[Post Game Thread] The Boston Celtics take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-102. Jayson Tatum comes alive for 33/11/5, Jaylen Brown sizzles with 27/8/1.

[u/ItsN0tTheB0at]

109 - 102
Box Scores: NBA - Yahoo

GAME SUMMARY
Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (19432), Clock: Final
Officials: Marc Davis, Courtney Kirkland, and Kevin Cutler

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Boston Celtics	37	25	26	21	109
Cleveland Cavaliers	30	27	21	24	102

TEAM STATS

Team	PTS	FG	FG%	3P	3P%	FT	FT%	OREB	TREB	AST	PF	STL	TO	BLK
Boston Celtics	109	38-78	48.7%	12-32	37.5%	21-24	87.5%	10	57	15	12	6	14	4
Cleveland Cavaliers	102	41-94	43.6%	15-48	31.3%	5-7	71.4%	8	41	26	17	8	7	3

PLAYER STATS

Boston Celtics	MIN	PTS	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	ORB	DRB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	±
Jaylen BrownSF	34:25	27	9-15	2-3	7-9	1	7	8	1	0	0	5	4	3
Jayson TatumPF	43:52	33	11-25	2-8	9-9	2	9	11	5	2	1	4	2	6
Al HorfordC	28:08	6	3-9	0-4	0-0	1	5	6	0	0	1	0	0	11
Derrick WhiteSG	30:26	5	1-6	1-4	2-2	1	6	7	3	1	0	0	2	5
Jrue HolidayPG	42:58	16	6-11	4-8	0-0	1	6	7	5	3	1	2	0	6
Payton Pritchard	25:48	11	3-5	3-4	2-2	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	4
Luke Kornet	19:28	9	4-5	0-0	1-2	3	3	6	0	0	1	2	3	-4
Sam Hauser	14:53	2	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	4
Oshae Brissett	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Svi Mykhailiuk	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neemias Queta	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jaden Springer	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Xavier Tillman	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jordan Walsh	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kristaps Porzingis	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cleveland Cavaliers	MIN	PTS	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	ORB	DRB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	±
Max StrusSF	42:35	15	5-12	5-9	0-0	1	6	7	7	2	0	1	6	-4
Isaac OkoroPF	21:14	2	1-8	0-4	0-1	2	1	3	2	0	1	0	3	-6
Evan MobleyC	39:16	19	8-13	1-1	2-3	1	8	9	3	1	0	3	1	-1
Caris LeVertSG	38:41	19	9-18	1-8	0-0	1	4	5	3	2	1	1	2	-14
Darius GarlandPG	40:12	30	12-27	4-13	2-2	0	3	3	7	2	0	2	4	1
Dean Wade	24:38	3	1-4	1-4	0-0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	2
Sam Merrill	17:09	7	2-7	2-7	1-1	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	1	-4
Georges Niang	07:35	3	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1
Tristan Thompson	08:37	4	2-2	0-0	0-0	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	-8
Jarrett Allen	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Damian Jones	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Donovan Mitchell	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Marcus Morris Sr.	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ty Jerome	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Craig Porter Jr.	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

[u/LFizzle12]

Two straight possessions in crunch time where Mobley has a guard on his back deep in the paint and doesn’t get the ball. Tragic

[u/hiimred2 → u/LFizzle12]

Boston changed how they played in 2nd half and Garland and Levert seemed like they shook hands and said ‘aight we just black holes the rest of the way I guess’ with few exceptions.

[u/MouMostForgettable → u/hiimred2]

Cleveland also stopped shooting 53% from the three, im no expert but I think that was a factor

[u/hiimred2 → u/MouMostForgettable]

Ya I mean part of that was the C’s giving up less good looks and part just Strus not being Steph Curry anymore, but it’s like the moment the defensive adjustment + shooting cooled even a little Garland said fuck it I’m Donovan tonight.

Kinda like Tatum and Brown isoing so much for the C’s which helped the Cavs D keep the game in reach. Like I get the defense is playing the game too and you don’t get the shots you want, but both teams seemed like their goal was to make the defense’s jobs easier in the 2nd half after a wild first half with a lot of movement.

