Boston Celtics’ Offense Disappears Against Cleveland

The Boston Celtics were finally starting to get things going on offense. They went 6 of 7 games shooting above their average from beyond the arc and they were continually shooting around 50% for a game. Their average points per game got well above 100 and the Celtics were playing with the kind of balance that is needed to compete with top teams.

Then they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time since the playoffs last year and they responded with their worst offensive game of the season. 77 points is their fewest on the season and it really is not even close. The Celtics shot 32% overall, 28% from three and couldn’t get a boost in transition with just 9 points in that area.

The Celtics had no players score over 20 points and just three were above 10 points. Two players tied for a team lead with just 4 assists and they were abused in the paint. The Cavaliers scored 20 more points than the Celtics in the paint and this was truly an offensive disaster for the Celtics. Jonas Jerebko, who went just 2-4, is the only Celtic to shoot at least 50% and this was a collective embarrassment on the offensive end.

The Celtics actually did a lot of things that normally lead to success for them. They had twice as many offensive rebounds as the Cavaliers, they forced four more turnovers and limited the Cavaliers to just 17 assists. The Celtics continued to do the things we have come to expect of them but against a team like the Cavaliers that is no where near enough.

The Celtics gave the NBA a glimpse of how good they can be when they are playing their great defense with solid offense but they regressed further back than ever against the Cavaliers. The Celtics didn’t get a boost from any player. They did not have good enough ball movement and even when they created open looks, literally nobody could be trusted to hit any of them.

Dec 15, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens points during the first half of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics are still a work in progress and while we have reached a point where we can expect consistently great defense, the offense remains a wild card. Hopefully these games can become the outliers for the Celtics because when they play with balance they are a terror to their opponent.

The Celtics still do not have the kind of talent that can generate enough of their own opportunities and they do not have enough players that are trusted finishers. The Celtics have a lot of youth on their offense so every once in a while these games can be expected. The Celtics can afford to once in a while throw up a dud and lose to a top opponent. The real problems come when the Celtics go on long stretches when they play like this.

The good news is that the Celtics will get back into the normally uncomfortable comfort zone as they look to extend their winning streak on second games of back to backs on the road. The Celtics will not be facing a team as good as the Cavaliers but they need to put this offensive performance  behind them.

The Celtics have done a great job of bouncing back from poor performances this year and that will be crucial to keep pace in the eastern conference. The East has become far too competitive to put together losing streaks and still make the playoffs. The Celtics can live with the kind of game they just played only if they prove that they will bounce back from these performances.

The Celtics will certainly get an offensive boost when Marcus Smart returns and either Avery Bradley or Isaiah Thomas return to the bench but they have been proving that they can be a strong offensive team even without him. The Celtics are not getting the same boost from their bench but the starters have picked up the slack, just not against the Cavaliers.

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The Celtics get the quick turnaround to put this game behind them but winning this next one becomes that much more important. The Celtics know that they are capable of beating the Pistons if they play their game so it becomes a matter of immediately breaking out of the slump they were in for the entirety of the Cavaliers game.