NBA Eastern Conference Finals 2016/17, Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics: 5 takeaways from Game 1

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game One : News Photo
The Cavs were simply unstoppable in Game 1

Well, that didn’t last very long.

Any joy the Celtics had over the past 48 hours by making it to the Eastern Conference Finals or by winning the #1 Overall Pick in the 2017 Draft was quickly incinerated by one, Mr. LeBron James.

The final score, a mere 13-point victory for the Cavaliers isn’t actually representative of how lopsided this matchup was in almost every facet of the game, as Cleveland beat the living spirit out of Boston to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

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For the past half a decade, since the Eastern Conference’s Miami Heat won their first championship with their Big 3, there has been one question on everybody’s mind, who’s going to stop LeBron? And the way James is going we might not have an answer for the next five years either.

Brad Stevens threw everything he had at James, but nothing stopped the King. Frankly, Stevens could’ve thrown an oil tanker at him and LeBron would have still found a way to rise over the top and score relentlessly.

The Cavaliers came into the game with a speed, ferocity and focus that the Celtics simply couldn’t match, as they outscored Boston by 10 in the first quarter and then by 10 in the second quarter again. The Celtics had some semblance of an actual basketball team in the third and fourth quarter, as six of their players hit double digits in points, but after shooting 31% from deep, the closest they ever came to upsetting the Cavaliers was late in garbage time when they pulled to a single digit deficit.

The Cavaliers wouldn’t ever let them have that. Instead, Derrick Williams’ 3 with a minute and a half left made a comeback improbable, and the follow up 3 by Channing Frye on the next possession made it impossible.

The Cavaliers led by double digits almost throughout the game and a Cavalier-Warrior Finals III has never looked so likely. The Cavaliers had a higher field goal percentage, a higher 3-Point percentage, a higher Free Throw percentage, more Free Throws attempted, collected more rebounds and had more steals, blocks and points off turnovers than the Celtics. (Fun fact: Over the past three years, Cleveland has been 33-4 against the East during the Playoffs, of which two losses came when Kevin Love was out. Take that for data).

#1 LeBron “What’s a Crowd to a King?” James

As I’ve stated before, LeBron James isn’t by any means particularly young. At 32 years of age and in his 14th season in the league, he really should be getting all the rest he needs. After a second-round sweep of the Raptors, he earned his ten days’ worth, but suddenly decided he didn’t need any more as he decided to play the entire game against the Celtics, staying off the floor for just seven minutes.

With this win, LeBron has now won more Playoff series than Michael Jordan, in fewer trips. After thirteen trips to the Playoffs, Jordan won 30 games, losing 7, as opposed to James’ twelve trips, where he’s won 31 and lost 8.

It didn’t matter where LeBron shot from; inside, outside, from the free throw line, he torched the Celtics every time. In the first quarter alone he put up 15/3/2/1. It’s not like he paced himself through the rest of the game either, putting up 38 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals on 59% shooting, his fifth consecutive game of scoring at least 35 points in these Playoffs.

In fact, since LeBron came into the league, there have been 19 Playoff games in which a player has had a stat line of 37/9/7 or better. James singlehandedly has had 15 of them. And if that wasn’t enough, just to put the fear of God Almighty into the Celtics, in the post-match conference, LeBron quipped, “After ten days off, I didn’t feel that great, but I know I’ll feel a lot better going into Game 2.”

#2 Al Horford’s dismal night

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game One : News Photo
Al Horford had a night to forget

Al Horford has been spectacular these past couple of games. In 2017, he has a Playoff True Shooting percentage of 73.6%, the best ever shooting season in NBA history by anyone with more than 75 shots.

He ranks 3rd in NBA win shares, beaten only by LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. He elevated his game even further against the Wizards, shooting 63.6% from deep and 95% at the rim. So what happened today against Cleveland?

In 37 minutes played against the Cavaliers, Horford put up only 11 points on 36.4% shooting, making just one 3-Pointer, turning the ball over thrice while posting a -13 rating. This doesn’t bode well for Al, who has lost 13 straight against LeBron and the Cavaliers and will probably pile on that number when everything’s said and done.