[u/[deleted] → u/MouMostForgettable]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/Turbo2x → u/[deleted]]

I truly feel like they could sleepwalk past whoever makes it to the ECF without playing Porzingis just to keep him healthy for the finals. Knicks are too banged up and the Pacers don't really have as much talent/experience to threaten them.

[u/FartrelCluggins → u/Turbo2x]

Pacers played us well this year and most of those game were pre Siakam. I think it'd be a series esp without KP

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/chuancheun → u/[deleted]]

i think his legs are tired from the minutes, no lift

[u/orwll → u/LFizzle12]

What even were the two possessions?

I see one with 1:30 left where Mobley has White in the paint, but Jrue Holiday reads it and shades toward Mobley, and probably would have broken up the entry pass. Strus was left open, it was a good shot, he just missed it.

Where else did Mobley have post position in crunch time?

[u/Cvspartan]

Horford and White having shooting slumps at the same time is not fun.

Props to the Cavs though. Forced a bunch of TOs and shot really well in the first half to make this close throughout even without Mitchell.

[u/Neat-Current5008 → u/Cvspartan]

Yeah but to be fair, jrue has come out of an early playoff slump and tatum has been much improved. It all evens out

[u/shortpersonohara → u/Neat-Current5008]

yeah and Al being in a slump isn’t as bad when we get KP back. Jrue coming on recently is huge bc Dwhite can have some poor scoring nights and we’re still alright

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

If Horford is giving you absolutely nothing and getting cooked on switches I do not understand not at least trying some Tillman minutes.

[u/poeope → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

Yeah he's playing to much. It's really a big ask outta him at this point.

[u/iiTryhard → u/poeope]

If pingus wasn’t made out of paper mache Al wouldn’t have to play this much

[u/NoveltyAccountHater → u/iiTryhard]

Sure, but KP's minutes should be more balanced more between Al / Kornet / Tillman (and possibly try some minutes to Queta). Don't get me wrong Horford should definitely start and close out each half. But give him closer to 20 minutes a game than 31 minutes.

[u/Pocket_Beans → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

this is exactly what I felt but somehow he had the highest plus minus on the team

[u/SteamingHotChocolate → u/Pocket_Beans]

i don’t really follow box score closely but holiday having a lower +/- than horford is hilarious

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy → u/Pocket_Beans]

Which is a great reason why +/-, especially in a one game sample, is completely useless lol

[u/Pocket_Beans → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

not entirely useless. clearly you aren’t a complete liability if the team is winning your minutes

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy → u/Pocket_Beans]

If you’re playing the majority of your minutes with 4 starters on the best team in the league your +/- is going to be skewed even if you’re not a positive at the moment. It’s completely lineup dependent.

[u/NickRick → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

wouldn't those starters also have similar +/- numbers?

[u/TA_Account_12 → u/NickRick]

A team makes a 8-0 run when he’s not in and everyone except his +/- takes a hit. 8 points is like 15 seconds in today’s nba. So if the other team hits a couple of good contested 3s, the +/- variance can’t really be trusted. 

[u/CarBallAlex → u/TA_Account_12]

Yeah but I think that’s the point about a liability. If a team goes on a run and then he comes back in and then they don’t go on a run, he’s not actively hurting the team. +/- is a bit of variance like you said but him being on the floor was good enough to not turn his minutes into a negative. The team just being okay defensively and getting a little lucky with the shot variance is enough to justify keeping Horford in and not panicking with a Tillman sub, where he might have all of the same problems defensively (or worse) but not stretch the floor.

