Recap: Cavs 124, Celtics 118 (or, If You Don’t Blow Out The Candles… Your Wish Won’t Come True)

By the time this recap has posted, it will officially be LeBron James’ 32nd birthday. Sometimes it’s hard to believe the King is already in the midst of his 14th NBA season. Yet, as he played in the Cavs’ 31st game of the year on the final day of his own 31st year, he reminded us of that old adage… “You’re only as old as you feel.”  For the most part, it looked like LeBron felt like a teenager again, as he raced up and down the floor, swatting not one… but two chase down blocks on his way to a near triple double against the Boston Celtics. He celebrated the occasion with some major support from his friends, and for a while it looked like he might just get his wish of a blowout win and an early night for his birthday. But, that’s the funny thing about birthday wishes… you gotta make sure all the wicks are smoking for them to materialize… and the Celtics decided they were going to do their best trick candle imitation to try and spoil the fun.

First Quarter

Boston showed up to this party early, taking advantage of a series of miscues by the Cavs (namely a flat out miss of a layup by DeAndre Liggins and two Kevin Love turnovers), and getting a ton of offense from Avery Bradley (11 points in the quarter). They also got a couple of buckets from newcomer Al Horford, though he missed a couple of ill-advised triple tries (a sign that his attempts to stretch his game has extended beyond scoring big on the free agent market). Then, the almost birthday boy fired up a three… which seemed to fire up Kevin Love (who wound up with 15 in the quarter). Kev hit three straight from downtown in just over a minute, giving the Cavs the lead and forcing Brad Stevens to take his first rage timeout of the game (there would be others). Kyrie got Tristan Thompson involved with an alley oop (on Ky’s fifth assist), and even DeAndre Liggins got in on the three barrage before this block party broke out…

Block party on @NBAonTNT! First LeBron, then Horford! #NBARapidReplay pic.twitter.com/W29kGgbvmm

— NBA (@NBA) December 30, 2016

The Cavs came out on the short end of this exchange with Bradley finishing the sequence with a transition layup (the second time)… but LBJ’s CDB was yet another recent reprisal of The Block. Unfortunately, it triggered a 7-0 run for the Celtics. The answer, of course was a couple of threes (the hard way) by Uncle Drew. Kyrie completed an and-one after converting a circus layup off a terrific Love pass, and then suckered Bradley with a video of a dachshund eating a banana for three more. It was a personal 8-0 run from Kyrie to fuel a 13-2 run to end the first quarter. Cavs led 32-25.

Second Quarter

If possible, the second period started sloppier than the first. LeBron committed a couple of turnovers (the first was actually off a poor pass from Mike Dunleavy), and then Dunleavy had a sequence that earned him an early fork. Mike passed the ball to Kelly Olynyk (who probably heard less boos since the Cavs now have a trophy), and then compounded his error by fouling Isaiah Thomas on a three ball (to be fair, it didn’t look like Mike touched him). That was about all the silverware Ty Lue had the stomach for on this night, as he re-inserted Kyrie after just three minutes of rest. This seemed to get Thomas going, however, as he exploded for 17 points in the quarter, getting to the rim, to the line and even hitting a couple of threes. Much of the damage was against Iman Shumpert, who seemed to have a tougher time staying in front of the diminutive guard, or passed him off to a defensively indifferent Channing Frye. The Cavs fought back behind some sublime passing from LeBron for a Shump three, a Channing three and an oop to Old Man Dunking himself, Richard Jefferson. Then, Uncle Drew almost buckled Jae Crowder’s knee again with this crossover dribble drive…

Kyrie uses his crossover to get to the rim for the @cavs! #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/mEUBTRMmO6

— NBA (@NBA) December 30, 2016

Afterwards, LeBron hit a 34-footer from somewhere near his home outside of Akron to push the lead to 10, and had his second chase down block of the half… although this one was scooped and scored by Isaiah Thomas on the rebound. Thomas’ heroics kept the Celtics within striking distance as the Cavs led 66-59 at the half.

Third Quarter

LeBron got fouled on his first shot of the second half and went to the line. Announcer Marv Albert mentioned LBJ was shooting just 69% from the line (his worst level in 10 years), and on cue, he missed both free throws… so, 68% now? Maybe his birthday wish should involve better form at the charity stripe. Still, some good ball movement got an open three for KLove, and this guy called his second rage timeout. As he did in the first quarter, Kev channelled his inner “Frank the Tank” and decided to go streaking… hitting two more in a row from downtown (giving him six on the game). The Cavs’ cushion was 17 after the Love-fest, and they kept the fairly sizable margin for much of the quarter. Some terrific passes from both Kyrie and LBJ to TT for some easy interior buckets offset the ongoing Thomas parade to the line (he was a perfect 13-13), and a Bradley open three. Liggins made his impact felt defensively, drawing two of his three charges for the game in the quarter. As the defensive pressure increased, so did the frustration and chippiness from the Celtics. Thomas picked up a tech, and then Marcus Smart took exception to LeBron giving him a “chicken wing.” Smart made a move to get in the King’s face, but LeBron was all… who let this fool into my birthday party?

