In a game where the Celtics were missing Neemias Queta and Derrick White on the second half of a back-to-back, Boston was able to go on the road in Cleveland and defeat one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics did a great job all around as everyone up and down the roster was able to contribute in one way or another. Joe Mazzulla talked to the team after the game and used Amari Williams as an example of this mindset. He talked about how Williams came into the game for the final play and played great defense on Evan Mobley forcing him to airball the game tying shot attempt.
2. Payton Pritchard Masterclass
Payton Pritchard had a rough game vs. the Timberwolves on Saturday, only scoring 9 points on 4-14 FG and 1-8 3PM. We should’ve known he was going to bounce back and he did just that in Cleveland. Pritchard dropped 42 points on the Cavaliers shooting 15-22 FG and 6-11 3PM and absolutely took over the game in the 4th quarter when Cleveland was trying to make a comeback.
With around 30 seconds left in the game, Pritchard had the ball and got the switch on to Darius Garland. He waived off Jaylen Brown who let him do his thing, drove and stopped on a dime for a midrange jumper that went in, giving the Celtics a 5-point lead and Pritchard his 4oth point of the night. This why you can’t help but love watching Payton Pritchard play basketball. He is just the definition of a dog on the court and when his shots are falling, almost nobody can slow him down.
3. Jaylen Brown Triple-Double
Unlike Pritchard, Jaylen Brown had an incredible game vs. the Timberwolves on Saturday with 41 points, but struggled to find his shot vs. the Cavaliers on Sunday, only shooting 3-13 FG and 1-4 3PM but did go 12-16 from the free throw line. However, the shooting splits don’t tell the story of Brown’s performance as he finished with a triple-double, scoring 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. This was very encouraging to see from Brown because he has been so good all season, that we haven’t seen what his game would look like if his shots weren’t falling.
Brown had a Jayson Tatum-like performance as he was able to not only be the Celtics leading rebounder but also the main facilitator. His most important passes came in the 4th quarter when the Cavs were trying to comeback. Brown drew the attention of three Cleveland defenders and was able to make a bullet pass to Pritchard who was waiting in the dunkers spot for an easy layup. I hope we see more of this playmaking ability from Brown for the rest of the season because he did a great job finding open teammates all night long.
4. Jordan Walsh Double-Double
Jordan Walsh has become a staple of the Celtics starting lineup this year and he had his best game of the season vs the Cavs with a career high 14 points and 11 rebounds 4-7 FG. Walsh played some incredible defense on Donovan Mitchell as he was able to limit his impact for most of the night while also being a positive on the offensive end, resulting in his first Tommy Award of the season.
Walsh also did a great job of always being in the right place when it came to his offensive rebounding. He was battling underneath the basket for positioning that resulted in a couple and-1 baskets and extra possessions for the Celtics. This play was one of my favorites when he was able to get inside on Deandre Hunter and Jaylen Brown just made a nice little dump-off pass. Walsh absorbed the contact from Hunter and finished the layup. I can’t wait to see Jordan Walsh continue to develop this season as I think he will easily become a legit contributor for this team for years to come.
5. Xavier Tillman Huge Minutes
With Neemias Queta out, there were questions on who was going to get the start and it was a little interesting to see Xavier Tillman be the answer. Tillman was a DNP in 9 of the Celtics last 10 games and hasn’t played since November 3rd vs. the Jazz, so no one really knew what to expect from him when it came to starting against one of the best big men in the league in Evan Mobley. However, the X-Man was up for the challenge. In 30 minutes, he scored 9 points, 6 rebounds 3 steals and 1 block on 4-9 FG. It kind of makes you wonder why he hasn’t played for long because he looked like a different player than we’ve ever seen tonight.
He was playing some elite defense, getting in the way of passing lanes that really disrupted Cleveland’s offense. His best play of the night (although it didn’t count) was at the end of the first half after Anfernee Simons hit a three, Tillman stole the inbounds pass and threw up a shot that went in, getting everyone on the bench hyped. Hopefully, we get to see more of Xavier Tillman moving forward because he played pretty solid tonight.