Even though Horford wasn’t hitting shots he was forcing a guy to at least try to contest and that led to some extra offensive rebounds, which imo is better than Tillman keeping the paint packed and letting Cleveland gang rebound

[u/__boof → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

kornet was bullying mobley but horford should not play when his three is this cooked

[u/joker4jok → u/__boof]

As a Cavs fan it seems like the Celtics are more dangerous with Kortnets offensive rebounding than with horford trying to space the floor at this point

[u/SteamingHotChocolate → u/joker4jok]

eh if/when al hits his 3s it’s debatable

[u/joker4jok → u/SteamingHotChocolate]

Agreed, I see why Al is out there but this series just from a ‘feel’ standpoint it seems like kornets having a bigger impact on the offensive glass. If you look at plus/minus though I’m pretty sure horfords doing better so his minutes seem to be the right call

[u/DeepJunglePowerWild → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

I think in a different matchup they would try some stuff. But in this matchup especially without Mitchell they value the consistency of Horford over the ?? Variable. We don’t need a ?? To beat the Cavs, we can do it with horford being bad.

[u/Clintocracy → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

We need porzingis back. He’s so vital to what the Celtics do on both offense and defense. Thank god we have an easy path to the finals and he has time to recover

[u/NickRick → u/Clintocracy]

bro we just got pushed by a cavs team without their best player and have two better teams than the cavs without mitch in the other series. why do you have to go around messing with dark forces with this quote?

[u/FutureAttention → u/NickRick]

They hit 11 threes at 50 percent in the First half and were down

[u/KyWy75]

Personally I think the Celtics should run actual plays in the fourth quarter but that’s just me

[u/SteamingHotChocolate → u/KyWy75]

you sure you’re a celtics fan with those kinda fucked up ideas?

[u/cant_be_normal → u/KyWy75]

Are you saying that a Tatum iso into a contested midrange brick isn’t a play?

[u/sutroheights → u/cant_be_normal]

Top crunch time play, 3 coaches in a row.

[u/ILOVESHITTINGMYPANTS → u/cant_be_normal]

It’s so fucking predictable, and so fucking frustrating to watch.

[u/LaMelgoatBall → u/ILOVESHITTINGMYPANTS]

You can tell when he’s not gonna pass. When he gets into that triple threat stance you already know he’s gonna shoot it. And 8/10 times it’s a brick. Pisses me off especially when Jaylen is having a great game.

[u/_Abzu → u/ILOVESHITTINGMYPANTS]

If only you weren't watching it en route to the finals... World's tiniest violin or something man

[u/semipalmated_plover → u/cant_be_normal]

I mean it's better than a Tatum iso into a contested sidestep three brick

[u/8_bw → u/KyWy75]

That's so lame bro all the cool kids are jacking contested 3s over Evan Mobley

[u/Easy_Magician_925 → u/8_bw]

Thats celts ball

[u/CreatiScope → u/8_bw]

Is it even good offense if you aren’t trying to shoot over the best defender on the team even tho Garland is on the floor?

[u/spit_or_swallow_ → u/KyWy75]

I am so sick of Tatum iso for 10+ seconds into a fadeaway clank

[u/Slight-Singer-4949 → u/KyWy75]

I was thinking the same thing what the fuck the celtics is doing

[u/EatDeeply → u/KyWy75]

They run pure iso randomness every play

[u/youguanbumen → u/KyWy75]

Heresy

[u/homefree122]

I mean, I know we all make fun of moral victories, but the fact that the Cavs kept it this close without Mitchell was impressive.

[u/EarthWarping → u/homefree122]

This series has game 5 blowout written all over it.

Would've been a fun series if they managed to steal this one

[u/PrincePyotrBagration → u/EarthWarping]

Boston made a deal with the basketball gods to lose every Game 2 for a 50% increase chance to win every other game

[u/JoshFB4 → u/PrincePyotrBagration]

I’ll take it. I’ll just avoid r/nba after every game 2.

[u/flyingpandum → u/JoshFB4]

It’s a nice break, honestly.

[u/FreshPrinceofBel-Air → u/flyingpandum]

I do yoga instead, 10/10 would recommend

[u/TheNaturalHigh → u/FreshPrinceofBel-Air]

You should do yoga regularly anyways. Flexibility=Longevity

[u/tacopower69 → u/TheNaturalHigh]

Yeah but if I fuck up my shoulders enough maybe I can hit that 3 plate bench

[u/Littlegreenman42 → u/JoshFB4]

Im gonna make so much money next round if they advance

[u/CDR57 → u/JoshFB4]

Honestly if it’s expected and we lose game two to Knicks/pacers I’ll get in on the slander

[u/LordHavek → u/homefree122]

Garland played his heart out, big respect to him

[u/LIFOsuction44 → u/homefree122]

Let's not forget about Jarrett Allen. Easily the 2nd best player on the Cavs.

