It was only nine months ago that the Celtics last played the Cavaliers in a regular-season matchup in Boston, and they were feeling pretty good about themselves. They’d won nine of their last 11 games and were tied with Cleveland — then in a post-All-Star tumble, just 10-11 in their previous 21 games — for the best record in the East.
The Celtics even came out of an ugly first quarter with a lead, 20-19. Then the drubbing commenced.
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Cleveland opened the second quarter with a 22-4 run in the first 5:20, and the Celtics were reduced to little more than sweaty carnage in high tops. There was no doubt about who was the culprit: LeBron James, who showed in those five-plus minutes why Boston, or any other team in the East, would offer little credible resistance to the Cavs come playoff time.
James got anywhere he wanted in that span. He stepped into the middle of the Boston defense for a dunk as Kelly Olynyk looked on helplessly. He posted up the 6-4 Marcus Smart for a one-handed turnaround from 4 feet. He backed down 6-2 Avery Bradley in transition for an easy lay-in. He blew past Jae Crowder from the 3-point line and into the lane, and finished with a dunk. He fought for an offensive rebound over Smart and Jonas Jerebko and finished with a layup. He took Al Horford off the dribble on a switch and finished with a 6-foot bank shot, the deepest shot he took in that stretch.
In those five minutes, James scored 12 points (out of 36 total) on 6-for-7 shooting, his lone miss coming on a driving layup attempt that just rimmed out. In case there had been doubt about the Cavs’ ability to get past Boston in the postseason, it died there, and it died because James could shred every defender — big as Olynyk or small as Bradley, tough as Crowder or Smart, savvy as Horford — that the Celtics put on him.
When James comes back to Boston on Wednesday, the challenge will be much the same for the Celtics. James won’t have the same motivation he had last April, and he may want to reserve the best of his arsenal for when things matter more — the Cavs return to Boston in February, and the sides may meet again in the spring. But the Celtics must do something to show that they have some defensive answer for James, or they’ll be set up for another good regular season with no chance at the NBA Finals.
A recounting of how James pulled apart Boston’s defense last April serves as a good reminder for just how much this Celtics team has changed. Olynyk is in Miami. Bradley is hounding opposing guards in Detroit. Crowder is now James’ teammate, and Jerebko is in Utah. That offers some hope for the Celtics' D.
The shedding of those players was an important part of the Celtics’ makeover. They have become the top defensive team in the league, with an efficiency rating of 100.8, thanks to a focus on athletic, versatile defenders in place of defenders who offered more toughness than talent. Ideally, they’d have Gordon Hayward on the wing as part of that setup, but his season ended abruptly in the opener in Cleveland.
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So the key is second-year man Jaylen Brown. He has far more athleticism and length than the defenders the Celtics were able to offer up against James last season. He lacks bulk — he’ll give up at least 25 pounds to James — and for all his maturity, he still is very inexperienced. But the more time he gets guarding James, the better for his development as a potential defensive star.
One reason the Celtics plucked Marcus Morris from the Pistons for Bradley in their summer trade was that he was an ideal guy to put on James. Morris has the heft and nastiness needed to take minutes guarding James, and he has had some success doing so in the past. His minutes will be crucial, and his ability to at least keep James from dominating the paint the way he did in the second quarter last April will be key for any hopes of knocking off Cleveland.
Smart and Horford figure to pick up some of the slack against James, too, as they did last year, with minimal success. But Smart (99.8 defensive rating) has been a more focused player this season, especially on the defensive end, and Horford has taken more perimeter challenges this season as a defensive player.
Wednesday’s game, of course, is just another midseason meeting between two top conference contenders. Much has changed since the teams met in October, and a whole lot has changed since they met in the playoffs, and last April.
But the theme of the meeting has not changed. The Celtics have got to figure out how to handle James. We’ll at least get a glimpse at how well they’re able to do so.