By Justin Batiste
Boston makes an Early statement
To start the game, this game looked as if it was going to be a close game all throughout. There was an equal pace for both teams, and both teams were defending at a high level. However, that was not the outcome. Boston out shined Cleveland in game 1 . They were spectacular in all aspects of the game today.
From moving the ball around for good shots to hard closeouts on shooters, and all done with consistency. All game the Celtics were getting good looks on the offensive end and continued to execute. The Cavaliers defensive effort could’ve been better, but applaud the play calling by the Boston staff. The Celtics had a sufficient number of open looks and back cuts this game. Which is one of the reasons why their shooting percentage was so high. The other reason is because the Celtics just have players who can make shots, and that’s something the Cavaliers lacked this game.
At one point in the game the Cavaliers were 0-13 from three. You hear players say this all the time it’s a make or miss league. Meaning, the Cavaliers have to make shots if they plan on advancing. The Celtics and Cavaliers were identical in basically every statistical category except for shooting percentage. The Celtics made over half their shots this game. While the Cavaliers weren’t even at 40%.
Guarding this Celtics team doesn’t seem like a easy task because of all the screening, and ball and player movement that goes on. Along with knowing that every player on the court is effective. However, the Cavaliers will have to find a way to make things tougher for the Celtics in game 2. The Celtics are getting too many open shots. More than contested shots, and the numbers show that they took advantage of the free space.
The Celtics couldn’t seem to miss, and the Cavaliers couldn’t seem to make. Holding LeBron to under 20 points was also huge for the Celtics, but it’s only game one. There’s plenty of basketball to be played.
