Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell goes up for two against the Boston Celtics in the first half of play. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
The Boston Celtics, playing without Kristaps Porziņģis, displayed improved three-point shooting and dominated close-range plays to clinch a victory in Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Isaac Okoro started as power forward for the third time in four games, filling in for Jarrett Allen, who was sidelined due to a rib injury.
Although the Cavaliers fell behind by 10 points in the first three minutes, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Marcus Morris Sr., and Okoro rallied to score the team’s next 32 points. However, the Cavaliers struggled defensively, particularly in the paint, allowing the Celtics to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Despite Mitchell’s impressive performance with 33 points, the Cavaliers couldn’t overcome the deficit, ultimately losing by 25 points.
The Cavaliers faced several areas of improvement before Game 2, notably in perimeter defense, rebounding, and offensive performance.
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In terms of defense, the Cavaliers initially contested jump shots effectively but struggled to maintain their defensive intensity in the second half, allowing the Celtics to capitalize on three-point opportunities. Derrick White led the Celtics with seven three-pointers, contributing to their total of 18 made threes.
Rebounding was another area of concern for the Cavaliers, as they allowed the Celtics to secure 12 offensive rebounds, resulting in limited second-chance points. Although the Cavaliers managed to secure seven offensive rebounds, they were outmatched on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 38-55.
Offensively, Evan Mobley’s performance was underwhelming, as he struggled to convert scoring opportunities and faced defensive challenges from the Celtics. Mobley’s offensive struggles continued throughout the game, highlighting the need for improvement in his offensive contributions.
Additionally, Darius Garland faced challenges in terms of offensive efficiency, shooting six-of-15 from the field and struggling to find scoring opportunities against the Celtics’ defense.
Max Strus and Sam Merrill also faced difficulties on offense, with Strus making only two of his eight shot attempts and Merrill failing to score despite multiple shot attempts. Both players will need to step up offensively in future games to help the Cavaliers secure victories.
Overall, the Cavaliers faced multiple areas of improvement following their loss in Game 1 and will look to bounce back in Game 2 against the Celtics.
