Heat, Derrick White expressed, "Obviously, Miami switched a lot, which I mean, you never really know from series to series, teams might not switch the whole year and then do it in the playoffs; you never know. 

"But Cleveland doesn't switch as much as Miami does, so, from that aspect, it's going to be different, and (we've) just got to continue to execute and get into our sets and get to the spots we need to get to."

When the Celtics and Cavaliers squared off in the regular season, Boston won the series 2-1, sweeping a mini-series at TD Garden before blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Discussing the value in the information gleaned from those three games, White shared, "Everything just kind of comes together; it's part of the game plan. We know what they're capable of, they know what we're capable of, and each game and each opportunity is a different challenge. 

"And so obviously, what's happened in the regular season doesn't really matter, but it definitely is important to learn from the mistakes and what we did in the regular season."

As for Mazzulla's takeaways from those matchups, he conveyed, "When you're watching games, there's certain DNA that every team has that no matter what game you watch, you can kinda see the DNA of each team. 

"At the end of the day, every team kinda adjusts and adapts as the season goes on, especially during a series. So, we can pull from some of those things that we know that Cleveland does. They change matchups, they're great defensively, and on the offensive end, they have the ability to hurt you in different ways. So, just focus on those and work to take those away."

While the Celtics must respect their opponent and maintain the business-like approach they had against the Heat, between having multiple perimeter targets to hunt while on offense and the Cavaliers' struggles to keep up from behind the arc, even with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined by a soleus strain in his right calf, this is a favorable draw for Boston.

Provided the Celtics don't indulge in being their worst enemy, this series should end with them securing a return trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third straight year.