Obviously, the Cavs are one of those teams.
Of those 7 games, a total of 4 of them have been decided by 4 points or less.
Especially with that team being on a B2B.
Not every win is going to be easy or look pretty.
Not every win is going to be a blowout.
That’s what we saw last night, and it was glorious.
So glorious, it’s time to talk about it.
Given the Celts were down like 18-4 in his first shift, that felt a little weird.
For me, the tides started to turn in Tatum’s second shift.
It’s not always just about his scoring.
Essentially, the Tatum + bench lineup gave the team a second chance at life.
The second quarter was more of the same with these Tatum lineups.
Suddenly things were a 4-point game after the Celts trailed by as many as 15.
The difference was it didn’t matter.
When it came to stepping up to the line and making his FTs, Tatum delivered (9-9).
Over his last 5 games we’re seeing Jaylen average 24.4 on 53% shooting.
Over his last 14, it’s 22.4 points on 48.2%.
Over that 14 game span, Jaylen also has 99 potential assists, trailing only Tatum/Derrick/Jrue.
His 17 FGA were right in line with Tatum’s 19 and KP’s 16.
Even on a night where he started great, nothing felt forced the rest of the way.
There’s a reason I obsess over this shit, because FTs are important.
While I don’t think 26-26 is the rule, it sure was nice to see.
Given their struggles recently, I feel like they owed us a night like this.
That’s a skill that Porzingis brings that we haven’t ever had at this position before.
Porzingis has a FTA rate of 44.7%.
To put this into perspective, Jayson Tatum led the Celts last year in this at just 39.9%.
The year before that?
Derrick’s 32.6%.
I loved how everything went through KP late, and it was through the post.
With Jrue, I continue to be impressed how active his hands are.
it’s possible for you to’t dribble around him.
I also want to give Jrue a shoutout when it comes to his outside shot.
Over 36% in either, that has been as advertised in my opinion.
- So far this season the Cavs own the 8th best defense in the NBA.
It worked, given that CLE scored just 21 points in the 4th on 42/30% splits.
The Bad
- While I thought Jrue was mostly great defensively, he did have some issues with Mitchell/Garland.
Those two went a combined 8-11 when being guarded by Holiday.
Some of that is shooting over screens, but I wouldn’t call it good.
As we talked about, the first quarter was gross.
We get it Max Strus, you’re mad the Celts cut you and kept Tacko.
Easily one of the guys on the random Celtics killer list, enough is enough already.
How is it that he never misses vs BOS but only misses against everyone else?
Ainge fucked up, we get it.
- Few things irritate me more than ATO turnovers.
We had a couple in this game and each one was more annoying than the last.
This is where people need to remember that timeouts aren’t these magic cure-alls.
The players still have to go out and execute, and ATO turnovers are just so deflating.
Caris LeVert last night, Jalen Brunson the other night, to me that feels like playing with fire.
That has to be figured out.
If that didn’t give you Steph Curry flashbacks, you’re a better man than me.
As long as they come with the right mindset, 12-0 at home is on the table.
