That was easy: 10 Takeaways from Celtics/Cavaliers

The Boston Celtics emerged Wednesday evening with one other win below their belt, retaining issues easy and blowing out the Cleveland Cavaliers by 25 to enhance to 42-13 on the season as we prepare for the All-Star Brea…

Wait, that was a playoff sport? Certainly you possibly can’t be severe.

You’re telling me that the sport I simply watched introduced the Celtics one step nearer to profitable the NBA Championship? That completely chill, comically stressless and admittedly considerably enjoyable basketball sport really counted for one of many 16 wins the Celtics have to take dwelling the title? Actually?

What a breath of contemporary air. What an excellent change of tempo. What a beautiful option to kick off the second spherical with a very unremarkable obliteration of a group that was ripe for unremarkable obliteration. I nonetheless have loads of notes, however they’re the “hear you killed it however right here’s the right way to go up even one other stage” kind notes, not the “in the event you preserve messing round we’d run into hassle” kind.

Lots of you will have already seen that Jiu-jitsu apprentice Adam is off in the present day, getting dental surgical procedure most likely on account of having to battle off hordes of bandits and assassins as he leaped by the rooftops of Birmingham like some form of ninja Mary Poppins. And per his directions, I’ll conclude the introduction by saying the Celtics shaped an ideal fist—thumb below the knuckles relatively than wrapped within the fingers—and punched the Cavaliers immediately within the mouth. Let’s extract some enamel, we could?

1. If Derrick White goes to play like this for the remainder of the postseason, the Celtics are going to win the NBA Finals

I couldn’t mince phrases right here: if Derrick White goes to be this going ahead, it’s over for the remainder of the league.

White has a 100% approval score amongst Celtics followers. Any considerations concerning the commerce that introduced him right here have lengthy been assuaged, however White hasn’t simply damaged by no matter ceiling the NBA had prescribed for him: he personally rebuilt it 40 tales increased after which shattered it with a single stone.

He’s and has been a wonderful basketball participant, however persons are kidding themselves in the event that they mentioned they knew this may occur. Within the playoffs, White is averaging 22.8 factors per sport whereas capturing 57 p.c from the ground, 50 p.c from three and 90 p.c from the free throw line. Six video games is an actual pattern dimension too, and his splits over the past three are even crazier.

However greater than stats, he’s received the look. It’s like somebody flipped a swap on his hidden management panel that simply learn “DESTROY” in all capital letters. He performs with zero hesitation, zero worry, and typically even disbelief that these guys assume they will cease him.

That is (British soccer announcer voice) simply magisterial. He’s utterly jammed within the nook with 5 seconds on the shoot clock, and simply pace bursts to the middle, pulls out the smoothest snatch-back you’ve ever seen and laces his seventh three of the evening. Greg Anthony simply laughs it off, in full disbelief at how laborious White is proudly owning these guys.

I used to be banking on Tatum being nice this postseason. I used to be relying on Jaylen Brown too, and wrote after a loss earlier this season that the Celtics weren’t championship contenders with out Kristaps Porzingis. I wanted all three of these guys to be Issues 1, 2 and three that propelled the Celtics handed their prior limitations.

However I wouldn’t say I used to be relying on White, principally as a result of he was such an unselfish and complementary participant. I didn’t want to fret about him as a result of I knew he’d all the time do the correct factor, and so I centered on what variations of Tatum, Brown and Porzingis the Celtics would get. However White has grabbed the reigns and demanded I rely on him too, and I formally am.

It’s sounding like Porzingis might be again someday this postseason, and if White can preserve this ache prepare rolling, no person can beat the Celtics. Three All-Star-caliber offensive choices is damaging sufficient, but when White could make it 4 persistently? Neglect it.

2. Jaylen Brown. That’s it. That’s the takeaway

Brown was cooking dudes like he was a kind of Hibachi cooks spinning an egg on his spatula and creating an onion volcano. He clearly understood that this Cavaliers group was already shaky, and no person causes earthquakes fairly like a locked-in Brown.

He’s one of many strongest wings within the league, and didn’t watch for a second if he noticed both Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell on an island. Brown went straight at their chests time and again till they needed to overcommit to the drive, leaving him free to hit 4 of six three level makes an attempt, and one of many misses was a half court docket shot.

Brown additionally satisfied me the Celtics have been going to win with 9:59 left within the first quarter. The rating was 7-2, with all seven Celtics factors from Brown. However extra importantly, 4 of these got here on the free throw line.

If the Celtics have a singular offensive weak spot, it’s Brown’s free-throw capturing. He’s mechanically inconsistent and shoots a pedestrian 70 p.c from the stripe, typically lacking badly off the entrance of the rim or means off to the aspect. However the brutally bodily means he performs invitations a lot of fouls, and so he finds himself on the line greater than I’m often comfy with.