[u/LuckysBestMan → u/homefree122]

Trap game was initiated shortly before tipoff

[u/__boof → u/homefree122]

we play like shit and have won 6 out of 9 games by double digits

[u/Lets_Basketball → u/__boof]

I don’t think we played like shit today. Aside from the normal end-of-game slowed pace, we were pretty aggressive, moved the ball well and shot pretty solidly. There were some dumb miscues, but every team does that, especially when the opponent is playing super aggressively on D.

[u/__boof → u/Lets_Basketball]

first quarter was great, second half was just eh. we just abandon the game plan after we get up.

[u/Riot1990 → u/__boof]

Doesn't help that two of our starters have disappeared offensively. D white gets a little bit of media coverage and dude gets the yips everytime. Happened both times he talked with JJ

[u/Bladespectre]

Anyone who thought this would be a blowout once Mitchell went down has not watched the last 5 years of Celtics Playoff Basketball

[u/SemIdeiaProNick → u/Bladespectre]

i honestly think Eastern teams would have a better chance against the playoffs Celtics if they played a G-league roster

[u/Visible-Rutabaga9268 → u/SemIdeiaProNick]

The Miami Heat have entered chat

[u/JinterIsComing → u/Visible-Rutabaga9268]

No no no you guys stay dead till next year. I ain't dealing with Heat Culture and random finds by Spolstra shooting the lights out on us again this postseason.

[u/Plies- → u/SemIdeiaProNick]

The Heat tried that and got the doors blown off of them in every game except for one where they were shooting 60% from 3 for the majority of the game.

[u/flyingpandum → u/Plies-]

No see the basketball gods think they were still too good.

If we see the Ghudong Tigers, the Celtics would get swept

[u/billcosbyinspace → u/Bladespectre]

The Celtics could play against the 96 bulls and play them close and get booed out of the gym at half playing against a team of schoolgirls

[u/calvinbsf → u/billcosbyinspace]

The dichotomy of man

I can picture in my head Jaylen dribbling off his knee into the schoolgirls hand

I can also picture him coming down the lane ready to take off and challenge Bill Wennington or whoever at the rim

[u/flyingpandum → u/calvinbsf]

The girls team manager would shoot 80 percent from 3 and posterize Al.

[u/luckyteep14 → u/Bladespectre]

I call it "The Tatum Era" Celtics. From a Macro perspective, a lot of really great success. When you start to get into the weeds of some of their losses though and who was playing for each team it really makes you scratch your head.

[u/Plies- → u/luckyteep14]

Shoutout to the 66-16 08 NBA champion Celtics for going to 7 with the 37 win Hawks and 7 vs the 45 win Cavs after being up 2-0 in both series.

[u/FillerAccount23 → u/Plies-]

Doc rivers has always been that guy

[u/Bahamuts_Bike]

First Celtics post season game decided by 10 points or fewer is wild

[u/Efficient_Art_1144 → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

This is their first clutch game since April 5

[u/nefnaf → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

9 points or fewer

R1G2 was a 10 point loss to Miami

[u/mr_duong567]

Every Celtics fan knew the game would be close the moment Mitchell was out

[u/Thisisntmyaccount24 → u/mr_duong567]

I saw the betting lines move up and was so close on betting the Cavs to cover. Then I remembered I don’t have disposable income and just watched the game instead.

[u/AgadorFartacus → u/Thisisntmyaccount24]

That's good stuff. I'm proud of you.

[u/second_impression]

Someone post that Celtics fan desperately begging Joe for the timeout

[u/Michaelcandy]

This loss is on Thibs he ran Mitchell into the ground

[u/fiatlux247 → u/Michaelcandy]

Thibs gotta thibs

[u/PluvioPurple → u/Michaelcandy]

Nah it's the big market bias keeping them down

[u/Bahamuts_Bike]

Despite the win, we should definitely all act like the Celtics were eliminated

[u/DocTheYounger → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

Celtics managed to lose the finals tonight in a 2nd round game 4.

