No Love. No problem. The Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Boston Celtics from the first-round of the 2015 playoffs despite missing the services of Kevin Love for most of the game. Things got chippie early with Kelly Olynyk dislocating Love’s arm from his shoulder, thus, removing one of the Cavs’ bedrock players from the game and perhaps for the next round of the playoffs.
Kendrick Perkins and J.R. Smith then took turns in bullying the pesky Jae Crowder perhaps in retaliation for Love’s injury. Smith was lost due to a flagrant 2 foul call and the Cavs lost two key players. In the end, it didn’t matter as the shorthanded Cavs staved off the tough but overpowered Celtics in a 101-93 win.
The game showed several Cavs players step up and put their foot down on the gas pedal, resulting in an insurmountable 21-point lead that the Celts could not overcome. As usual LeBron James led the way with a spectacular all-around performance to carry his team to the second round of the playoffs. Let’s check the stats sheet and see how the Cavs vs. Celtics Game 4 went the Cavaliers’ way.
1. LeBron James: 27 Points, 10 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block, 46 minutes
James is now an unblemished 10-0 in first-round playoff match-ups.
The King filled-up the stat sheet once again and even though he wasn’t as efficient as the last game, he was still effective.
No he wasn’t careful with the ball either, committing a game high six turnovers, but he was the catalyst for the Cavaliers’ attack on offense and their rock on the defensive end. Without Love, James played almost the entire game and played with enough composure to close out the Celtics despite their roughhousing tactics. It wasn’t pretty but the King made it clear that he would not be denied a trip to the second round. James is now an unblemished 10-0 in first-round playoff match-ups.
2. Kyrie Irving: 24 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block
If LeBron was the Cavs’ offensive catalyst 1A, Kyrie was their catalyst 1B. The young guard continued to show the poise of a veteran who understood what his team needed for them to win. His 11 boards made up for the loss of their top rebounder as he grabbed one rebound after another while staying aggressive throughout the game. Irving is growing in the playoffs right before our eyes.
3. Cavaliers: 4 Players with 10 or more Rebounds
No Love. No Problem Part 2. The Cavs recognized what they would be losing on the boards without Kevin Love on the floor and so James (10), Irving (11), Timofey Mozgov (11), and Iman Shumpert (10) conspired to grab rebounds in the name of Love.
According to ESPN’s Elias Says, the Cavs’ foursome is the first set of teammates to grab 10 or more boards each since the Utah Jazz did it in May 15, 2007 and they are the first since the Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant-led Lakers did it in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
The Cavs recognized what they would be losing on the boards without Kevin Love… so James (10), Irving (11), Timofey Mozgov (11), and Iman Shumpert (10) conspired to grab rebounds in the name of Love.
4. Cavaliers: 39.7% FG, Celtics: 38.8%
The game wasn’t pretty from a physical standpoint and also from a shooting standpoint as the Cavs and the Celtics clanked most of their shots on the way to both teams shooting below 40%.
Boston actually made more shots (33 to 31) while taking more of them (85 to 78), but the Cavs made more threes (7 to 3) and more free throws (32 to 24). Despite the low shooting percentage, both teams got plenty of points from the stripe as fouls marred the hotly-contested game. But a win is a win and the Cavs will take it regardless.
5. Cavaliers: 8 Turnovers vs. Celtics: 14 Turnovers
Other than James (6) and Kendrick Perkins (2), no Cavalier committed any turnover at all despite the very physical nature of the game.
It’s a testament to the team’s discipline and composure in the midst of the Celtics’ physicality and effort to throw them off their game. Boston didn’t commit that many turnovers compared to their other games but they were still considerably more than what the Cavs’ had. That difference accounts for six extra possessions in a game that was decided by only four possession-points. Turnovers show how important every possession is especially in the playoffs.
Honorable mention:
James: 281 Steals and 1045 Assists for Playoffs Career
With James’ first steal of the game, he took sole possession of 9th place on the all-time steals list, breaking his tie with Clyde Drexler at the beginning of the game. He now has 281 total with the chance to move up to 8th place if the Cavs go deeper in the playoffs. Maurice Cheeks is next in line with 295 steals for his postseason career.
UPDATE: LeBron had already passed Julius Erving in career steals since last year. I was looking at the combined NBA/ABA stats instead of the NBA statistics only which muddled my facts in a previous article.
In this game alone, LeBron passed two other NBA greats in Kobe Bryant and Tony Parker on the all-time playoff assists record as he leaps past them both to move up to number 7 all-time. But Parker is still playing and it will be a see-saw battle between the two as they out-do one another without necessarily playing against each other. Scottie Pippen is up next on LeBron’s hit list as he only needs four assists to pass the Hall-of-Famer.
Jared Sullinger: 21 Points, 11 Rebounds
In his best playoff performance of the series, Sullinger was the best player for Gang Green with a strong showing against the Cavs. He was the lone Celtic to grab double figures in rebounds and shot better than 50% from the field with a three-pointer and a block to round out his contribution. The Celtics have a bright future and Sullinger is one of the reasons why.