6. Anfernee Simons Impact
Anfernee Simons has been up and down this season but when he has his ups, it really makes an impact on games for the Celtics. Simons had 18 points vs the Cavs on 8-14 FG and 2-7 3PM with most of his scoring coming mostly in the first half and Boston needed it badly. Brown’s shot was not falling and Pritchard was on the bench in foul trouble so somebody needed to score and Simons had a stretch in the second quarter where hit two midrange jumpers and a three in quick succession that helped Boston stay in the game early.
These quick scoring bursts really can change a game for the Celtics and has been the difference when it comes to wins and losses this season. Simons is an automatic bucket once he sees one go in and I’m hoping that he can do that with more consistency going forward as he continues to make himself comfortable in this new bench role.
7. Finally Got Free Throws
Going into this game, the Celtics had the same or were out shot at the free throw line in all 19 games they played in this season and was in jeopardy of tying the 1970 Buffalo Braves for the record. Thankfully, Boston was able to avoid this record as they won the free throw battle 29-13 which is kind of crazy considering they were on the road. A lot of this came from Jaylen Brown who shot 16 free throws alone and the Celtics being the more physical team overall. Cleveland’s offense was very three-pointer heavy, which is a little different than what we’ve seen from them in the past, but it also helped the free throw disparity as they weren’t constantly looking to play in the paint.
8. Celtics defense on Mitchell
I want to start this off by saying that Donovan Mitchell is one of my favorite players to watch in the NBA when he is facing any other team in the NBA, except for when he plays the Celtics. Mitchell is one of the biggest Celtics killers in the league today as going into the game, he averaged 30 PPG for his career vs Boston. He has single handedly beat the Celtics for the Cavs over the years just due to his offensive explosions and without Derrick White there was a real chance that it could happen again. However, Boston was able to contain Mitchell for almost the entire game as he finished with only 18 points on 7-16 FG. 3-7 3PM, and forced him into 5 turnovers.
Boston swarmed Mitchell on defense, not letting him get too many one on one matchups. Although it resulted in other players like Jaylon Tyson hitting 5 wide open threes, I think the Celtics were willing to sacrifice that over the possibility of a Mitchell scoring outburst.
9. Attacking Garland on Defense
Every time the Celtics play the Cavaliers there is one strategy that Boston uses, and that is attacking Darius Garland on defense. The Celtics killer whale offense is about hunting mismatches and the Cavs alway have the biggest miss match on the floor with Garland. He was a -27 for Cleveland in this game and it feels like he always has his worst games of the season vs the Celtics. Payton Pritchard did a great job exploiting the matchup as a lot of his points came with Garland being the primary defender including this midrange shot in the final seconds of the 4th quarter.
I’m not the biggest fan of Garland as a player and I do think his defense holds Cleveland back when other teams have elite wings and centers that can exploit him, but he is an All-Star level player and does change the Cavs offense when he is on the floor. I also just know that every time Cleveland is on the schedule, I’m going to be seeing the Celtics attack Garland as much as they can.
10. Tired of Cavs Comebacks
Celtics vs. Cavs matchups over the years always seem to end in a way that leaves you needing to check your heart rate to see if you’re still breathing. No matter how big the lead is for Boston, there is always a feeling in the back of your mind that Cleveland is going to find a way to get back into the game. This feeling was right once again in this game as the Celtics opened up a 21-point lead in the 3rd quarter but by the final seconds of the 4th quarter, Cleveland hit some insane shots to make it a 1-point game with 0.7 seconds left.
The insanity started with 45.4 seconds when Donovan Mitchell hit a three to cut the Celtics 6-point lead to 3. Pritchard made a layup right after but Mitchell threw up a second three that went in at 20.5 seconds to make it a 2-point game. Pritchard hit two free throws and then Garland hit a crazy three to make it a 1-point game with 1.2 seconds left. Brown made 1 of 2 free throws and the Cavs had a chance to tie or win the game with 0.7 seconds left. Luckily, Evan Mobley air-balled the attempt but I am just so tired of almost every game vs the Cavs coming down to the wire like this.
My mind flashes back to the Dean Wade game, the Grant Williams “Imma hit both” game, and last year when the Celtics went up 25-3 to start the game and still lost. The Celtics were able to hold on to this game and win the season series vs. the Cavs as they only play them one more time on March 8th.