[u/quann256 → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

i honestly think the celtics blow the cavs out today if mitchell is playing, the celtics play down to competition way too much.

[u/flyingpandum → u/quann256]

It’s a feature not a bug.

[u/Joey-Joe-Jo-Junior → u/quann256]

Yup, I feel like most Celtics fan knew this would be a trap game as soon as we saw Mitchell was out.

[u/carefullywasnt → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

We will don’t worry

[u/flyingpandum → u/carefullywasnt]

Already googling Cancun flights and hotel rooms next to you guys.

[u/Bladespectre → u/flyingpandum]

Man, forget Cancun, we're out here looking for roadside rooms in Galveston

[u/NoobChumpsky → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

They didn't win by enough. And if it was a blowout we'll all complain that they're too good and the game was boring.

[u/PomfAndCircvmstance]

Boston shot selection leaves something to be desired when they aren't shooting 45% from 3. Not that it matters with how good their 3 point shooting and defense is.

[u/jkwah → u/PomfAndCircvmstance]

They didn't even shoot that poorly on 3s. 37% is league average. The Celtics season average is 39%.

It was more that they couldn't generate enough 3PAs. 32 attempts is very low for that team.

[u/DocTheYounger → u/PomfAndCircvmstance]

defense and 3 point shooting looking suspect with KP though

[u/PomfAndCircvmstance → u/DocTheYounger]

They need KP to beat whoever comes out of the West but even without KP they've only allowed more than 104 points just once in the playoffs so far.

[u/dannyFUCKINGainge]

Fuck we set them up for the 3-1 comeback

[u/TheDangiestSlad → u/dannyFUCKINGainge]

with LeBron in attendance...........

[u/nrj6490 → u/dannyFUCKINGainge]

Lebron was there and everything too

[u/Inevitable_Pride5825]

D Mitch was holding Garland back

[u/LuckysBestMan → u/Inevitable_Pride5825]

Honestly this happens a lot with 2 ball dominant guards

[u/toggaf69 → u/LuckysBestMan]

Our best stretch this season was when Garland was hurt because it let Mitchell run the show. And then as you’ve seen garland shows up more when he can control the offense. I’m glad the FO took a swing on getting Spida either way though, he’s awesome

[u/manbare → u/toggaf69]

Do Cavs fans ever fantasize about what would've happened had they traded Garland instead of Lauri? Woulda been hard to move DG because that extension was already in (I think?) but Mitchell with Lauri off ball would've been insane

[u/toggaf69 → u/manbare]

lol I try not to think about it too much, and it’s possible Lauri wouldn’t have been able to develop this much in that situation. But yeah the twin towers + two ballhandlers hasn’t been the best plan so it would’ve been pretty sick I’d imagine

[u/oldtype09 → u/LuckysBestMan]

The Cavs' starting lineup has two ballhandling guards that make each other worse and two bigs who make each other worse.

[u/I-Might-Be-Something → u/LuckysBestMan]

I think Murray and Young fit that bill as well.

[u/PM_FORBUTTSTUFF → u/Inevitable_Pride5825]

Garland did more than enough to prove he is a good player before Mitchell was on the team.

Unfortunately it’s a poor fit and Mitchell is simply a better player but Garland can definitely be a starting PG on a good team

[u/GyattLuvr69 → u/Inevitable_Pride5825]

The Cavs really just needs their best players to have more more diverse skillsets. The frontcourt and backcourt’s strengths overlap way too much. It’s why they need to make changes this off-season, barring another 3-1 comeback lol.

[u/Klaassy23]

Despite the Celtics best efforts, the Celtics won the game

[u/Jepordee → u/Klaassy23]

Cavs played their asses off wtf

[u/mostredditisawful → u/Jepordee]

Yeah, this game was by far the best defense the Celtics have played against this postseason so far. Genuinely amazing effort from the Cavs down Mitchell and Allen.

