(Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
Final: Cavs 105, Cetlics 104 - Celtics blow 22 point lead in fourth quarter collapse
BOSTON CELTICS at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
7:30 p.m., TNT/NBCS Boston
Line: Boston -8.5
INJURIES
Boston: Neemias Queta (OUT, knee)
Cleveland: Donovan Michell (OUT, knee), Ty Jerome (OUT, ankle), Max Strus (OUT, knee), Tristan Thompson (SUSPENDED, performance-enhancing drugs)
LAST TIME
Some hot shooting and a typically strong first quarter from Brown got Boston an early double-digit lead that grew to 14 in the second quarter. That's as big as the lead would get as Mitchell and Darius Garland kept Cleveland close. LeVert’s 15 in the third cut it down to three after three. The Celtics shut Cleveland down in the fourth, holding them to 20 points while Jayson Tatum’s 12 points and six rebounds helped shut the door, and keep Boston perfect at home
NOTES
- Cleveland has lost three of four games, but they’ve won 11 of their last 14 home games since Jan. 3rd.
- The Cavaliers are 5-1 against the Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse over their last 6 home games.
THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR
1. Focus: Without Mitchell and with this game on national TV, you can bet the other Cavs are going to want to show out against the best team in the NBA. With the Nuggets game looming on Thursday, there is not only a potential for a letdown against a shorthanded team, but also looking past a struggling team and towards what’s being billed as a potential NBA Finals matchup.
2. Bench contribution: This one is assuming Porzingis and Brown actually sit. There's no reason to push them if they have nagging injuries, even if it does lead to a loss. The Celtics are pretty comfortably the top seed in not only the East, but the entire NBA, so I feel like they’ll be cautious. That means there will be minutes for the bench guys to step up and make meaningful contributions. Again, I’ll be looking at Xavier Tillman in particular as he tries to get up to speed.
3. Attacking the shot blockers: Challenge them but make the right play off of that. Whether it’s a layup attempt, a dump-off, or a kick out to the perimeter, the attack has to be there to collapse the defense and then force the bigs to scramble out of that. They might challenge one shot, but once Cleveland is in rotation, can they get back to the second or third attack?
Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.