Boston Celtics bounced back while short-handed in win over Cleveland

After a colossal collapse against the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics bounced back with a hard fought victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The short-handed Boston Celtics beat the similarly injured Cleveland Cavaliers by a score of 112-106 on Wednesday night. Coming off a historic collapse and the worst loss of the season, the C’s looked to bounce back despite missing three of their four top players.

Without Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward, and Jaylen Brown for this second night of a back-to-back, Boston looked to Jayson Tatum to once again carry the majority of the offensive load. Tatum did not play the night prior due to an illness, yet kept his momentum from the previous month.

He played 40 minutes, finishing with 32 points on 11/24 from the field and 5/10 from downtown. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished six assists, showing his growth as a creator for others.

The next step for Tatum is to become a better passer and make his teammates better, and he has shown improvement, specifically passing out of the double teams that he is seeing more and more regularly.

Semi Ojeleye had the best game of his career, stepping into a prominent role in the rotation with the absence of the Boston Celtics’ proficient wings. He played 30 minutes, scoring a career-high 22 points, while shooting 8/11 from the field and 5/8 from three. He was the most reliable shooter for the team, living up to the 3-and-D archetype that is so valuable in the modern NBA. He even showed a bit of isolation game, hitting a few mid rangers to get some easy points.

Marcus Smart struggled on both sides of the ball this game. With so many players injured, Smart had an opportunity to step up and have a career night, but looked sluggish, especially on defense.

He made some shots down the stretch to cement the win, finishing with 18 points on 5/15 from the field, but had an unusual amount of defensive lapses and mental errors. After his terrible foul with 0.2 seconds in the game against Brooklyn, Smart looks in need of a rest.

It’s good to see Robert Williams finally on a basketball court again. In his second game back, Williams scored six points, grabbed five boards, and blocked three shots, while finishing with a box plus/ minus of +14.

He provides another option for the Boston Celtics at the center position, as he is a more versatile, athletic backup big than Enes Kanter. Kanter can put up more box score stats, as he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds in only 14 minutes tonight, but Timelord has shown to be an above-average defender, while Kanter has struggled throughout the season.

This game was an opportunity for Romeo Langford to showcase his skills, yet never returned for the second half, as he came down with an illness. With Tatum being sick yesterday, it seems to be going around the locker room, something that could explain the sluggish play as of late.

For the Cavaliers, former All-Star Kevin Love dropped 26 and 14 rebounds, while Larry Nance Jr. ended with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The combination of Collin Sexton, Love, Nance, and Cedi Osman, scored 99 of the Cavaliers 106 points. They were without Andre Drummond, Darius Garland, and Tristan Thompson, all with nagging injuries.

Collin Sexton had a career night, scoring 41 points in 45 minutes. He shot 17/30 from the field, and also finished with six assists. He got to the rim with ease time after time, scoring on any Celtic in his path.

This trend seems troubling for the Boston Celtics, as over the past four games individuals have had tremendous scoring performances.

The Celtics have faced the Jazz, Rockets, Nets, and now the Cavaliers for their last four games. Donovan Mitchell scored 37 the first game, Russell Westbrook scored 41 the second game, while Caris Levert finished with a career high 51 points Tuesday night.

Throughout the majority of the year, the Celtics have been a surprisingly effective defensive team, considering the lack of renowned defenders they have on the roster. However, over the past couple of weeks, opposing teams have found holes in the defense, allowing for an onslaught of points to be scored by some of the league’s best. If they want to be a serious playoff contender, they will have to find their defensive intensity that they had earlier in the year.

They also have lacked intensity on the boards, giving up 17 offensive rebounds to Cleveland after 22 to Brooklyn in the previous game. These trends cannot continue if the Boston Celtics expect to win games and prove themselves to be a contender.