The Boston Celtics handled their business against the Cleveland Cavaliers, beating the Cavs on the road to complete the season sweep. Doing so made it the first time they've done that since the 2019-20 season.
Celtics sweep the season series against the Cavs (3-0) for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) March 8, 2026
They are now up four games on them in the East standings.
This is a more impressive achievement than one would think. Anyone who has been paying attention to the Celtics matchups with the Cavaliers since the latter acquired Donovan Mitchell in 2022 knows how annoying Cleveland has been to Boston. Before this season, this is how the season series has shaped up between the two:
2022-23: Cavaliers win series 3-1
2023-24: Celtics win series 2-1
2024-25: Tie series at 2-2
It wasn't just that the Cavaliers could beat the Celtics, but the fashion they did it was always so frustrating. It's been a few years, but remember when Boston lost to Cleveland because Caris LeVert suddenly turned into Michael Jordan? Or when the Celtics had the chance to beat the Cavaliers while undermanned if Grant Williams just hit his free throws? Or when Dean Wade spontaneously went nuclear on Boston?
It just felt like the Cavaliers either figured out Boston's loopholes or made the Celtics work for the win. Because that wasn't the case this time, it feels like a big accomplishment for Boston.
This feels relevant with the playoffs on the horizon
The Celtics' sweeping the Cavaliers is a fantastic development for them with the postseason right around the corner. It's not like Cleveland would be the favorite in a series vs. Boston, but they Cavaliers have shown for the past three seasons that they're not afraid of the Celtics.
So having their number in the regular season - not to mention the return of healthy Jayson Tatum - has got to make them feel even more confident about a potential playoff matchup between the two teams.
Boston will already have a chip on their shoulder when the playoffs start, as they badly want to avenge their embarrassing postseason loss from last year. Now that they know Cleveland isn't as annoying for them as they used to be should give them more confidence.
As the NBA Playoffs currently stand, the Celtics are the No. 2 seed while the Cavaliers are the No. 4 seed, so if they were to face off in the playoffs, it would be in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, there's plenty of season left with the Celtics within earshot of getting the No. 1 seed, so there's no telling what could happen.
At the very least, Boston has one less team to worry about.