https://twitter.com/HoopingHeaven/status/814666569682808832

Order was (sort of) restored, and after a Jonas Jerebko three (more on him to come), Liggins knocked down his own second triple of the game and followed with another drawn charge. About the only thing Lig did wrong this quarter was bang knees with Love for a briefly scary moment when Kev came up hobbling. He’d be fine enough to score on a terrific fake and drive before the end of the period. Old friend Tyler Zeller hit the last bucket of the quarter to cut the lead to 18. Cavs up 101-83.

Fourth Quarter

So, after three quarters the Cavs were pretty much in control of this shin-dig (each of the big three had a double double at that point), and it certainly looked like LeBron would be able to get a head start on his birthday plans. Ty Lue left LBJ and the MFQ in with Channing, RJ and Shump, presumably to snuff any remaining life out of the Boston backups and douse their spirits. Turned out the only control was of the cruise variety. Jae Crowder and Jaylen Brown each hit buckets, and then Jonas Jerebko (remember him?) decided to show Coach Stevens what he’d been missing, as he flared up for seven straight points to help cut the lead in half. Kyrie kept hitting shots, but the rest of the Cavs went cold and started turning the ball over again. Marcus Smart took advantage with a steal and an assist to Tyler Zeller who finished easily at the rim to cut the lead to single digits. Kyrie and LeBron teamed up to help stop the 21-7 Celtic run with this play…

The runstopper. #DefendTheLand https://t.co/QJuwgEs1UX

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 30, 2016

It was short-lived as Bradley hit a three, and a few possessions later, Crowder hit a rare three himself. LeBron then picked maybe the worst possible time to throw a lazy in-bounds pass, as Bradley stole it, scored an easy layup, and all of a sudden it was just a three point Cavs advantage with three minutes to go. The wine & gold had gone from the verge of an easy blowout to a blaze. Over the next two minutes, the teams traded layups, with Kyrie getting two crucial ones. However, with :53 left, Kyrie had to check out with what looked to be a hamstring issue (Ky had been struggling with it toward the end of the first half as well). After Thomas hit a pair at the line to close within one, LeBron got fouled to get his own trip to the stripe. He split them (he went just 3-7 for the game on FTs), giving Boston a shot to tie or take a three for the win. Jae Crowder got an open look from downtown with :08 on the clock, but the shot missed badly and Richard Jefferson corralled the rebound. RJ calmly sunk his two throws, then LeBron strip/blocked Horford and the Celtics fouled Love who got the board. Kev made his throws for the final tally to finally extinguish Boston. Cavs win 124-118.

The Evil

Take A Deep Breath. As with pretty much any regular season game, the goal is just as much about staying healthy as it is about winning. Yes, the Celtics are yet another young and aggressive team that the Cavs might wind up facing come playoff time… and it’s important to show them who’s boss (especially on the Cavs’ home turf). However, the surest way to hand another EC team a shot at the Finals is for a major injury to befall one of the Cavs’ big three. Boston plays a physical game, and they habitually thug/junk it up once they get down big or get frustrated. That’s why it would have been advantageous for the Cavs to have put this team away to start the fourth when they had a decent chance to do so (especially against guys near the end of their bench). The KLove knee knock with Lig was just one of those weird things that happens, but the Kyrie hamstring deal could very well have been from overuse. It was obvious it was bothering him at the end of the first half, so it probably would have done him good to have been able to sit the fourth quarter. Hopefully, it’s just cramping and nothing more serious.

Tyronn Lue says it was a right hamstring cramp, not a pull for Kyrie Irving. Did not seem concerned about Irving missing time.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 30, 2016

Don’t Forget Your Wish. Fatigue may not have been the overriding factor in the fourth quarter malaise, but it was certainly an aspect. Yet, that doesn’t excuse the general carelessness with the rock throughout the game. LeBron was the biggest culprit in this, and nearly had a quadruple double with his eight turnovers. Several of these miscues were of the not-paying-attention variety rather than the trying-to-force-a-pass variety (like that in-bounds pass to Bradley for essentially a five point trip for the Celtics). Who knows if this is LeBron being bored or preoccupied (it is his birthday tomorrow, so maybe he was ruminating on his wishes). But, when the turnover bug affects LBJ, it tends to spread through the rest of the team as well. Overall, the Cavs had 18 turnovers that led to 22 Boston points. If LeBron’s birthday wish was for a win, he almost threw it away by not properly extinguishing the Celtics when he should have… and also by wasting free points at the line. Don’t take my word for it though, LeBron gave himself an “F” for his performance…

“I think I was horrible tonight,” James said. “In every facet of the game, I was just pretty bad, and it’s unacceptable. I can’t do that if I want to help this team get to where we want to get to. So if there was a report card, I’d give myself an ‘F’ for tonight’s performance. I just got to be better.”

