NBA Matchups: May 13

BOS @ CLE | OKC @ DAL

Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Celtics 107.3, Cavs 98.8

Injury Report: Jarrett Allen (Q, rib), Donovan Mitchell (Q, calf), Kristaps Porzingis (O, calf)

Cavs projected starters: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley

Celtics projected starters: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford

Offensive Ranks Cavs 18th, Celtics 1st
Defensive Ranks: Cavs 6th, Celtics 3rd

Bickerstaff quotes: Said the Celtics were better at challenging shots against them, said they aren’t getting whistles on the bumps, said he went with more shooters late to give them more spacing, said “if you’re open, you gotta shoot,” said they need Darius Garland to be a spark and they’ll keep pushing him, said Dean Wade looked great and did a good job on both ends after missing so much time.

Mazzulla quotes: Said their spacing and execution was great for them in Game 3, said they were great with halfcourt D and kept them out of transition, said the whole team played “highly disciplined, tough basketball”, said Tatum was always making the right play for them in Game 3, said they had defensive poise and held the Cavs to one shot a lot (seven offensive rebounds allowed), said they put two on the ball more because of time and score.

Stats and Notes:

Rim points per game: Cavs 13th, Celtics 19th

Rim points allowed per game: Cavs 8th, Celtics 3rd

Catch and shoot points per game: Cavs 15th, Celtics 1st

Catch and shoot points allowed per game: Cavs 15th, Celtics 10th

PNR handler scoring per game: Cavs 12th, Celtics 21st

PNR handler scoring allowed per game: Cavs 5th, Celtics 25th

Transition scoring per game: Cavs 17th, Celtics 9th

Transition scoring allowed per game: Cavs 11th, Celtics 4th

*Boston looked like themselves again in Game 3 after a dud in Game 2. The Boston home/road stuff in the playoffs is so odd with their 14-14 home record in the last three seasons. For the Boston defense, they had their best rim defense per possession of the series, and they only gave up 12 points on C&S shots in Game 3. The most impressive part was giving up just 11 points in transition. The Cleveland offense has been awful in every postseason game except for Game 2 against Boston, putting them at just 104.9 points per 100 possessions. The Celtics had looked OK with their rim defense in two of the three games, so losing KP shouldn’t hurt them too much. It’s really just if they’re going to show up like they did in Games 1 and 3. For the Boston offense, they have been great in the majority of the postseason outings, scoring 119.5 points per 100 possessions in their eight games. In Game 3, they didn’t really have their go-to scoring play with only 18 points on spot-ups. They were able to get their best rim offense of the postseason and doubled up the Cavs in transition with 23 points there.

*Jayson Tatum finally got aggressive! His 39.1 usage rate shattered his previous postseason-high 30.3, and his usage rate has gone up in four straight games. As I’ve been saying, Tatum’s shot selection has been a little better than where he was in the regular season, and he was just missing so many easy ones. In Game 2, he had some really good looks and was so close to and-one chances. In Game 3, it finally came together, headlined by his 17 points on his 17 drives. Tatum’s rim frequency is up at 7.3 possessions per game, and he had 22 PNR handler and isolation possessions in Game 3 for the most he’s had all season. The Cavs weren’t really helping off much and were sticking with Max Strus on him. Tatum’s matchup could get a little tougher if Jarrett Allen plays to push Evan Mobley on him. Either way, I still believe in Tatum and will hit his overs again (if no Allen).