CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 109-98 home loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
1. It’s hard to win at basketball when you can’t pull the ball through that little orange sphere. And for the entire second quarter, that was the Cavs.
2. They went on a stretch where they missed 17 of 18 — and the one they made was a dunk. For the quarter, the Cavs were 4-of-25 shooting. Twenty-five attempts. Four makes. That’s almost unheard of.
3. There’s more. In the first half, they went 2-of-22 on threes. That included 0-of-14 in the second quarter. At some point, I half expected the rim to cringe with fear. Needless to say, they trailed by 20 at halftime (56-36).
4. I’ve been covering the NBA as a full-time job for 20 years, been following it longer than that. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that kind of dry spell from a contender.
5. Still, the Cavs came back from 23 down to beat the Celtics in Boston last season. So at halftime, I assumed there might be some hope.
6. And hey, for a brief stretch, there was. First, the Cavs cut the deficit to 91-81 with 9:08 left in the game. Later, it was 94-86 with 6:22 to go after a Jaylon Tyson three at the top of key.
7. Sadly for the Cavs, that was that. As coach Kenny Atkinson said, you can’t really afford to get down in a hole against the Celtics. “And when you do get in a hole, it’s too late,” he said. “It seems like a theme (against Boston). It’s concerning.”
8. Donovan Mitchell returned after a four-game absence, and he at least actually shot 50 percent from the field (9-of-18) on his way to 30 points. Evan Mobley scored 24 on 10-of-19 shooting. Everyone else really struggled.
9. Some of it was the result of just missing. Some it was the result of rushed shots.
10. More Atkinson: “We took some threes where we could’ve gotten to the rim or gotten to the paint. We love shooting threes, but I think we were a little overzealous.”
11. There’s more. “I thought our energy and our force in the first half was below standard,” Atkinson added. And that just can’t happen against a team like Boston. Or this will be the result.
12. On the bright side, this is the NBA and there’s always another game. The Cavs get that game at home, Monday night against Philadelphia. But the bigger picture question remains. Namely, can they beat Boston when it counts?
13. Actually, since the All-Star break, he Cavs have now played Boston, defending champion Oklahoma City, New York and East-leading Detroit (twice). So that’s a lot of toughies.
14. Do today’s Cavs (39-25) belong in that group? Atkinson thinks so. “Now, we obviously have to get better if we want to leapfrog that group,” he said. “That’s the challenge.”
15. James Harden added 19 points and 10 assists. He went 6-of-16 from the field. He also missed his first three free throws — again, practically unheard of for a guy who’s 91 percent from the line for his career.
16. The Celtics (43-21) were led by the usual suspects. Jaylen Brown went for 23. Jayson Tatum scored 20. Cavs-killer Payton Pritchard had 18 on 7-of-12 shooting. This was just Tatum’s second game of the season after his ultra-quick recovery from Achilles surgery.
17. The Cavs were without Jarrett Allen (knee) and that hurts. He’s been an All-Star during the season’s second half. There are whispers he could be back for the 76ers, but I bet the Cavs hold him out another night. No need to rush it now.
18. The Cavs laid an egg, yes, but I wouldn’t put too much stock in these games — regardless of what the national media might have you believe. As the legendary Kevin McHale once told me, “All that matters is what you do in May.” And June, if you’re fortunate enough to get there.
19. The Cavs finished 13-of-45 on threes. As Atkinson said, that’s too many when you’re not making them. They also need to start doing a better job at the line (15-of-21). They did at least come around there, but as Atkinson indicated, it was too late.
- BOX SCORE | Celtics 109, Cavs 98
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There is no “bright side” Sam. This was a show me what you got game and the Cavs showed nothing, and it was on national TV. Frankly it was embarrassing to watch and I hope these guys feel the same way because this was no confidence builder against a very beatable team. 🏀😎