However Brown began off the primary quarter excellent from the road, changing all 4 makes an attempt and looking out calm doing it. The ball bounced in prefer it was the world’s most relaxed pinball machine, and from therein I knew it: Jaylen Brown was in set-the-tone mode.

Brown tends to start out off video games like the primary quarter is the final one he’ll ever play. When he’s in early offense mode, the protection panics and may’t comprehend what’s occurring to them. All of the whereas, Brown notches up his protection to 11 to make issues as uncomfortable as attainable from the outset.

The free throws have been a metaphor for the remainder of his evening, as he dominated from solar as much as solar down, by no means as soon as critically prevented from attending to the paint at will. It’s a part of what made the sport so relaxed: Brown couldn’t be stopped, so no Cavaliers run would survive for lengthy.

3. The Swiss cheese Cavaliers

I like Swiss cheese on turkey sandwiches. I believe it has an fascinating taste profile and brings one thing to the desk that different cheeses don’t. There’s an odd sweetness to it that you would be able to’t get out of cheddar or Gouda, and it’s the one cheese I’ve discovered that really pairs nicely with mustard or some form of aioli.

However we’re not speaking about cheese; we’re speaking about basketball. And on this planet of metaphors, Swiss cheese is thought for one factor and one factor solely: holes.

The Cavaliers usually are not just like the Warmth. On paper, they’ve a really gifted roster with an All-NBA chief in Mitchell and two potentially-but-not-definitely nice younger gamers in Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. That’s a strong taste profile in your NBA group, however my oh my is it rife with holes.

Tristan Thompson and Marcus Morris—impactful playoff performers if it was like… 2016 or one thing—each performed first quarter minutes within the 12 months of our lord 2024. Max Strus and Caris Levert, recipients of the illustrious Sam LaFrance “why on earth do we have to play these guys again” article on Monday, mixed for 4-14 capturing and 9 complete factors. Garland struggled capturing all evening, and Mobley is simply means too passive offensively. Mitchell took 25 pictures and scored 33 factors, however by the point his twelfth make went down the sport was past over.

Additionally, try Sam Merrill:

I’ve no actual bone to choose with this man, however it’s objectively humorous {that a} man who took 90 p.c of his pictures from three-point vary this 12 months finds himself trying floaters in a playoff sport. It went about in addition to you may count on, and nothing fairly exemplifies the Swiss cheesiness of this group fairly like that shot when the Cavaliers have been utterly nonetheless within the sport.

4. What’s the plan Stan… I imply J.B.?

I alluded to this within the open, however wasn’t that simply such a chill sport to observe? It was so in contrast to the Miami Warmth video games in that at no level was I fearful the apocalypse would arrive with out warning. It completely nonetheless may have arrived, however I knew I used to be going to get some form of scary-sounding alert on my telephone studying “CELTICS APOCALYPSE IMMINENT; SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER” accompanied by a brilliant annoying beeping sound.

I’m not certain I’m ever going to get that alert, as a result of the Cavaliers received so uniformly waxed that I’m beginning to doubt their capacity to win a sport, not to mention the sequence. They didn’t play a generationally dangerous sport, only a regular dangerous one. It’s not like they turned the ball over that a lot or dedicated some outlandish variety of fouls. The Celtics have been simply in a completely totally different league.

With Miami, the identical was true, however I all the time knew that they’d a plan that will give them an opportunity to win. It might be a extremely low likelihood, resembling needing to hit a franchise file variety of threes, however it was nonetheless positively some form of likelihood. Head Coach Erik Spoelstra and Co. all the time found out the right way to extract some form of benefit out of the smallest crevices, and for that I legitimately do give the Warmth a variety of credit score.

However I’m simply undecided Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff or the remainder of the Cavaliers have a plan. It is a group whose celebrity in Mitchell mainly has one foot out the door already, and the long run in Garland and Mobley is certainly not proper now. It felt like I used to be watching a ship race between a two-person row boat and a 35-oar-powered Viking warship. Yeah, we’re all rowing, however what likelihood does this different boat even have right here?

The Cavaliers have been objectively taking part in basketball, however they’ll need to give you one thing else if they need an opportunity at this. They aren’t constructed to muck up video games or out-physical the Celtics, nor have they got a historical past of modern offensive or defensive techniques. Mitchell is able to scoring 70 if he has to, however even which will show inadequate.

All in all, it’s going to be a troublesome promote for Cleveland. And if that is what the sequence is, it’s additionally a straightforward viewing expertise for me.

5. Luke Kornet: defensive weapon

This was one in every of Luke Kornet’s two blocks in a two-minute stretch within the first quarter, rejecting Mitchell and Isaac Okoro as they tried to go after not-Kristaps-Porzingis guarding the paint. However this isn’t the Kornet of outdated; this can be a reborn defensive asset.

