4 Takeaways from the Cavs dominant victory against Boston.
Boston’s success begins and ends with Isaiah Thomas
The main reason for the Cavs success is why the Celtics will ultimately fall short of competing with Cleveland, they rely too much on Isaiah Thomas. While Thomas is a talented individual who averages 29.1 points and 5.9 assists, the players around him are not near the caliber of the supporting cast that surrounds James and Irving on Cleveland.
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Boston however struggles mightily without Thomas on the floor, for example in last night’s game the Celtics led 20-19 after one quarter, but when the Celtics began the second quarter without their star player, the Cavs picked apart Boston. They outscored the Celtics 22-4 in the first six minutes of the quarter and Thomas was on the bench the entire time.
While teams will be game planning for Thomas in the playoffs, Boston lacks that other dependable player that can win them a game, let alone a series. Al Horford is a nice player, but centers do not dominate games the way they used to years ago. Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart quality role players but cannot be trusted to have a breakout game if Thomas struggles.
In the playoffs where experience and depth is needed to win playoff series the Celtics just don’t have it, and trying to beat the Cavs one time in the playoffs let alone four out seven seems like an impossible task at this point, despite the Celtics regular season success.