Boston’s preseason opener against the Cavaliers felt like a gambling addict hitting a six-leg parlay on a fifty-cent bet after six months clean. Low stakes, unbelievably high dopamine levels. After the longest offseason in ten years, talking ourselves into this refreshed Celtics roster, we are all the way back in and drinking the green Kool-Aid. Not only did the Celtics absolutely smoke the Cavs, a team I totally despise for reasons completely unrelated to their uniforms, but they did it while sitting *eight rotation players*. Cleveland, meanwhile, played everyone but James Harden.
How You Win When You’re Outgunned (And Out-Shot)
Even when the Cavaliers finally pulled their starters in the second half, the Celtics had already outscored them by nine, and it felt earned, not lucky. This wasn’t some red-hot shooting night from Boston or a freezing cold one from Cleveland. In fact, Boston actually shot worse from the field, hitting just 41.4% of their attempts compared to Cleveland’s 47.8%. So, how do you pull off a win when you’re shooting inefficiently and missing a huge chunk of your key guys? It came down to pure grit and effort.
Possession Maxing Is Real, And It’s Spectacular
The Celtics just did what they do best. They took control of the possession battle, flat-out dominated the glass, and outshot the Cavs a whopping 99-92 by the end of the night. That number doesn’t even tell the full story because Cleveland only shot 16 free throws to Boston’s 35. This “possession maxing” thing is legit, and it’s awesome because it’s always in their control. No matter who’s on the court or how well they’re shooting, they can always play smart with the basketball and fight for those extra possessions on the boards. Their 56-39 rebounding advantage is pretty insane when you consider Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta, and Mitchell Robinson weren’t even dressed. And they did that against a frontline featuring Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley!
When the full roster is available, or at least some of the big dogs, we could be looking at a supercharged version of that preseason opener. The Celtics have clearly figured out their identity, and they still have another 11 days before the regular season even kicks off. Oh, and all those wings everyone’s been hyping up for bench minutes? They looked solid. Baylor Scheierman was the standout, comfortably taking on a facilitating role against Cleveland’s regulars. He put the ball on the floor, navigated the defense, and hit shots off the dribble,a skill that could be massive. Bring on the regular season!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
Leave a Reply