The top two teams in the East clash as the Celtics visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is the third of 4 meetings between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 120-117 in Boston on November 19. The Cavaliers won the second game 115-111 on December 1 in Cleveland. They will meet one more time in Boston on February 28.
The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season, winning the 2 games they played in Boston and losing the one game they played in Cleveland. The Celtics have lost 4 straight games in Cleveland. The Celtics are 140-88 overall all time against the Cavaliers, and they are 44-61 all time in games played in Cleveland.
These two teams have much in common with how they handled the offseason. Both teams mostly stood pat without making any major trades or free agent signings. The Cavs did make a big move when they fired JB Bickerstaff and hired Kenny Atkinson as their coach. Atkinson is getting a lot of credit for the Cavs’ hot start. They extended Mobley, Mitchell and Allen and they drafted Jaylon Tyson. They also signed JT Thor to a 2 Way contract.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, and are 5.5 games behind the first place Cavaliers who have won their last 4 games. They are 2.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 6.5 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. The Celtics are 19-6 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 25-9 against Eastern Conference opponents. They have won their last 3 games.
The Cavaliers are first in the Eastern Conference. They are 5.5 games ahead of 2nd place Boston, 8 games ahead of 3rd place New York, and 12 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 24-3 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 26-6 against Eastern Conference opponents and have won their last 4 games.
The Celtics are playing in the 3rd and final game of a 3 game road trip. They began the trip with a 2 point win over the short-handed Pelicans and then came from down 26 points to beat the 76ers by 8. Next, they have one game at home against Dallas who just shook up their roster by trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. They will play at New York and at Miami and finally, at home against San Antonio, who just traded for DeAaron Fox, before the All Star Break.
The Cavaliers are playing in the third game of a 3 game home stand. They beat Atlanta and a Luka-less and AD-less Dallas team to begin the home stand. After this, they will play at Detroit and at Washington before a game at home against Minnesota. Then they close out at Toronto before the All Star Break.
Payton Pritchard missed Sunday’s game with an illness but is off the injury report and is expected to play in this game. As of now, the Celtics have a clear injury report. The Cavaliers have 3 players on their injury list. Dean Wade is out with a knee injury, Isaac Okoro is out with a shoulder injury. Luke Travers is out with an ankle injury.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics ReservesPayton PritchardLuke KornetJaden SpringerXavier Tillman, SrJordan WalshSam HauserBaylor ScheiermanNeemias QuetaAl Horford
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonAnton Watson
Injuries/OutNone listed
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Cavaliers Starters
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Cavaliers ReservesTy JeromeCaris LeVertSam MerrillGeorges NiangCraig Porter, JrTristan ThompsonJaylon Tyson
2 Way Players Emoni Bates JT ThorLuke Travers
Injuries/Out Dean Wade (knee) out Isaac Okoro (shoulder) out Luke Travers (ankle) out
Head Coach Kenny Atkinson
Key Matchups
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Derrick White
Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Donovan Mitchell
Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
Derrick White vs Donovan MitchellMitchell is averaging 23.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 45.0% from the field and 39.8% from beyond the arc. This season against the Celtics, Mitchell averaged 35 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3 assists 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the arc. Slowing Mitchell down will be key to getting a win for the Celtics.
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Jrue Holiday
Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images
Darius Garland
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Darius Garland Garland and Mitchell have formed a very good backcourt for the Cavs. Garland is averaging 21.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 50.3% from the field and 42.8% from beyond the arc. In the first 2 games against the Celtics he averaged 15 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists while shooting 24.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. As with Mitchell, slowing Garland down is key to winning this game.
Honorable MentionJayson Tatum vs Evan MobleyMobley is averaging 18.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game. He is shooting 57.3% from the field and 39.8% from beyond the arc. Against Boston this season, he averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5 assists 2 blocks and 1 steal per game while shooting 46.2% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to try to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.
Keys to the GameDefense – Defense is always a key to winning games. The Cavaliers are a good defensive team with a 111.4 defensive rating, which is 8th in the league. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 109.7, which is 5th in the league. Last season, the Celtics were 1st and the Cavaliers were 11th with basically the same rosters. The Celtics must get back to making defense a priority and they have to play that tough defense for 48 minutes and not let up. The Celtics must especially defend the Cavs on the perimeter as they are tops in the league, shooting 39.6% as a team on threes. The Cavs are going to play tough defense and so the Celtics will need to match or exceed their defensive intensity.
Rebound – Next to defense, rebounding is the biggest key to winning. Much of rebounding is effort and desire and when the Celtics put out the extra effort on the boards, it usually carries through to the rest of their game. The Celtics are averaging 444.7 rebounds per game (12th) while the Cavs are averaging 44.4 rebounds per game (15th). The Celtics are 20-4 when they out-rebound their opponents while the Cavs are 22-2 when they out-rebound their opponents. Clearly, rebounding is important to winning. The Celtics must work harder to grab rebounds and to box out the Cavaliers on the boards.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to move the ball in order to find the best shot on each possession. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. They are at their best when they pass the ball and keep it moving. They are 15-0 when they have 30 ore more assists.The Cavs are 32-3 when they have more assists than their opponent while the Celtics are 26-1 when they have more assists than their opponents. But they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy because the Cavs average 19.2 points off turnovers per game (6th). The Celtics have to move the ball and can’t get caught up in playing hero ball.
Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes – The Celtics need to stay focused for 48 minutes. They have to play with extra effort. The Cavs play hard and so the Celtics need to match that effort and play even harder. The team that plays harder and is more aggressive is usually the team that comes out on top and that also gets the better whistle. The Celtics also have to stay focused. They have to focus on taking good shots and making them and on playing as a team and making the right play every time. They also have to keep that effort and focus up for 48 minutes with no let up and no collapse. The Celtics effort and focus was missing in the first 3 quarters against the 76ers but they showed what they can do when they are focused and play with energy in the 4th quarter. The Celtics need that same focus and effort for all 48 minutes in this game.
X-Factors On the Road – The Celtics are playing on the road and will need to stay focused in spite of the distractions of travel and playing in front of a hostile crowd. Cavs fans really do not like the Celtics and will likely be loud and antagonistic. They need to come into this game focused and ready to play harder than the Cavs. The final game of a road trip is always a tough one and so the Celtics have to play harder and more focused if they want to win this game.
Officiating – The officiating is always an x-factor. Sometimes a crew will call the game tight and blow a whistle on every play. Other times they will let them play and let the game get physical. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the game is called and not let missed calls or bad calls affect their focus. If the calls are bad, they just need to play harder to make up for them and not waste time arguing with the officials.
