Cavaliers @ Celtics NBA Cup Recap

Daniel Waddleton

Nov 20, 2024

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BETWEEN THIS BEING one of those NBA Cup games that's played on the Celtics' Mint Chocolate Chip court, and also a showdown between a 15-0 team and the 11-3 defending NBA champions, anticipation for this matchup was sky-high.

Evan Mobley spoke before the game about how the Cavaliers wanted to use this matchup as a statement—that their undefeated start was no fluke and they are serious contenders this season.

On the other side, Joe Mazzulla emphasized that anytime there’s a trophy on the line, the Celtics are determined to go all out to win it. The NBA Cup being no different to this idea, he said they realize that this was a game the Celtics needed to have if they wanted a chance to make it to Las Vegas.

As expected, this game delivered a bit of everything, culminating in a nail-biter in the closing minutes. The Celtics ultimately topped the Cavaliers with a 120-117 victory, snapping Cleveland's 15-game win streak to start the season. Let’s break down the twists and turns that formed this game into a thrilling Tuesday night showdown.

THE CELTICS OPENDED the game with Jayson Tatum on Jarrett Allen, a strategy they often use against teams with non-post-up centers. Al Horford started on Evan Mobley, and nearly every possession in the first 3–4 minutes featured Garland or Mitchell running pick-and-rolls with Mobley, targeting Horford’s drop coverage.

Garland struggled mightily in this game, shooting just 3-for-21. However, it wasn’t from a lack of good looks. He managed to get downhill into space when attacking Horford in the two-big Cavs lineups but just couldn’t find the net on floaters or mid-range jumpers.

The Cavaliers did run a few pick-and-rolls and an empty-side handoff action with Allen during the initial stretch of the game, but the resulting shots were more difficult. The Celtics simply switched those actions instead of playing them in a drop, disrupting Cleveland's flow.

For the Celtics, after a couple of tough shots to start the game, Boston began doing what they do best on offense—attacking off the dribble, getting two feet in the paint, and kicking out passes for threes. The Cavaliers are a strong defensive team, but against Boston’s five-out offense, featuring big drivers, Cleveland’s smaller guards were at a disadvantage in this matchup

The Cavaliers were missing the presence of Isaac Okoro’s defense on the wing, especially against Tatum. From the outset, Tatum found success getting downhill against Cleveland’s defense and creating shots for both himself and his teammates

The Celtics also knocked down some tough threes, even when Cleveland defended well. That most recent clip you see Mobley do a nice job crashing down onto Holiday in the dunker’s spot when Allen helped, then recovering out to contest Horford’s three. Despite the limited space, Horford made the shot, an example of the Celtics’ hot shooting throughout the night.

Boston’s efficient scoring in the first half hurt Cleveland’s offense in my opinion. When the Celtics made shots and set their defense, the Cavaliers struggled in the half court, particularly against Boston’s starting unit. When Cleveland was able to run out in transition after stops, they found success. Here's two examples of them turning defense into offense.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, Boston was scorching hot, hitting 14 threes in the first half at a 64% clip. In comparison, the Cavaliers attempted only 14 threes total in the half. It's hard to beat anybody when fighting against that kind of math problem, and adding the fact that the Celtics had played great defense, the halftime score was 65–48.

When the Celtics’ starting five checked back in at the 5:30 mark of the second quarter with the score at 43–36, they went on a dominant 22–8 run to close the half. That group was a common theme throughout the game, finishing with a +36.7 net rating in the 22 minutes they played together.

Ironically, one of the few possessions where Cleveland did score in that stretch is a great example of Celtics successful strategy. Typically, the Cavs flow into this pick and roll and get Ty Jerome attacking towards the basket with Allen as a lob threat. But with Tatum switching seamlessly onto Jerome, the action stalled entirely.

In this stretch we also saw a good example of Garland just being out of wack in this one. He’s been fantastic this season in the in-between area, driving downhill and manipulating defenses for floaters or lob dunks. However, in this instance, he got stuck between decisions, squandering a solid scoring opportunity.

Mobley was Cleveland’s lone real bright spot in the first half, punishing Boston’s smaller lineups with key offensive rebounds and assertive scoring during mismatches against the Celtics’ bench lineups. He also made some nifty passes.

Defensively, Mobley was stellar all night. Against a Celtics team that forces bigs to defend in space, he repeatedly switched onto scorers like Tatum or Brown and forced them into tough misses. Combined with his consistent rim protection, Mobley was Cleveland’s best player overall in this game from my point of view, even if Mitchell finished with the most points.

Heading out of halftime, it didn’t feel like the game would be competitive, but Cleveland managed to just barley keep it within reach during the first half. Despite Boston’s hot shooting, the Cavs capitalized during stretches when the Celtics’ bench lineups were on the floor, particularly at the end of the first and start of the second quarters

One sequence in the second quarter stood out when Mitchell carried the Cavs offensively, hunting mismatches against Sam Hauser and scoring on three consecutive isolations.

