Wednesday night’s Cavaliers-Celtics game was a hyped up affair. It was a battle for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. While both teams tried to lower the magnitude of the game, it was clearly an important matchup especially for the Celtics who want to cement their place as the Cavs’ main rival in the East.
But LeBron James and the Cavaliers were having none of that business. Cleveland blew out the Celtics in Boston, taking back a one-game lead in the standings. Because they have the tiebreaker, Cleveland would have to lose two more games than the Celtics in the last week of the season to relinquish the top spot.
More important than the standings was just how the Cavaliers handled the Celtics. They put up 114 points, seemingly getting any shot they wanted. Celtics’ guard Avery Bradley found one particular way in which they were beaten:
Avery Bradley with an interesting quote on how LeBron James exposed the Celtics: pic.twitter.com/s7UwPSvgqg
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) April 6, 2017
CBS Sports’ Matt Moore found one example of what Bradley spoke about.
This is a difficult situation for the Celtics to monitor. Isaiah Thomas is their best player and his scoring has been monumental for a team lacking good, individual scorers. On the other hand, he is one of the worst defenders in the NBA and his size limits him in many instances.
The Celtics prided themselves in being a formidable opponent for the Cavaliers. But Wednesday’s matchup, even if only one game, showed that there may be quite a bit of separation between the two clubs, especially if LeBron is able to exploit them so easily.