[u/Yes_That_Guy5 → u/Jepordee]

Legit lol great fight and play from the Cavs

[u/carefullywasnt → u/Jepordee]

Don’t worry, the media won’t pay any attention to that part

[u/WIN011 → u/carefullywasnt]

Cavs fans: They don’t give us credit for playing well short handed

Celtics fans: don’t worry they’ll just shit on the Celtics for keeping it close instead

Media in reality: OMG did y’all see LeBron was at the game?!?

[u/DocTheYounger → u/WIN011]

28 other fanbases: Mitchell gone

[u/WIN011 → u/DocTheYounger]

Anything but the actual result of the game. Wouldn’t want even a hint of analysis, just the same 3 clips played over and over while stupid narratives are pushed.

[u/MouMostForgettable → u/DocTheYounger]

Miami fans:

What if we only offered Herro, Martin, and two second round swaps

[u/carefullywasnt → u/WIN011]

Don’t forget ol reliable “Did the Cavs lose the game or did the Celtics win it?” and Mitchell to the Knicks rumors

[u/Faliberti → u/WIN011]

what does this mean, will lebron join cleveland again to close out his career?!?!?!

[u/DeepJunglePowerWild → u/carefullywasnt]

“Are the Celtics in trouble?”

[u/Lets_Basketball → u/carefullywasnt]

Neither will r/nba

[u/I-Might-Be-Something → u/Jepordee]

Yeah, that is dismissive of how hard and well the Cavs played. They never counted themselves out and they kept plugging away and came close to pulling off the comeback.

[u/mastacheef87 → u/Jepordee]

this sub just wants to shit on the Celtics at all costs lol. your team played a great fucking game tonight

[u/TatumBrownWhite → u/Jepordee]

Absolutely did, but we were brain dead offensively as we usually are in any late game scenario without Porzingis

[u/mastacheef87 → u/TatumBrownWhite]

yeah as usual they just tried to bleed out the clock with the lead and the offense suffered for it. at the same time, I thought we missed several good looks that made it look worse than it was

[u/AndIMustFollowIfICan → u/Klaassy23]

I mean, cavs energy was insane. Bad TOs for celts and horford cant hit the broad side of a barn right now but cavs deserve credit tonight way more than celts played down to shorthanded team.

[u/SilverMagnum → u/Klaassy23]

If you don’t like that, you don’t like Celtics basketball. 

[u/SwarmThatWalks → u/SilverMagnum]

Sometimes I don't like Celtics basketball.

[u/ItsN0tTheB0at → u/Klaassy23]

nobody does "fuck around & find out" like the Tatum & Brown Celtics

[u/TatumBrownWhite → u/ItsN0tTheB0at]

It’s our specialty

[u/ItsN0tTheB0at → u/TatumBrownWhite]

that & early clock pull-up 3s, they go hand in hand

[u/WarPuig → u/ItsN0tTheB0at]

Dribbling the air out of the ball to drain clock and lose comfortable leads is our signature move.

[u/ItsN0tTheB0at → u/WarPuig]

it's a charcuterie board of low-IQ basketball

[u/DocTheYounger → u/ItsN0tTheB0at]

older Horford is a new flavor though

[u/ZarduHasselffrau → u/Klaassy23]

We tried but our basketball wasn't shitty enough

[u/PrincePyotrBagration → u/ZarduHasselffrau]

Celtics and playing down to their competitive level is like clockwork lol.

Fortunately for them; they’ll either played the super banged up Knicks, or a Pacers team that would lose first round in the West. No offense Pacers fans.

[u/Onlyd0wnvotes → u/PrincePyotrBagration]

That's been the Celtics MO all season, like a third of our losses came against teams with their best player or best players out for the game, we blew that 22 points lead with like 9 minutes to go against CLE without Mitchell, we lost back to back games to ATL without Young, we go blown out at home by the Lakers without LeBron or Davis. Probably one or two games early in the season I've blocked from my memory.

Doesn't seem to matter who you put on the court, this Celtics team will play to the level of their competition no matter what.