Porzingis and Kornet convey very comparable defensive ability units to the desk, with the previous simply being a a lot better athlete. Kornet has very below-average foot pace, however it’s not like he’s being requested to protect Anthony Davis or Nikola Jokic out right here. He’s parked on Evan Mobley, somebody whose offensive sport we are going to get to later, however for now, simply know he isn’t essentially the most dynamic scorer ever.

This enables Kornet to play to his power: standing in and across the paint and utilizing his gargantuan dimension to swallow up over-eager rack assaults. I’ll admit it: Kornet was an abhorrent defender early within the season, routinely getting uncovered for poor positioning and timing by craftier offensive gamers. I even advocated for a commerce deadline addition to fill the Kornet spot.

However think about this my official retraction. He has settled down defensively and actually found out the right way to maximize his affect. I’m utterly comfy at any time when he’s on the court docket, and I’ve zero reservations about his taking part in time going ahead. There are a number of bigs left within the playoffs that would give him points, however the Celtics have a lot backup to assist him I’m not overly fearful.

6. Sam Hauser’s lovely field rating

That is an homage to my buddy and colleague Invoice Sy’s sequence of articles that spotlight the inventive fantastic thing about sure field scores. Inside rating traces and stats, typically one thing peculiar shines by. Much more hardly ever, that peculiarity is definitely naturally shaped artwork, manifesting in a slew of numbers throughout the silver display.

With that mentioned, listed below are Sam Hauser’s statistical contributions in Sport 1 in his 17 minutes:

0 factors, 0-1 capturing, 0 assists, 1 rebound, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, 1 foul. Sport excessive plus/minus of +22.

These are my favourite traces. Hauser tried one three in rubbish time however in any other case was simply straight chilling on the market on the court docket for 17 minutes, grabbing one rebound, taking part in some strong protection and but securing the best plus/minus of the evening. That’s all in a day’s work in the event you ask me.

Hauser is a captivating participant. He could be completely essential or completely superfluous, relying on the evening. The Celtics received outrageous manufacturing from each Brown and White, in addition to some severe scoring out of Payton Pritchard. And even along with his capturing struggles, Tatum nonetheless amassed 18 factors. With the Cavaliers utterly unable to do something, Hauser was simply not wanted, given the slew of choices the Celtics have been working with.

My brother is a mechanical engineer, and he all the time tells me about “elements of security” on issues like bridges and planes, or mainly how issues are in-built ways in which even when a number of essential programs fail or break, there are lots of ranges of backup-safety constructed into the design. Hauser is like Boston’s backup-backup-backup plan, and it often takes a variety of issues going incorrect for him to place his mark on the sport.

However that’s not dangerous, it’s wonderful. Any engineer will let you know {that a} excessive issue of security is just not redundant or pointless; it’s really what retains us alive. Hauser may simply save the Celtics a few times this postseason.

7. What does Evan Mobley even do?

That is most likely a little bit of a impolite option to put this, however I’m not essentially the most certain what Evan Mobley is definitely doing on the market aside from grabbing rebounds and activating a post-scoring bag as soon as the sport is already over. And past all that, I really assume he was a web unfavourable for the Cavaliers final evening.

He scored 17 factors on the evening, which isn’t horrible for a perennial All-Defensive candidate. However he scored 10 of them within the fourth quarter with the sport all however sealed, and it wasn’t actually a giant deal for the Celtics when he began changing submit hooks with the Cavaliers down by 20 with below ten minutes to go.

I’m all the time centered on how groups go about producing factors as a result of I believe it says lots about their possibilities of really profitable. Final spherical, the Warmth grew to become unable to get every other shot than a Bam Adebayo submit turnaround, which—even when he made it—was not a quick or substantial sufficient point-generator to maintain up with the Celtics.

Mobley being an entire non-factor on the perimeter is untenable for the Cavaliers. He’s a particular defender, however the Celtics have sufficient spacing to successfully neutralize his game-wrecking potential. That leaves his offensive sport, which has shades of Deandre Ayton-level passivity and an actual unwillingness to shot from the surface.

If Mobley was their third or fourth possibility, this may be nice. However to ensure that the Cavaliers to truly win, he must be their second-best all-around participant behind Mitchell and clear up messes within the paint on protection, one thing he simply isn’t geared up to do.

Right here, Mobley brings the concept of assist protection however doesn’t really assist out the overmatched Okoro in any possible way. Positive, he stares daggers into Brown as he muscle mass by his defender, however Mobley has the size and expertise to eradicate all of Brown’s ending angles right here. However he simply… doesn’t.

I’m curious to see how this develops all through the sequence, as a result of if the Celtics have found out the right way to take away Mobley as a defensive presence and wreck him offensively, the Cavaliers should not have a lot recourse.

8. I forgot Kristaps Porzingis was injured

I’m being 100% severe right here: I forgot he was injured. I truthfully forgot he was even on the group.

