The Boston Celtics will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA showdown at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday night.
The Cavaliers are 17-3 on the season and top the Eastern Conference standings, while the Celtics are 16-3 and in second place into this box office game. The Cleveland Cavaliers had their finest start to an NBA season this year, going 15 games without losing and surging to the top of the Eastern Conference rankings as the league’s hottest club.
However, last week, they saw none other than the Celtics in the NBA Emirates Cup and were reminded that the way to the Eastern Conference’s top slot
Still runs through Boston, as the Celtics handed them their first loss of the season, 120-117.
Since then, the Cavs have defeated the Pelicans and Raptors, but they suffered their first home loss of the season, 135-124 to the Hawks in midweek, before falling 117-101 in Atlanta on Friday night.
While Kenny Atkinson’s team has been on an offensive tear this season, remaining the highest-scoring team in the NBA, the back-to-back losses were a sobering reminder of how important their defense is to their success.
Indeed, a lack of defensive discipline was noticeable against the Hawks, particularly in transition, and the squad appears to be developing an undesired tendency to over-help and over-foul, leaving perimeter shooters wide open, which Atlanta took full advantage of.
That being said, it is still premature to suggest that the Cavs are falling off, as they are still in the top half of the league’s defensive charts, holding opponents to 112.6 points per game, and if Donovan Mitchell, who has been playing MVP-level ball, can rebound here after a couple of poor outings to lead them to victory, it could easily spark another run heading into the holiday season.
Meanwhile, after defeating Cleveland for the first time this season, the Celtics went on to beat the Wizards, Timberwolves, Clippers, and, most recently, the Bulls on Saturday, extending their unbeaten streak to seven games – the longest active in the NBA.
Jayson Tatum’s 35 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block, combined with Payton Pritchard’s season-high 29 points, 19 of which came in the fourth quarter, propelled Boston to victory on Friday.
The Celtics’ victory over the Bulls also kept them alive in the NBA Cup, as they are now 3-1 in the group round with a +23 point differential and need the Magic to defeat the Knicks on Tuesday night to proceed via wild card.
When the Celtics and Cavs last met, Joe Mazzulla’s team led 65-48 at halftime, making nine three-pointers on 11 attempts in the second quarter alone, and their 51.1 three-point attempts lead the league by nearly six per game; despite a moderate conversion rate, they consistently make nearly 20 from beyond the arc per game.
Heading into Sunday’s game, this game is largely seen as a litmus test for the Cavs’ sincerity as a title candidate, as the Celtics are beginning to remind skeptics just how good they truly are after flying under the radar earlier in the season.
After missing four games due to a left knee injury, Cleveland’s important reserve player Caris LeVert returned against the Hawks and played 20 minutes. He’s anticipated to be available again on Sunday.
Dean Wade is still out due to an ankle sprain sustained two weeks ago, and he will be joined on the bench by Emoni Bates, JT Thor, and Luke Travers, all of whom are on G-League assignments.
The Celtics suffered a huge setback in their victory over the Bulls when Derrick White was carried to the locker room during the third quarter with an injury, and coach Mazzulla revealed afterward that the veteran guard will miss the trip to Cleveland.
Besides White, the ruling Champs will also be missing JD Davison, Anton Watson, and Luke Kornet, with the former two out on their two-way G-League contracts, and the latter suffering from a right hamstring strain.
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