Recap: Cavs 101, Celtics 111 (or, Can’t Knock the Hustle)

The shorthanded Cavs put in a professional effort, but came up just short against the Boston Celtics 101-111. As it was stated in the live thread preview, the Cavs competed, stayed healthy, and kept the game respectable so for all intents and purposes, this was a “win.” The Cavs outrebounded the Celtics 53-48, but couldn’t buy a basket, shooting sub 40% from the field. Let’s dive into tonight’s takeaways…

1. Co-MVPs of the Game: Darius Garland and Kevin Love

It was nice to see two of the Cavs’ best scorers have good games with DG dropping a cool 28 points, six assists, three steals, two rebounds, and KLOVE turning in a tidy double double with 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and a steal. If there’s a quibble about their games tonight, it’s that they probably could’ve been more selfish offensively, but it’s hard to knock them too much for their team-first approach. Both guys are underrated competitors, who truly hate to lose. The Boston television commentators came away extremely impressed with DG particularly, the NBA is starting to take notice of the young PG prodigy.

2. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s adjustments

In the post-game presser, J.B. made a couple of insightful comments that stood out about the game. First, in talking about the second quarter offense stalling, J.B. mentioned that the Cavs got too focused on mismatch hunting instead of moving the ball, which led to some easy offense for the Celtics. Secondly, J.B. also mentioned that they made a defensive adjustment in the second half to trap/show bodies at Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in pick and roll situations, which led to Celtics’ turnovers and easy offense for the Cavs. J.B. said that the adjustment was made to compensate for the lack of rim protection that Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley normally provide. It’s fun to hear about the coaching nuances in the game, so shoutout to J.B. for teaching the fans a little something.

3. Kevin Pangos settling down

The Euroleague product seems to be settling in better into his veteran bench point guard role after a shaky start to the season. Given his recent play, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a shot for some spot duties especially if COVID absences persist. Playing DG off the ball while Ricky Rubio and Pangos initiate offense seems to help DG hunt his shot. It’s a credit to Pangos for grinding and improving as the year has gone on, it takes every man doing their job to have team success.

4. Quick Note on the Celtics

The Celtics seem to be settling in themselves after a lot of COVID and injury turmoil as well as integrating a new coach into the equation. Yet the problem remains that so far the Celtics are a mediocre team in spite of having two stars at the wing position. They seem to be stuck in limbo and it’s hard not wonder if there’s a shake-up coming, because there has to be a lingering feeling of underachievement with the two Jays.

5. Next up, Christmas break

The Cavs return home to take on the Toronto Raptors the day after Christmas. Because of the postponement of the Atlanta Hawks game, the Cavs really haven’t played much basketball in the last two weeks. Further complicating matters, J.B. Bickerstaff mentioned that the Cavs have reverted back to some of the previous COVID protocols from last season in an effort to reduce close contact and exposure. These protocols have reduced team practice and have forced players to adjust to more individual practices. As the Cavs weather through this uncertainty, it make take a few games or weeks before the Cavs can catch their rhythm again. It’s the next challenge on the radar for the Cavs, but they’ve been up to every task so far this season, GO CAVS!