By: Kylan Watson
The Cleveland Cavaliers were riding high after stomping the Toronto Raptors in five games, they had a few days off to relax, before facing the Boston Celtics in Game 1 on Sunday. However, the Cavaliers must have left their skills in Cleveland because they were trounced by the Celtics in Game 1, by a score of 108-83. The Cavaliers will need a big-time performance from LeBron James and a better performance on the defensive end, if they hope to rebound from a disastrous start and avoid going down 2-0 against the Celtics.
The Cavaliers offense did not show-up at all in Game 1. They could not get many wide-open shots, because of their lack of ball movement and insistence on playing isolation basketball. The Cavs offensive inconsistency caused them to be down by 26-points heading into half-time. That margin was too big for the Cavs to overcome.
The Celtics on the other hand could not miss from the opening tip-off. As a team they hit 11 three-pointers and had a big advantage in the paint. The two players who benefitted from the Celtics hot shooting were Guard, Jaylen Brown and Center Al Horford.
Brown scored a game-high 23-points and grabbed eight rebounds. Horford also had a huge game and was a force in the paint. He made his first five shots and scored 20-points, grabbed four rebounds, and had six assists.
The Cavs had no answer for either Horford or Brown and both players scored a combined 43-points which helped the Celtics gain momentum and get a victory in Game 1.
The Cavaliers must find a way to be better on the defensive end of the ball. They gave up way too many open-shots to the Celtics. The Cavs were always a step late on defensive rotations and the Celtics took full advantage of their lack of defensive prowess.
The Cavaliers will need a big-time performance from LeBron James and a better performance on the defensive end if they want to avoid being down 2-0 in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. James will also need to get help from his teammates. The Celtics were able to shut James down in Game 1 and dare somebody else to beat them. No other player on the Cavs stepped up to help James.
Game 2 is a must win for the Cavaliers because the Celtics are unbeaten at home and its going to take a perfect performance from the Cavs on both sides of the ball to beat the Celtics in Boston.
Id have to agree with you here. Except on one point. The Cavs need to play isolation through Lebron. If Lebron can get J. Brown and Tatum into foul trouble the cavs can build a steady lead. The difference in the cavs offense is making shots. This is why I don’t really look at the score as a indicator here as to how the cavs will come out in game 2. They got good looks. They just didn’t make them. The Cavs will probably win game 2 due to Lebron taking over the game. However I still believe the celtics will have a good chance to win the series.
Don, I think the Celtics defense is way too good for isolation ball even with Lebron running it. They tried that in Game 1 and it didn’t work sure you can get the switch, but then Boston will just double team him and force someone else to beat them. That’s the problem his supporting cast is way too inconsistent to be effective.