THE Celtics will only have been afraid for a few hours, in their first round series against the Heat. Beaten at home during Game 2, Joe Mazzulla's men quickly set the record straight.
Of their four victories against an admittedly decimated Miami team, Jayson Tatum and his companions won by an average of 22 points. They were only behind for 56 seconds in all of these four matches won. Enough to give an idea of Boston's domination in this first round.
For the Riders, it's almost the opposite since Donovan Mitchell and his team had to fight until the end to take out the Magic. Trailing by 18 points in the first half, during Game 7 at home, they came close to being penalized, before turning the match around to avoid another exit in the first round of the playoffs.
But given what the two teams showed, both at the end of the season and in the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics are very, very strong favorites. Despite Kristaps Porzingis' injury.
PRESENTATION OF THE CELTICS
The holders : Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford
The replacements : Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet, Oshae Brissett, Jaden Springer, Xavier Tillman, Svi Mykhailiuk
The absents : Kristaps Porzingis
The coach :Joe Mazzulla
The only bad news for Boston, as this conference semi-final approaches, is the injury to Kristaps Porzingis, who suffers from the same calf problem as Giannis Antetokounmpo. Enough to imagine him absent for a good while, and probably for the entire duration of this series, even if it drags on.
The good news for Boston, however, is that the team knows how to win without the Latvian, with a record this season of 22 victories for only 4 defeats in his absence this season. And above all 10 victories for 3 defeats against teams qualified for the playoffs. The Al Horford insurance is there to fill the holes in the racket.
THE STRONG POINT
– A steam roller. Defend hard for a lot, and well, shoot from afar. The Boston formula can be summarized in a simple way, although it is obviously more complicated than that. However, the basis of the Celtics' domination rests on these defensive sequences which generate fast play when Jayson Tatum and company can restart quickly, and 3-pointers when they find themselves on a placed play. Enough to create a snowball effect, which can transform this group into a real steamroller. When this team gains confidence and makes stops, things can go on the scoreboard very quickly. The Cavaliers will absolutely have to avoid this…
THE WEAK POINT
– Too dependent on 3-pointers? As before the first round series against Miami, we can wonder about the dependence of this Boston team on its 3-point skills, in particular on placed plays. We can also ask ourselves questions about the management of tight ends of matches, because it could have been a problem in the regular season. Except that with the ultra domination of the Celtics in the first round, it is difficult to know if these are real problems or not. And not sure that this playoff conference semi-final will provide further clarification.
PRESENTATION OF THE RIDERS
The holders: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
The replacements: Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Marcus Morris, Sam Merrill, Georges Niang, Tristan Thompson, Damian Jones
Absent : Dean Wade, Ty Jerome, Craig Porter Jr.
The coach: JB Bickerstaff
THE STRONG POINT
–Donovan Mitchell. Even if he is slowed down by his knee, the guard still scored 89 in the last two games of the series against the Magic. Single-handedly, he can win the Cavaliers a game, or even several. Even if he will have to be in top form against multiple outside defenders (Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, etc.) that the Celtics can oppose him. Above all, he will need to receive support.
THE WEAK POINT
– Attack and dynamics. Absent in the last three games of the first round, Jarrett Allen is still uncertain for Game 1 next night. Without him, the Cavaliers suffered this season and, even with him, the last part of the season was complicated in Ohio. When the All-Star Game was cut off, the Cavaliers were in 2nd place in the conference, with 36 victories for 17 defeats. Afterwards ? They lost 17 of their next 29 games. And their first round of the playoffs was not necessarily reassuring, the team having had all the difficulty in the world finding offensive solutions, apart from Donovan Mitchell. Against the Celtics, we will have to seriously raise our voice.
THE KEYS TO THE SERIES
– Cleveland shooters must explode. To hope to achieve the upset, the Cavaliers will have to find the sights from afar, they who finished the series against Orlando with only 29% success behind the 3-point line. The Max Strus (12/38), Caris LeVert (4/17), Georges Niang (2/15) and company have gone off the rails, and even if their address depends largely on the gaps created by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, they It will take shots, a lot of shots, to bring down Boston.
– The presence of Jarrett Allen. Kristaps Porzingis will not play and the Cavaliers have an advantage inside… provided they can count on Jarrett Allen. Affected by the odds, the pivot is however not sure of being fit. With him, Cleveland can try to insist under the circle, facing the solid but still aging Al Horford, and Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman. Not sure, however, that it will be enough to compensate the other sectors…
REGULAR SEASON
Boston 2-1
– December 12: Boston – Cleveland (120-113)
– December 14: Boston – Cleveland (116-107)
– March 5: Cleveland – Boston (105-104)
VERDICT
Boston 4-1. Even with Kristaps Porzingis' injury, it seems complicated to imagine the Cavaliers taking four games from this Celtics team in these 2024 playoffs. Given Cleveland's difficulties in the first round, facing a defensively solid but limited Orlando team offensively, it's hard to see Donovan Mitchell and his gang taking more than one or two games from this Boston group, just as solid defensively, but much better armed offensively. Heading for a “gentleman’s sweep”?
CALENDAR
Game 1: in Boston, Tuesday May 7 (1:00 a.m., Tuesday night to Wednesday)
Game 2: in Boston, Thursday May 9 (1:00 a.m., Thursday night to Friday)
Game 3: in Cleveland, Saturday May 11 (2:30 a.m., Saturday night to Sunday)
Game 4: in Cleveland, Monday May 13 (1:00 a.m., Monday night to Tuesday)
Game 5*: in Boston, Wednesday May 15 (to be determined, during the night from Wednesday to Thursday)
Game 6*: in Cleveland, Friday May 17 (to be determined, during the night from Saturday to Sunday)
Game 7*: in Boston, Sunday May 19 (to be determined, during the night of Monday to Tuesday)
* If necessary.