Blow Really Hard. Two guys that were abjectly horrible for their respective teams were Mike Dunleavy and Al Horford. Let’s start with Mike. The fork was back in force in this one, and Dunleavy only saw three minutes of time… which was enough to turn the ball over a couple of times and foul Thomas on a three ball. When the Cavs picked him up for basically nothing in the off-season, there was great optimism that Mike could be an X-factor off the bench. And, with J.R. Smith out for an extended period, the Cavs could really use a veteran wing to help out. Sadly, Mike is neither of those things at present. The good news for the Cavs is that they didn’t pay Mike a max salary to come help take their team to the next level. No, that’s the fatal error the Celtics made with Horford. Sure, he’s had a few decent games, and has been hampered by a lingering concussion this season, but big Al came up very small against the Cavs. Six points in 29 minutes, and one (yes you read that right)… ONE rebound. How is that physically possible for a 6’10 Center? Yuck.

The Genius

Burning The Candle Brightly. Kyrie Irving is impressing the bejeezus out of me… and not just with his ridiculous scoring and shot-making abilities, but with his new embracing of his floor vision. This is the fifth time in the last six games that Kyrie has notched double digit assists (something he only did three times last year). He had another 12 dimes against the Celtics, while pouring in 32 (in honor of LBJ’s 32nd?) on a supremely efficient 12-17 shooting (2-5 from deep). He was also 6-7 at the line and was able to get to the basket with some insane handles… all this despite having a cramped up hammy. Kenny Smith predicted Kyrie will be the League MVP in two years… which might sound like hyperbole, until you realize that Kenny also predicted Kevin Durant would win it two years before he did as well.

Lighting The Match. Kevin Love was the spark that got the Cavs going to start each half. In both the first and third quarters, he went on a triples binge (three in a row in each) to give the wine & gold the lead or extend it comfortably. Kev hit at least 30 points for the second time this year (10-22 and 6-16 from three) and he also pulled down 15 boards (he’s the first Cav ever to have 30 & 15 with six threes). He did have four turnovers, but two were in the first minute of the game, and he got two others back on steals. Bottom line… when Kev is on fire the Cavs are going to torch some teams.

You Say It’s Your Birthday. Only LeBron James could give himself a failing grade despite coming just two rebounds short of his 46th career triple double. Granted, the poor assessment was due more to his eight turnovers, but even on his worst night, he puts up numbers that would be career nights for many. Bron was probably just thinking about how different his life is going to be at 32, or what color Kia he might pick out for his special day… However, it’s his sense of accountability that makes him an exemplary leader for this team.

“That’s what makes the greats great: right there, just taking accountability and then moving forward,” said Ty Lue. “Said what he had to say in front of the team and then we move on. That’s what being a great team is really about, just having great players to step up to the plate. Like I said, I wouldn’t give him an ‘F.’ But 23, 8 and 11, still work. With the win? I’ll work with it.”

Up To Snuff. Both Tristan Thompson and DeAndre Liggins did a terrific job defensively in this game. While neither got the extended minutes of the big three (TT 32 and Lig 20), they each did positive things with their time on the court. It doesn’t matter what jersey Al Horford wears, Tristan owns him. He shut down the Boston big man, while throwing down 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds of his own, helping the Cavs win the board war 46-29. Meanwhile, this was very likely one of Ligs’ best performances as a Cav. The nine points (2-5 with both buckets coming from beyond the arc) were gravy, as his real contribution was chasing Isaiah Thomas around like a demonic shadow, and drawing offensive fouls like he was part Australian. He even took a bloody lip dished out by Marcus Smart in stride. Lig is tough, athletic and excels at defense and defensive positioning. And, he seemed to do a much more effective job on Thomas than his replacement Shump did.

Old Man Dunking. While the bench left a lot to be desired in this game… Richard Jefferson still managed to chip in 11 points, three boards and an assist in 19 minutes. He also had another dunk off an alley oop from LeBron. It was wide open, so no posters this time…

Parting Shot

Here’s hoping that LeBron has a very happy 32nd birthday today with his family and friends. When he blows out the candles on his cake, I hope they stay out and his bigger wish for a title defense comes true. And, even though he doesn’t like being compared to MJ… there’s some pretty interesting 32 year old stats he might want to look at someday… (courtesy of Cleveland.com’s Dennis Manoloff).