Will the Cavaliers show resilience in the face of their first losing streak of the season?
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (17-3) vs. Boston Celtics (16-3)
Where: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse – Cleveland, OH
When: 6:00 p.m., Sunday Dec. 1
TV: NBA TV, Fanduel Sports Network Ohio (previously Bally Sports), NBA League Pass
Line: Celtics -1
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen.
Cavs injury report: Max Strus – OUT (ankle), Emoni Bates – OUT (knee), Dean Wade – OUT (ankle), JT Thor – OUT (G League), Luke Travers – OUT (G League)
Expected Celtics starting lineup: Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics injury report: Kristaps Porzingis – QUESTIONABLE (knee), Derrick White – QUESTIONABLE (foot), Al Horford – QUESTIONABLE (toe), Jrue Holiday – QUESTIONABE (right abductor tightness), JD Davison – OUT (G League), Anton Watson – OUT (G League)
Fear the Sword will be hosting a live stream watch party for select games this year on Playback. Join me and Tony Pesta as we react to all the action.
What to watch for
Are the Cavaliers driven by this recent slump?
Don’t look now but the Cavaliers are in the midst of their first losing streak of the season. After starting the season 15-0, the Cavaliers lost their first contest against the Celtics 117-120. The Cavs have won two of their last five since their undefeated start.
The Cavaliers head into Sunday’s matchup against the Celtics coming off a two-game slump against the middling Atlanta Hawks. The defense looked to have completely fallen off against the Hawks. Atlanta’s offense is by no means world beaters but they certainly gave the Cavaliers fits. The Cavs need to get back on track there after giving up 135 and 117 points in those two losses.
The Hawks were simply not met with the effort necessary to win games in the NBA. The Cavaliers let the Hawks fire away from the perimeter and they suffered for it. Atlanta shot 20 of 42 (47.6%) from three on Wednesday and 14-34 (41.2%) on Friday.
If this defensive effort lingers on Sunday the Cavaliers are going to be in for another rough go. In their Nov. 19 matchup, the Cavaliers found themselves playing the Celtics style of ball and they suffered for it. The Cavaliers could not find themselves with a lead past the first few possessions of the game.
The Celtics shot 22-41 (53.7%) from three and were able to expose the Cavaliers’ defense and run their offense without much opposition. While the Cavaliers were able to nearly overcome a large first-half deficit they still lost the game. Those types of deficits are extremely hard to overcome. Coming out with the necessary perimeter defense is the key to not digging yourself an early hole.
Will Darius Garland use the first Celtics game as fuel?
The first game against Boston was a playoff environment for both teams. Not only was it an NBA Cup Game, the Cavaliers were looking to extend their record to 16-0 and exact revenge on the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. These two teams have delivered on the entertainment in the last few matchups and the Garden had a palpable level of excitement and intrigue before the matchup.
One of the players highlighted in the contest was Garland. He has had a sensational start to the season. However, it became evident early on that Garland was in some sort of funk.
The Celtics showed Garland a drop coverage, which Garland to that point in the season had been unleashing his floater to great success. Against the Celtics, Garland struggled in all facets, especially in that midrange. Going against Holiday and White likely didn’t help either. To Garland’s credit, he went down swinging as he went 3-21 from the field.
It’s fair for Garland to draw criticism after such an outing. However, as the season continues it appears that game was more of an outlier than an indicator of where Garland is heading.
After Garland’s rough outing, Kenny Atkinson sent a loud and clear message supporting his young guard. “I said, ‘I was proud of you for keep being aggressive.’ He texted me back and said, ‘Yeah, last year I probably wouldn’t have done that. I would’ve kind of been shy.’”
Garland will be instrumental in helping the Cavs rebound from their slump.
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