The Celtics picked Horford up in free agency, a 4 year, $113 million contract because of his ability to operate both in small ball and when Boston played their big men. The Cavaliers are simply too deep and too talented for Horford to disappear on the big stage and the Celtics will need him to bring his A-Game, offensively and defensively, heading into Game 2 if Boston wants to take a game from Cleveland.

#3 The Really Big, Huge 3

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game One : News Photo
Thompson and Love dominated the boards

If Kyrie, LeBron and Love are called the Big 3, I’m going to call today's star trio the “Huge 3”. Because, both literally and figuratively, they’re massive. In my previous article, I spoke about how the Celtics’ primary weakness was their inability to rebound, caused because of a lack of size in the post, courtesy Al Horford and how, even though he’s more versatile than his matchup Tristan Thompson, he’d still play a worse series because of sheer size disadvantage.

That turkey came home to roost in spectacular fashion, as Thompson had a 20 point, 9 rebound, 2 assist and 2 steal game going a perfect 7 of 7 from the field. In fact, the “Huge 3” of Thompson, LeBron James and Kevin Love combined for a collective 90 (of 117) points, 30 rebounds (of 44), 9 assists and 5 (of 9) steals while shooting a trouser-troubling 64% (the rest of the Cavs were 26%) from the field.

They beat the Celtics on the board so hard that by the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers had more offensive rebounds (5) than Boston had in total (4). The Huge 3 aren’t even that tall, both Tristan and Kevin check in at 6’10, same as Al Horford, while LeBron is a comparatively measly 6’8.

All three of them though, are over 240 lbs, making them huge and giving them adequate strength to box out, challenge, rebound and score against any member of the Celtics roster.

#4 Bench play

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game One : News Photo
Jaylen Brown had a great game off the bench

As much as the Celtics stars struggled against the Cavaliers this match (Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford were a combined 11-30), there were certainly bright spots for Boston and they shone through in the form of their bench play.

Brown was the standout performer for the Celtics, scoring ten points and grabbing nine boards in 19 minutes while shooting over 70% from the field. He also played impressive defence on LeBron and is bound to get more minutes going into the next game.

Cleveland’s weakest aspect undoubtedly is their bench play and if Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk play like they did in the Game 7 closer against Washington, they can force the Cavs into a tough spot. After scoring 48 points, as compared to the Wizards’ 5 last game, John Wall and Bradley Beal were forced to check in earlier than usual and this fatigue showed when Wall missed his last 10 shots in the 4th quarter.

The entire Cavaliers bench in Game 1 produced just 14 points shooting at an almost shameful 19% from the field. The Cavs bench is also one of the oldest in the league, filled with veterans who won’t be able to cope with the young Celtics pace should they break out transitions and run the floor.

No doubt then, that the Boston second unit is the key between victory and defeat for the Celtics and is likely to see marginally more minutes in Game 2, allowing the Celtics to tire out the Cleveland starters and close the scoring gap between the teams.

#5 Coaching

NBA Eastern Conference Semi-finals: Boston Celtics Vs Washington Wizards At Verizon Center : News Photo
Brad Stevens will need to make changes for the upcoming games

Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach Tyronn Lue’s instructions to his players were clear, take the ball into the paint and use the height advantage to make shots in close. The Cavs did exactly that, going to the line a total of 35 times, making 28 of those shots for free points.

Boston failed to match their intensity, instead opting for low-percentage outside shots, ending up with just 10 free throws made and a 31% clip from deep, going 12 from 38. While this no doubt speaks to the tremendous talent of the Cavs, it also tells us about the coaching mindset going into the game.

Brad Stevens will undoubtedly be looking to make a variety of changes after viewing the game tapes, including reducing Cleveland’s chances down low, better defensive switches on LeBron James, reducing Kevin Love’s good looks from deep and fewer distractions, à la Isaiah Thomas picking fights with both Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart not fouling out in the fourth quarter and J. Crowder getting dangerously close to a similar fate with 5 personal fouls.

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Edited by Staff Editor