Five keys to Celtics-Cavs series
BOSTON, M. A. » It seems like we should be awash in dejà vu right about now, but so much is different.
For the second straight season, the Celtics are the higher seed yet the underdog in the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland.
For the second straight season, the Celtics will be hindered by an injured point guard. Only this time, the point guard in question was the Cavaliers’ point guard last season. And the C’s point guard at issue last year was a Cavalier to start the season before getting traded away.
Danny Ainge brought back just four players from a 53-win, No. 1 seed -- which should tell you ev- erything you need to know about that club and his confidence that it could compete going forward. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward were supposed to give the Celts a legitimate chance to win the East, but that didn’t work out this time around.
So these are different teams -- different even from when they met in the regular season for the last time on Feb. 11. It was just after the trade deadline when he Cavs had reshuffled their deck, and they proceeded to wax the Celts by 22 points on the day Paul Pierce’s No. 34 was retired.
As we face this series, the only certainty is LeBron James. Everything else is a difficult read. Last year, I correctly called that the Celtics would beat Chicago in six and would need seven games to get by Washington, with their four wins coming at home. I said the Cavs’ series would last as long as LeBron chose. It was in his hands.
Now, although it’s a lock that he’ll be brilliant, there are uncertainties with the rest of the club. And the Celts? Who knows? I said they should get past Milwaukee, but thought they’d fall to Philly, so maybe I’m the wrong guy to be asking about this.
Be that as it may, here are the five keys -- and a bonus -- to the Celtics chances for continuing their improbable run all the way into June:
PASS THE BALL TO PEOPLE ON YOUR OWN TEAM
This is critical whenever the Celts
take the floor, and we saw how badly turnovers led to their demise in Game 4 against the 76ers. The Cavs will score enough buckets when you’re up close and personal with them in the halfcourt; allowing them run- outs and easy hoops will be suicidal.
The C’s gave the ball up six times in the third quarter of the clincher over Philly Wednesday, and, not so coincidentally, that was the only quarter in which they were outscored.
Brad Stevens regularly implores his lads to make the simple plays. They don’t always abide. Marcus Smart is capable of spectacular winning moves, but he and his friends have also shown the ability to throw the ball to patrons in the highpriced seats.
YOUTHISNOTWASTED ON THE YOUNG
A minute and nine seconds into his NBA career, Jayson Tatum took his first shot. LeBron blocked it.
It’s fair to say the rookie has recovered well from that indignity. Tatum, through opportunity and hard work and sheer talent, has grown into the Celts’ leading scorer in these playoffs. He averaged 23.6 points on 52.6 percent shooting against the Sixers.
Tatum is currently riding a seven-game streak of 20-plus point games. That’s second longest for a rookie in the playoffs, three behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) in 1970.
And Tatum just stopped being a teenager a little more than two months ago.
It’s certain that the Cavs will put greater defensive focus on him than did Milwaukee or Philadelphia. But that could mean more openings for -- ta- da -- a 21-yearold. Jaylen Brown made 10 of 13 shots on the way to 24 points on Wednesday.
POISE, PATIENCE AND PASSING . . . AND AL
It happened more against the Bucks, but the Celtics can get into real trouble when they settle for early shots and fail to move the ball enough to pull the defense out of position.
Al Horford spoke about this a few days ago: “For us, we just have to get good shots and do things the right way. I think that’s where our experience can become an issue for us. We can get a little triggerhappy and take bad shots.”
When the Celts take their time and work the ball, better shots present themselves.