Dribbles: Cavs Fall To Celtics, Intend To Examine Some Of These Struggles Against League’s Elite

February 4, 2025

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 112-105 home loss to the reigning champion Boston Celtics on Tuesday. …

1. It was a bad stretch. Shots didn’t fall. Stops didn’t occur. To steal a word from coach Kenny Atkinson, there were too many “slippages” from the Cavs.

2. You can’t have that against the defending champs.

3. Atkinson credited the Celtics three or four times. And you do have to tip your cap — as difficult as it sometimes is. They won the title for a reason. They’re long, athletic and have guys who can really heat up when the need arises.

4. The Cavs (40-10) could probably handle losing to the likes of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis. It’s when guys like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Al Horford can’t miss that are the real killers.

5. Anyway, the Cavs trailed by 20 points in the first half. It seemed like this was about to get away from them. But they cut it to 99-95 with about five minutes to go. Then Donovan Mitchell — who otherwise was fantastic — missed a 3-pointer.

6. The Cavs got no closer. As Atkinson said, “We just didn’t have it tonight.”

7. There really is no reason for wailing, gnashing of teeth and utter panic for the Cavaliers. But they do need to start winning some of these games again.

8. Atkinson on that very topic: “We definitely have to look at it. I mean, it’s not a seven-game series. But you gotta take a look at it (and ask), ‘Why haven’t we performed better against the elite teams?'”

9. It will help if the Cavs can shoot better than the 28 percent they managed on 3-pointers against the Celtics. Granted, Boston defends the arc incredibly well (and the rim, for that matter). A way to combat that is to keep the ball moving. “I felt like our threes were self-generated,” as opposed to the result of crisp passing and creating shots for others, Atkinson said.

10. It wasn’t entirely a lost cause, of course. “I didn’t think our ball movement was good, didn’t think our pace was great,” Atkinson added. “… Give them credit. They’re defending champs. I think we’ll take a lot from this game.”

11. Cavs center Jarrett Allen added: “We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but I think the key to this game was our slow start.”

12. With the NBA trade deadline coming Thursday afternoon, there’s been a lot of talk about the Cavs potentially making a move. They’re listening to offers, Atkinson said.

13. Allen on the possibility of a trade: “If you take away somebody, somebody in this locker room, it’s gonna disrupt it.”

14. He added that he thinks the Cavs do have enough as is. “Yeah, absolutely,” Allen said. ‘We think we can win every single night.”

15. I’ve been covering the NBA out of Cleveland since 2007. I’ve never seen a Cavs locker room this connected, this tight. So yeah, I’d be real careful about messing with that. At the same time, if you can get a steal of a deal … well, you gotta go for it. Right?

16. But trades are a hard thing to predict. It involves real people. This isn’t NBA 2K. “You always listen,” Atkinson said. “You’d be silly not to. … If there is a trade, it’s gotta be the right fit obviously.”

17. Mitchell was fantastic on his way to 31 points and 10 rebounds. That included a monster jam right in Porzingis’ mug. Darius Garland added 25 points after finding his rhythm in the second half. Allen went for 17 points and a whopping 18 boards.

18. But other than maybe Sam Merrill (12 points, 3-of-5 on threes), no one else could get going. Evan Mobley, in particular, had a night to forget. Mobley finished with just seven points on a forgettable 3-of-14 shooting. He was out of sorts all game.

19. Atkinson on Mobley: ‘Ev’s been great all year. But definitely an off game for him. … Evaqn’s a great player. He’ll learn from it and bounce back.”

20. The Cavaliers as a team will also get a chance to bounce back immediately, given that they face J.B. Bickerstaff and the Pistons in Detroit on Wednesday.

21. Tatum led the Celtics (36-15) with 22 points, though he went just 7-of-23 shooting. White scored 20, including a couple of well-defended killer threes late. He misses those, and despite everything else, the outcome could’ve been different. Porzingis added 19 and Brown had 16.

22. No time to panic, though. The only benefit to winning these games is the narrative. Right now, Boston owns it. But what matters is owning it in May. The Cavaliers understand that. “I like our spirit (in fighting back after trailing by 20),” Atkinson said. “We’ll learn from it.”