Nothing explains how nicely the Celtics performed greater than this. Usually when Porzingis is out, there are about 37 cases of me pondering “we coulda actually used Porzingis there…” or “offense is getting stale, we want Porzingis.” However this time, it was simply sunshine and lollipops.

We don’t have a lot info on his timeline, however Head Coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned on “Zolak and Bertrand” that the harm was maybe not as dangerous as initially feared. Porzingis looks like he’s in good spirits as nicely, nonetheless a fixture of the Celtics’ follow facility and retaining his persistent smile throughout his face.

However the Celtics didn’t want him in any respect in Sport 1. They so didn’t want him I forgot that he was even ever wanted. In fact, as soon as I remembered, I felt terribly silly after which felt dangerous for my Porzingis erasure, however I guarantee you this can be a praise throughout. The blokes have his again and are elevating accordingly. I’m certain in the event you requested him, Porzingis would say that—whereas he’s pushing laborious to get again and plans to—the Celtics are greater than able to profitable a title even with out him

However earlier than anybody goes loopy and say the Celtics ought to simply sit him deliberately—even when he’s prepared earlier than the tip of this sequence—let’s keep in mind that staying aggressive is the way you win championships, not by taking part in overly protected. If Porzingis is prepared and the Celtics medical doctors and coaching workers says he’s good to go, he ought to go.

9. The perfect Jrue Vacation sport

Let me let you know concerning the excellent Vacation efficiency: utterly complimentary, defensively dominant, and stat-sheet-stuffing. Would you consider me if I mentioned all that alliteration was unintentional?

Vacation performed precisely the sport that the Celtics wanted him to play. Nook threes, exploiting mismatches, and placing Cavaliers’ function gamers in a defensive jail cell all evening. He wasn’t notably offensively productive however he put in a strong 14 factors on what I assumed was a wonderful shot choice. Right here’s an awesome instance:

Vacation isn’t all the time the smoothest finisher or offensive creator. In that sense, he’s lots like Marcus Sensible: actually sturdy for a guard and in a position to overpower smaller ones like Garland, however not fairly the gifted skilled scorer that different bodily guards like Russell Westbrook and James Harden have been of their primes.

Vacation’s benefit, although, comes from his age and expertise. He is aware of when a man is simply too small to protect him one-on-one, and when he sees that no person is coming to save lots of Garland, he eases right into a fade away with zero pomp or circumstance. Garland seems like he received a superb contest, however on the NBA stage, that was about as bothersome as a leaf touchdown in your shoulder. Like, yeah, cool, right here’s a leaf… I’m nonetheless going to make this shot, although.

Vacation will virtually definitely make an All-Defensive group, given his sturdy ends in Defensive Participant of the 12 months voting, which might be a pleasant recognition for his affect on this Celtics group. Protecting it easy but retaining it impactful. That’s the Vacation bag.

10. What’s the definition of “stealing a sport”? (PLEASE ANSWER IN COMMENTS)

Okay, so. I actually tried to present you guys my A sport with the opposite 9 takeaways, as a result of I would like a favor right here on quantity ten.

My buddies and I received in a very overblown argument yesterday concerning the definition of “stealing a sport” within the NBA playoffs, spurred by one in every of my buddies strongly disagreeing with folks arguing that the Minnesota Timberwolves “stole” Sport 1 towards the Denver Nuggets just because it was in Denver.

In his estimation, the Timberwolves led for many of that sport and didn’t make some inconceivable last-second comeback. Nor did they arrive in as excessive underdogs, and so you possibly can completely not say they “stole” the sport by any definition.

I disagree. I believe that on this planet of NBA vernacular, “to steal a playoff sport” could be so simple as profitable a sport on the street. Ought to the Celtics go to win Sport 3 in Cleveland, I’d argue they nonetheless “stole” the sport from Cleveland for no different motive than it was on their dwelling ground. The Celtics will most likely be 15-point favorites in that sport, however it’s nonetheless—by definition—“stealing.”

It might not make logical sense since, as a result of the Celtics are overwhelming favorites, how can they “steal” a sport most individuals thought they already had? However I believe that is only a factor folks say, altering the definition by the drive of historic use. Right here’s an instance:

Q: “So, what’s the Celtics preferrred path by the sequence?”

A: “Nicely, I’d love a sweep, however so long as we maintain serve in Video games 1 and a couple of and steal one of many subsequent two in Cleveland we will have it again in Boston for the closeout. That ought to work nice.”

Please, please, please pontificate within the feedback about this debate. Can somebody rightly say {that a} sport was stolen merely as a result of it was gained on the street? Or does it need to be an inconceivable win and/or a last-minute comeback? I guarantee you that is of essential significance to determine, because the destiny of NBA playoff discourse as we all know it hangs within the steadiness.