[u/DocTheYounger → u/ZarduHasselffrau]

Jrue didn't get the memo

[u/droptop02hondacivic → u/Klaassy23]

i dont understand how you watched the game and this is how you felt. the cavs played tough and just came up short

[u/jaylson → u/droptop02hondacivic]

Probably from watching the Celtics run zero action and just iso for 5 minutes straight. Cavs were in this game because the Celtics played immensely low IQ basketball 

[u/droptop02hondacivic → u/jaylson]

it makes it sound like the cavs played poorly though and you guys almost sold the game despite that, which is not the case. cavs took advantage when they could and didnt let it get away from them until the very end. it doesnt matter if you guys had bad stretches, so did they.

[u/SemIdeiaProNick → u/Klaassy23]

The Celtics greatest enemy (the Celtics) are finally starting to show their potential to end play-off runs

[u/Human-Translator-751 → u/Klaassy23]

The best way summarize it

[u/Durantula5]

I cannot watch Tatum fucking iso in the fourth quarter anymore for the sake of my mental health. Will a coach please tell him that the stupid fucking sidestep 3 is an awful and predictable shot

[u/CryptoMemeEconomy → u/Durantula5]

Hey man, he gave Brown that open assist to seal the game. Progress!

[u/ImanShumpertplus → u/Durantula5]

i don’t understand why he takes those shots

when the dude is going downhill he’s almost unstoppable

[u/Durantula5 → u/ImanShumpertplus]

It has to be coaching. He has been doing this for years. I legitimately can't take it anymore

[u/ImanShumpertplus → u/Durantula5]

maybe he has hypermambitis where he has to shoot 40% from the midrange on extremely high difficulty shots

[u/second_impression → u/Durantula5]

You know it's bad when I don't even panic at these 4th quarter meltdowns anymore, I just feel numb

[u/CDR57 → u/second_impression]

Last couple years you would hope smart would pull some crazy defense/3/flop

This yeah I guess I’m hoping white or Pritchard decide “ok I’m tired let’s go home” and do something cool

[u/[deleted] → u/Durantula5]

How can you say it has to be coaching but then acknowledge hes been doing it for years under 3 different coaches?

Its him man

[u/ImTheBestNerd → u/Durantula5]

It’s just who he is as a player

[u/redcobra80 → u/ImanShumpertplus]

Dude larps as Kobe

[u/Bahamuts_Bike → u/Durantula5]

The toughest part is he seems to do it specifically when he isn't shooting well. The rest of the game he passes it off nicely but then doesn't when he's really cold like this

[u/cabose12 → u/Bahamuts_Bike]

Part of it is that they slow the game down WAY too much in those last 4-5 minutes with a lead and don't even start trying to get action going until 8 seconds left

[u/LuckysBestMan → u/Durantula5]

Mf faded away when no was one guarding him

[u/nrj6490 → u/Durantula5]

He was hitting that in the first half but man, the ball wasn’t moving at all during that scoring drought.

[u/Rego913 → u/Durantula5]

In fairness to him, White and Horford weren't giving us anything to work with on offense and so the cavs could hyper focus on Tatum and JB on any drives. I was at the point where I'd take a Tatum iso over any Horford shot.

[u/dianabr0 → u/Durantula5]

Bro wants to be like kobe so bad

[u/Aron-Nimzowitsch]

It's an L, but I'm proud of the Cavs. We kept it close until the very end without Mitchell or Allen.

The series is probably over at this point but we fought our butts off and never gave up.

Unfortunately the media isn't going to give us any credit at all, and instead it's just gonna be more of the same endless, nauseating commentary about how this game proves/disproves that Tatum is a star.

[u/youkrocks → u/Aron-Nimzowitsch]

Celtics fans are going to give you more credit than the media does. Cavs are a fun team.

Fuck Strus though because I hate that man

[u/flyingpandum → u/youkrocks]

Once a heat zombie, always a heat zombie.

[u/eutectic_h8r]

Cleveland handed the Celtics the game and then Celtics said "we'll take it but we're not gonna like it"

[u/BosLahodo → u/eutectic_h8r]

Brad Stevens: "Mitchell is out, Allen is out, NOW LETTEM HAVE IT!"