TO OPEN THE second half, the Celtics came out firing once again and extended their lead to as much as 21 points midway through the third quarter. However, the Cavaliers once again managed to chip away at the lead once both teams' bench lineups entered the game.

The Mobley-Allen combo struggled in this one, finishing with a -48.3 net rating when both were on the floor. In response, the Cavaliers leaned heavily on single-big lineups in the second half. While both Mobley and Allen can switch out defensively, having them on the floor together made it difficult to keep up with Boston’s shooters, who constantly moved through screens and required quick closeouts when defenders were beaten.

In these one-big lineups, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum continued to match up with the lone big to force a decision. The Cavaliers could involve the big in the pick-and-roll, but it would just lead to a switch against an elite defender. Or Cleveland could run pick-and-rolls with the guard covered by Horford or Queta.

Cleveland opted for the latter, which eliminated the lob opportunities but was able to create different challenges for Boston.

Craig Porter Jr. had an excellent game as an on-ball screener, capitalizing on the Celtics' decision to place their bigs on him. The Cavaliers posted an astounding 152.2 offensive rating in the 25 minutes Porter was on the floor, and his contributions were pivotal during their second-half comeback.

Here's a quick action the Cavaliers ran right as the comeback was really starting to set in. Queta had been playing screens at the level, so Cleveland ran a high pick-and-roll with Porter slipping. Garland found him in stride for an easy dunk when Tatum opted to defend the lob threat. This play set the tone for similar actions to follow.

Here's back-to-back possessions, where Mitchell first drew a switch onto Queta and scored with ease. On the next possession, White is less hesitant to give up an easy switch, to where Mitchell is patient holding both defenders in place. This allowed Porter to roll into open space. This time, Tatum helped to prevent another down the lane dunk, so Porter dumped it off to Allen for the slam.

They would also occasionally use Porter has the ball handler with their lone big, putting Queta in a situation he's not typically used too. Here Tatum switches off Mobley, giving Mobley the opportunity to attack Queta flowing through the roll. Here he beats Queta on the catch and delivered a Jokic-like wraparound pass to Niang after drawing help from Brown.

The second half was also as simple as Cleveland’s ability to get some stops. As mentioned earlier, when the Cavaliers generate defensive stops, they've been great in transition, exploiting cross-matches and quickly flowing into actions against unset defenses. Here’s another example of this from the second half, where we also showcase Mobley’s two-way impact tonight.

In the fourth quarter, a special shoutout goes to Derrick White, who played an awesome game and made a key play here when the Cavaliers were on the verge of taking the lead. Securing offensive rebounds like this after opponents force key misses is one of the many little things White consistently does, making the Celtics so difficult to beat, even when opponents play well.

Despite Garland’s offensive struggles, he deserves credit for his defensive effort despite his frame. The Celtics relentlessly hunted him from the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter onward, but Garland held his own. On four separate possessions—two against Tatum and two against Brown—he made impressive stops in isolation down the stretch.

Here's some vintage Celtics with 5:43 left: excellent rim defense from the 6'5 White turns into offense by getting out in transition, multiple drive and kicks, Brown a really nice off ball screen on a broken play, all into a Pritchard gut wrenching three.

In the final minutes, Donovan Mitchell showed why players like him are so valuable in the league. Against a locked-in Celtics defense, Mitchell delivered tough bucket after tough bucket, scoring 10 points in the last 1:30 of the game. While the Cavaliers, under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, have emphasized ball and player movement, sometimes in crunch time, you just have to put the ball in your star’s hands and let him go to work.

Mitchell's late game heroics weren't enough though, and the Cavaliers eventually fell to the Celtics, 120-117. All things considered, though, I think this game was a win for Cleveland. The Celtics are an elite shooting team, but they won’t always shoot 54% from three on 44 attempts. Despite the lopsided three-point disparity, the Cavaliers managed to hang with them.

Garland’s tough shooting night ultimately sank Cleveland, even though he was able to get to his spots. In the past, we’ve seen playoff physicality affect Garland’s performance, but tonight it just simply looked like an off shooting night for him.

After watching this game live and then back a second time on film, I came away super encouraged by Cleveland. They countered a lot of the Celtics’ strategies effectively. A little more active effort off the ball on defense to contest shooters would help, but that’s something I imagine would happen naturally in a playoff series.

As for Boston, they’re a juggernaut. They’re arguably the best or second-best defense in the league, and their drive-and-kick offense is nearly unstoppable given their personnel. Although they hadn’t been playing their best basketball before tonight, this game was another reminder that when it’s time to step up, this Celtics team seems to now rise to the occasion.