BSJ Game Report: Cavs 118, Celtics 94 - Bad defense, bad shooting, bad result in Game 2

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Cavs in Game 2 of their semifinal series, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The game started very similarly as Game 1 with Boston starting strong and Cleveland answering the run. But instead of Boston firing back, the Cleveland run rolled all the way to the break, giving them a six-point lead after one. The Celtics returned the favor to tie it up at the half, but poor finishing at the rim prevented them from taking a lead. Their defense took the third quarter off, Donovan Mitchell scored 16, and Boston went into the fourth quarter down 12. It only got worse from there, as the shooting stayed cold, the defense stayed loose, and the Cavs pulled away for a blowout win. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Another defensive dud: Once again, the Celtics put forth a less-than-stellar defensive effort. They allowed 60 points in the paint, nearly 55% shooting, they were outscored by 15 at the 3-point line, and they were out-rebounded by 13. 

“It was an unacceptable performance, and I think that’s where we look at that and I’m the most upset,” Jaylen Brown said. “Defensively we gave up 118 points, and on top of that, we lost the rebound battle. So we didn’t help ourselves tonight.”

- Cold as ice: Boston shot 8-35 from 3 in this game. They missed five shots at the rim and they were 5/16 in non-restricted area paint shots. The Celtics only had seven turnovers for 10 points, but their misses around the rim led to transition points for the Cavs. Missed layups might as well be turnovers because they almost always turn into 5-on-4 chances. 

- Another home loss: I can’t figure this one out, but they're 2-2 at home and 2-0 on the road so far in the playoffs. According to Dick Lipe, Boston is 15-15 at home since the 2021 playoffs and 16-10 on the road. It just doesn’t make sense. 

“You want to be able to take care of home but just unfortunately we just couldn’t do it,” Al Horford said. “I really don’t have an answer for that. Now we have to look ahead to Game 3. That has to be our focus. And going in there to a very hostile place, I know that they’re going to be ready for us.”

TURNING POINT 

It was 64-63 Cleveland early in the third quarter when Cleveland went on a 10-2 run. The Celtics never got closer than nine after that. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Payton Pritchard: I feel like if they matched his energy this whole game, they might have found a way to win. It says a lot about where their heads were when Pritchard couldn't even change the energy. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Offense affecting the defense: It felt like the misses really weighed on the Celtics, especially after halftime. They were 6-17 from 3 in the first half, which is 35.3%. That's slightly below-average shooting. They were 2-18 from 3 in the second half, which is 11%, which is disgustingly bad. It’s not a surprise that they were tied at 54 at the half but they gave up 64 in the second half. The misses piled up, the Celtics got frustrated, and it led to mistake after mistake. They forced Joe Mazzulla to take an early timeout in the third, and he took another one in later, which is not the usual strategy for him. He was searching for something to get these guys back on track but could never find it. 

- Derrick White: Whew, tough follow-up to his 7-12 night from 3. He was 1-8 from deep in this one and some of the shots he took weren’t the best. Then again, some of the shots he made in Game 1 were wild ones, too. 

- Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown: I’m lumping them together because neither of them played like they should have. The offensive flow wasn’t there from either of them. It very much felt like the Game 2 plan by the Heat to draw those two into solo attacks and keep them from opening things up for everyone else. Once again, it felt like they took the bait and got away from the things that made them successful in their wins. 

- Luke Kornet: He was such an important part of the win in Game 1, but he gave them almost nothing in this one. 

- Jrue Holiday: He averaged 12.5 points per game in the regular season, but he’s at 8.1 in the playoffs. He scored four points in this game. 

- Sam Hauser: I would be finding ways to get him going in Game 3 because the Celtics are just a much different team when he hits a few 3-pointers. 

HIGHLIGHTS

THREE TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- They missed a huge opportunity in the first half.

Mitchell had six points on 2-6 shooting in the first half. He was like the head of the Yakuza fighting on the Simpson’s front lawn. 

“But Marge, that little guy hasn’t done anything yet. Look at him! He’s gonna do something, and you know it’s gonna be good.”

Lo and behold, he did something good, and the Cavs took off partly because he picked up his scoring in the second half. Boston’s chance to put pressure on the Cavs was in the first half when could never put a run together to pull away. 

We can say the Celtics really could have used Kristaps Porzingis to defend the rim in this game, but they should have been able to do that well enough without him. Their lack of focus on the defensive end gave the Cavs too much life, and Mitchell ended up being a killer in the second half. 

- Defend home court!

I’ll just repeat myself here because I don’t have any further analysis. I’m beyond confused about this team’s inability to defend home court. It kind of doesn’t matter because they win so much on the road, but it’s still weird. 

I’ll also throw in that this building has been weird so far. The expectation that Boston will just roll through the Cavs has seemingly sapped any real juice from the crowd. I don’t know what to make of any of this.

- I’m not worried … but … 

I said Celtics in five so that's still safe. I factored in a game like this, so I can’t say I’m utterly shocked by it. 

At the same time, I expected more out of this team this time. This is a classic “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed” situation for me. I don’t even care that they lost because like I said before the game, the Cavs playing well and winning isn’t the end of the world. 

But I do care that some of these things happened again. Everyone knows Boston is unstoppable when they play the right way and stoppable when they don’t. Winning is hard in the NBA, but effort and execution should be there every night in the playoffs. 

Losing when they play the right way is fine. Losing when they don’t not. 

Next Up: Game 3 will be Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland