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The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics defense is a focus in the playoffs

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BOSTON – The Cavaliers have a defense built on defending the rim, but they can be susceptible to a three-point barrage. The Boston Celtics offense can do both, and the Cavs now have their homework to do for the rest of the series.

The Cavs were surgically dissected by the Celtics offense in Tuesday night’s Game 1, which culminated in a 120-95 loss to Cleveland and an example of why Boston is one of the biggest favorites of any second-round playoff series in the recent history.

Jaylen Brown had his way on the offensive end, finishing with 32 points. Derrick White torched the Cavs with seven 3-pointers. Jayson Tatum played a fairly mediocre game, but didn’t have to do anything else and remains capable of taking over at any time.

Then there’s Jrue Holiday hitting some key buckets, and there’s Payton Pritchard hitting buzzer-beating 3-pointers just inside the logo at center court, on and on (and on and on and on).

No team in the NBA averages more three-pointers than the Celtics, who can also get to the rim with ease. And in Game 1, the Cavs were hit with a flurry of 3s and never recovered as the Celtics banked in 18 shots from deep.

“It’s a different game, especially for us defensively and what we’re trying to do defensively,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, referring to the different styles between the Orlando Magic and the Celtics. ‘It will take some time to adapt.

“I think tonight was that night, and I expect we’ll watch (the film), we’ll study it, we’ll break it down some more, get some recaps, and get back to it on Thursday.”

Cavaliers-Celtics Playoff Series; Cleveland needs to figure out Boston’s offense in Game 2

The Cavs have played the Celtics three times this season and have gone 1-2 in their regular season games. But the playoffs are a different beast, sometimes with different styles of play. Game 1 can sometimes act as a feeling process for the rest of a seven-game series. It also often forces teams to change what they are doing as opponents make adjustments and counter-adjustments.

The Cavs know that if they can’t force the Celtics to change their offensive flow, this streak could be short-lived. Few teams have been able to truly slow down Boston’s offense.

One main goal that is clear for the Cavs even before reviewing the film is that they need to beat the Celtics to where they want to go, rather than letting the ball work their way through their sets.

“We’ve got to do a better job of limiting the number of three-pointers they took, and that’s getting in our spot as early as possible and doing a better job than we did tonight reading the basketball,” Bickerstaff said. and also notes that while the Cavs can live with 3s off the dribble, they need to put an end to catch-and-shoot 3s. “If the ball moves, we have to move.”

Game 1 was a clear defeat. The Cavs now have 48 hours to review the film and formulate a plan to throw the Celtics off their pace. Cleveland has its own problems on offense — Darius Garland struggled again, and Donovan Mitchell, who scored 33 points, needed more help — but coming up with a blueprint to stifle the Celtics’ offense is priority No. 1.

That must be the lesson from Game 1, that somewhere in the film of Tuesday night’s 25-point loss lies the key to unraveling the Boston barrage.

“I don’t think you know everything, but I think you can see the formula of how to attack, how to put yourself and the group in the right positions to succeed,” Mitchell said, speaking about how the Cavs can see the rest of the group. the series. “So it’s understanding that, but (knowing) that you have to play a game like this.”

Tristan Thompson points to the 2016 Cavaliers Finals series to show how teams can ‘invent’ the opponent

After Game 1, Tristan Thompson was asked how a team can find out things about its opponent throughout a series. He referenced 2016 and said Game 3 was key for that Cavs team.

The Cavs have come up with some new ways to defend the Golden State Warriors, and their plan was largely the same over the next few games. Thompson noted that their execution wasn’t great in Game 4, but the plan remained in Game 5, and the Cavs went on to win the series and the title.

The 2024 Cavs are now in a similar position to the 2016 edition, in that much of their focus will be scouring film for ways to replace Brown, Tatum, White and Co.

“This is the first time this team has experienced anything like this,” Thompson said, referring to the Cavs moving from their Game 7 win to Game 1 of a new series. “I think today it was just, let’s go out there and see what our game plan is, see how they respond to it. Now we have that film and I think we can make some adjustments.”

Ryan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

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