We’ve got a potential conference finals preview in Friday night primetime, with the dominant Cleveland Cavaliers (48-10) shipping up to Boston and trying the defending champion Celtics (42-17). Both teams are top-six in offensive, defensive and net ratings.
How to watch Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics
If each team were up for an Oscar on Sunday night…
Best Picture: The East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. With the best offense in the sport, the best record in the conference and the best attendance at the gates, this Cavs season has been a feel-good story in the province of Steven Spielberg or Nora Ephron. The core is intact and under contract for the next three seasons. From The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd:
“The Cavs’ previous championship era, believe it or not, more closely resembles the model the league was trying to extinguish of hastily assembling stars in one market. LeBron James returned, the Cavs got lucky in the lottery, swung a big trade for Kevin Love and poof! A four-hour parade on a 100-degree day. As a reference point, the Cavs would’ve been considered a second-apron team under these current rules during James’ final three years in Cleveland. These Cavs have grown together much more organically. They will reach repeat offender status on the luxury tax scale, regardless of the aprons, for the first time after the 2028-29 season.”
Best Production Design: The Boston “3-party.” There’s been a whirring carousel of complaints and grievances around modern basketball’s 3-point reliance. No matter the validity of it all, these Celtics have the numbers to justify their style. The reigning champs are No. 1 in 3s made and attempted … and that has them winning games (third-best record in the league) without sacrificing integrity (fifth in defensive rating and defensive rebounding rate). Boston continues to ignore the noise and stick to its formatting. From The Athletic’s Jay King:
“Over their last 12 games, the Celtics have ranked second in 3-point percentage at 38.8 percent. That’s an especially significant feat, given their unrivaled 3-point volume. They have averaged 18.3 made 3-pointers per game — almost two more than any other team in the league during that time. Even in the blowout loss to the Pistons, when almost all of Boston’s inside-the-arc offense disappeared, the Celtics sank 21 of 49 3-pointers (42.9 percent).
“A couple of slumping Celtics have found their outside strokes at the same time. Derrick White left behind a cold streak that caused him to briefly lose some of his joy for basketball. He has been an inferno lately. Sam Hauser jumped back over the 40-percent mark, which he has reached in every season dating back at least to the beginning of his college days, by sinking 48 percent of his 3-point attempts during the stretch. [Kristaps] Porziņģis has continued displaying a hot hand while staying on track to set a career-high in 3-point percentage. [Jaylen] Brown, one of the few Boston players not to shoot well during this stretch, has made up for it by shooting a hyper-efficient 62.5 percent on 2-point attempts. He and [Jayson] Tatum have fulfilled their playmaking duties by averaging 11.5 combined assists per game during this stretch.”
Starting five of players to wear both jerseys (min. 50 games with each franchise):
- Kyrie Irving
- Delonte West
- Wally Szczerbiak
- Jeff Green
- Tristan Thompson
Bench mob includes Ricky Davis and Jae Crowder. Shaquille O’Neal, Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Thomas are all short of the games minimum.
(Photo of Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
