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Boston Celtics: Effort, Defense Disappointing in Preseason loss to Cavaliers

By Thomas King

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 2: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during a pre-season game on October 2, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 2: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during a pre-season game on October 2, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers, 102-95, in an NBA preseason game at the TD Garden Tuesday. Boston dropped to 1-2 in the preseason, with one game remaining at Cleveland left on their exhibition schedule.

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is one of the more understated guys around the NBA. So when, during his in-game interview with TNT in the third quarter, Stevens said,” The game motivates you pretty quickly,” that’s about as close as he’ll get to publicly bashing his team.

After the game, Stevens was even more blunt in his assessment of the squad.

But, if ever a team deserved a tongue-lashing in the preseason, it was the Boston Celtics in their 102-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the TD Garden Tuesday night.

The Celtics surrendered 59 first-half points to the Cavaliers in their first NBA competition since LeBron James Decided to ditch Cleveland–again.

In its first preseason game of the season, Cleveland played with an enthusiasm and intensity Boston didn’t match; the Cavaliers jumped out to an 11-2 lead and led the game from start to finish, building as much as a 21-point lead in the first half.

Three-point shooting

For the second time in three games, Boston struggled mightily from behind the arc–missing all 12 of its first-half three-point shots and finishing just 5-for-31 from deep.

The Celtics did not make their first three-pointer of the game until Marcus Smart (!) took the lid off the hoop with 9:40 remaining in the third quarter. By then, they trailed 63-47.

It’s way too early to be concerned about a team that ranked second in the league in three-point percentage last season, but the Celtics are now shooting 24.7 percent from three-point range through three preseason games.

In the preseason opener, Boston’s impatience and poor shot selection led to a 9-for-47 three-point shooting night. Yikes.

In Tuesday’s contest, however, the Celtics earned a fair amount of good looks from distance, they just couldn’t connect. Every team is going to have off shooting nights, but in an NBA era often reliant on three-pointers, a poor shooting  night can be tough to overcome.

Since Gordon Hayward made his return, Boston hasn’t been able to fit him into its offensive system as seamlessly as expected. Because the team had such good chemistry last season, and Hayward is a low-maintenance offensive player, most observers (myself included) anticipated an easy adjustment.

With Hayward still working his way back into game shape, Boston has looked disjointed at times when he’s on the court, and even when he’s not.

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