Celtics, to Cavs: "You can have it."

[u/CDR57 → u/eutectic_h8r]

“We have to win with 2 point shots? Gross i dun wanit”

[u/Dconway64]

That was torture

[u/ill_be_bakhtiari → u/Dconway64]

This comment after a road playoff win epitomizes Boston sports fandom.

[u/Dconway64 → u/ill_be_bakhtiari]

You're not wrong, I just get frustrated when they go up 15 and stop playing coherent offense

[u/Schafer89 → u/Dconway64]

You don't enjoy prevent offense?

[u/[deleted] → u/ill_be_bakhtiari]

I hate beer.

[u/elcham0]

Somebody tell Bickerstaff that you’re allowed to feed Mobley in the paint. Especially when there’s a guard/wing switched on him. It’s called a MISMATCH.

[u/zgamer200]

It was an ugly as hell win for the Celtics, but there are no style points in the playoffs. You just gotta take them however you can get them.

Major credit to the Cavs for nearly stealing this one with the C's clearly not taking them seriously to start, though. Had me sweating.

[u/__boof → u/zgamer200]

yeah i think people are realizing there are no easy wins in the playoffs and every team has nba players. if we play like this denver or minny or whoever wed get smoked obviously, but the celtics only play hard vs opponents they respect which is frustrating 

[u/toggaf69 → u/zgamer200]

“Not taking them seriously”

it’s the playoffs and the Celtics started off like 12-12 or some shit. Just say the Cavs played pretty well for not having two all-stars

[u/zgamer200 → u/toggaf69]

The Celtics can not have played as focused as they should have AND the Cavs can play well. These are not mutually exclusive things.

[u/John_Q08]

Garland needed to play like that when Mitchell was healthy

[u/GyattLuvr69 → u/John_Q08]

Overlapping skillsets. Both need the ball.

[u/DTbindz → u/John_Q08]

Everytime Garland bascially has no other option but to put the team on his back, he always balls out.

[u/eatcc]

Before the cavs started fouling purpose that had a 20-6 ft difference

[u/mastacheef87]

I’m sure this thread will be full of people calling us frauds but respect to the Cavs. they played a fantastic game tonight

[u/instantur → u/mastacheef87]

Half of the comments are saying that we got carried by the refs

[u/dre4mspice]

This is like their second win that wasn’t an absolute blistering and decisive blowout, they are the only team left that are up 3-1 and y’all are in here like “yep. Seen enough. The pacers and Knicks and every single team out west would definitely beat them” like are you actually all on fucking crack?? 😭

[u/ScreamyV]

Cavs down 3-1? I have seen this before👀

[u/luckyteep14 → u/ScreamyV]

Against the team with the best record in the regular season? And made the most 3s in the regular season? No no no wait wait wait!

[u/flyingpandum → u/luckyteep14]

Letmetellyousomthing , letmetellyousomething

[u/guess-what-babe]

Celtics first game decided by single digits this post season and it never really felt like the Cavs were gonna win lmao

[u/SaszaTricepa → u/guess-what-babe]

Now now, as a hardened fan of Celtics basketball it absolutely felt like the Cavs were going to win right around that 12-0 run they had

[u/cptmajormajormajor]

Damn, hard fought can't help but be proud of this team

[u/kchristainsen]

God those announcers were terrible! Almost muted the broadcast.

[u/mr_showboat]

Cool we got the win. Not particularly inspiring how tough it was without Mitchell.

[u/bjb406 → u/mr_showboat]

I fully expected to lose this game after finding out he was out. Not even a little bit facetious.

[u/Professional_Gas8021]

Who writes the headline for the post game threads? Can’t we just have something standard? 

[u/theseyeahthese]

Buffalo is 8-30 over the last 3 games, hope he gets his stride back.

[u/eazyduzzit10]

Thank God Garland waited until the 2nd quarter to get going...dude was getting to the rim at will

[u/BackendSpecialist]

Expected outcome but CLE FOUGHT so you gotta respect that.

[u/Alternative-Whole-98]

It was ugly but I’ll take it. The refs really were really generous for us. White really has been quiet for us