Whatever you believe about the Cleveland Cavaliers was likely proven true on Friday night.
If you think that they are a legitimate inner-circle title contender, that their regular-season dominance is a prelude to postseason dominance, then coming back from 22-down to defeat the defending champions on the road is all the validation that you need.
If you think that they are a "regular season team" that is not built, at least not yet, to take down the likes of Boston or Denver or Oklahoma City in the playoffs, then going down 25-3 to start the game against a short-handed Celtics team proves your point.
Whatever your opinion of the team, the comeback victory was certainly exciting and impressive. The Cavs battled back not once but twice, coming back to close the deficit at halftime before Boston blew things open again in the third quarter to build back a 17-point lead. Then Evan Mobley came alive, Donovan Mitchell carried the offense and Cleveland pulled off a 123-116 win.
What can we take away from the game? Here are three lessons we learned from the Cavs' latest win, their ninth-straight and possibly the most impressive of the entire season.
Lesson No. 1: The Cavaliers have serious mental toughness
One of the ways that you can track a team's mental fortitude is how they respond when they get knocked down. When you are down 25-3 to start a game the odds of winning are incredibly slim. Cleveland was 0-4 when trailing by 20 points in a game this season, and the Celtics' win expectancy rose as high as 94.6 percent in the third quarter.
Yet not once but twice the Cavs fought their way back into the game. After that initial clobbering they pulled off a 41-22 run to close the gap and get back into the game. Then after Boston went on another run to start the third quarter, the Cavaliers closed the gap step by step until they took their first lead at 104-101 late in the fourth.
That takes leadership, both from the coaching staff and the players in the huddle, on the bench, on the court. Donovan Mitchell clearly pointed this team in the right direction and never lost hope. Evan Mobley shook off a bad first half and a foul-riddled third quarter to dominate the fourth quarter.
The playoffs are about skill and shooting and defense and all of that, but what makes them different is that the mental part of the game is on another level. Can you rise above when things get hard? How do you respond to adversity? The Cavaliers showed they can take a punch and keep coming, and their comeback win meant something.
Lesson No. 2: Jarrett Allen isn't built for this matchup
The Cleveland Cavaliers have proven that they can build an elite offense with both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, but much of the time they play with only one of the two on the court. In some matchups they will play both for a significant period, but the new development this season with head coach Kenny Atkinson is that he is quick -- and equipped -- to pull Allen from the rotation.
Against the 5-out system of the Boston Celtics there wasn't much of a place for Jarrett Allen. Al Horford is essentially a shooting specialist at this point in his career, and Allen was essentially pulled to the 3-point line on every possession. There is not much point in a rim protector who isn't close to the rim, so after two bad stints with Allen and Mobley together Atkinson pulled the plug.
Allen played 24 minutes and was a team-worst -23 in those minutes. He did shoot 4-for-4 from the field but he wasn't able to punish the Celtics enough to make up for his defensive ineffectiveness, and he wasn't even able to clear the boards when he was planted on the perimeter. Both of the Cavs' comebacks largely came with Allen on the bench and either De'Andre Hunter or Dean Wade playing at the 4.
Lesson No. 3: The Bench does matter
The Cleveland Cavaliers have an extremely deep bench. One of the lessons of NBA basketball is that depth matters less in the playoffs when rotations get shortened. Yet Friday night the value of the Cavaliers' depth was on full display.
The Boston Celtics were missing two starters in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, which meant they were forced to reach down the line of their roster -- and they were found wanting. They essentially played just seven players all night, with Jayson Tatum and Derrick White cracking 41 minutes and all five starters playing at least 34.
That included 38 minutes for Sam Hauser, who is usually deployed against bench units as a backup forward but was called in as a high-minute starter. The Cavaliers relentlessly attacked him on defense, but the Celtics felt that they didn't have any other options.
Payton Pritchard is having an excellent season and is a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, but he was a -36 in his 25 minutes. Ty Jerome, a strong opponent of his in the 6MOY race, stole his cookies and was +34 in his 21 minutes. Boston didn't put in either of its traditional centers, instead leaning into the 5-out look despite not having Porzingis.
Sam Merrill was +22 in his minutes. De'Andre Hunter shot 3-for-3 from deep and scored 12 points. Dean Wade was a critical member of the rotation given his positional versatility.
The Cavs' starters got punked, but their bench brought them back. The Celtics needed bench players to step up and didn't have any to call upon. Perhaps both teams will be fully healthy in May when they meet in the playoffs and the Celtics' lack of depth won't matter. Perhaps.
Yet it seems much more likely the fact that the Cavaliers go 10-deep in excellent players and still have another couple waiting beyond that will matter, and it will help them to win at least one game. Those are the margins upon which a run to the NBA Finals is built.