The Celtics offense keeps improving and other big numbers to watch in Celtics-Cavs

A look at some numbers and trends of note after the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals between Celtics and Cavs 

1. The Celtics offense is outpacing their regular season performance: Generally, in the postseason, it is not easy for offenses to become more efficient. The pace of games slow down, defenses tighten up and additional time for game planning allows for teams to take away what opposition does well. Boston has been a rare exception to this rule in the postseason and there are multiple reasons to explain it. With six players averaging in double figures, it’s been hard for defenses to key in on slowing down specific Celtics since there are multiple players who can score from anywhere on the floor at all times. An emerging young core seeing additional opportunities have also opened the door to improved play.

This type of balance has allowed the Celtics to grind their way past a couple of challenging defenses in Milwaukee and Philadelphia that featured much more athleticism than this Cavs lineup. Impressively, the C’s outperformed their regular season offensive rating against both of those groups and are now up to 107.7 offensive rating in the postseason. That’s not only the fourth-best among all 16 postseason teams but it’s a 2.5 point jump from their regular season mark. 

Against the Cavs, the Celtics have picked things up a notch. They aren’t shooting great from 3-point range (34 percent) but they’ve feasted in the paint, taking nearly 40 percent of their shots from that part of the floor. While the Sixers and Bucks had rim protectors to push Boston’s penetrators towards the drive-and-kick there is no such deterrent in the Cavs lineup. Combine that effectiveness with a tiny 6.8 percent turnover rate (less than half the team’s regular-season rate) and an edge over the Cavs on the offensive glass, and it’s allowed the Celtics to score 112 points per 100 possessions against Cleveland. That’s a number that would have led the league in the regular season. For those wondering whether the Cavs would be able to clean up their defense in the postseason from the 29th spot in the regular season, the answer has been a resounding no.

2. Jaylen Brown is putting more on his shoulders: The 21-year-old leads the Celtics rotation players in usage rate this postseason (23 percent), but he’s taken his aggressiveness to another level against the Cavs. With defensive mismatches awaiting him at every turn (J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, a disengaged LeBron James), Brown has kept his foot on the gas and it has paid off with more opportunities and success for Boston. Against the Cavs, his usage rate has skyrocketed to 29 percent over the first two games, eight percentage points higher than the next Celtic. Those extra chances have been critical for Boston’s offense since the Brown ranks second on the team behind Al Horford in true shooting percentage. He’s punishing the Cavs with all the extra shots he’s taking, whether they come at the rim or behind the 3-point line (6-of-13). Of all the issues the Cavs have to address during this break, finding a way to slow down Brown has to be close to the top of the list.

3. The Celtics are winning the paint battle against LeBron: In the midst of a 21-point triple-double on Tuesday night, the Celtics didn’t seem to be panicking much. Part of that is the fact that they only trailed by four points at the end of the outburst, but the bigger factor was the way James was doing his offensive damage -- via jumpers. James had been an absolute force attacking the basket in the first two rounds of the postseason, scoring 14.4 points in the restricted area over the first two rounds. Over the first two games of this series, the Celtics have successfully pushed his offense out of that area, as he’s scoring just nine points per game in that area this series. He is taking just over 25 percent of his shots in that area of the floor, a 14 percent dropoff from the first two rounds.

Those dropoffs have made life harder on James, since he has to put in more effort to create his shots outside of the paint. It’s also helped to limit easy opportunities for his supporting cast since the Celtics defense have not had to leave shooters as much on the perimeter with fewer forays by James into the paint.

The rotation of Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown, Semi Ojeleye, along with smart defense, has helped the Celtics make James look mortal, outside of an unbelievable first quarter in Game 2. If they continue to wall off the paint, it’s hard to envision the Cavs fighting their way back into this series.