May 16th, 2024: Boston’s TD Garden erupts in a renewal of the cheers that have persisted all game. The Celtics have closed out another series on their way to the NBA Finals as they defeated the Cavaliers in five games. To Boston’s sports fans, this series was never in doubt, the Celtics had the run of the Eastern Conference and weren’t expected to face much of a struggle in the Conference Semifinals. For Cavs fans, another hopeful season fell apart to another big market team in a repeat of a story that has grown tiring for Cleveland sports fans. Shortly thereafter while the Celtics celebrated their 18th NBA championship, Cleveland parted from their head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and rumors swirled on the potential departure of star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. It seemed that Boston was on the path to a dominant dynasty and the Cavaliers were bound for regression, but, oh, how six months can change the perspective of a franchise.
Since that day in May, the Celtics have maintained their course with 99% of their minutes accounted for this season coming from their stellar Championship team the year prior. Only one other team has been able to match the Celtics in their roster continuity: the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unlike Boston, however, the Cavs have far exceeded their past years’ performance this season. Fueled by a renewed offense under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers remain as the sole unbeaten team in the NBA at 15-0, marking the best start to a season in Cleveland’s history and tied for second all-time. The only team to have a better start is a team Cavaliers faithful will remember fondly, in the record-breaking 73-9 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who started 24-0 and ended their season with a loss that gave Cleveland its first championship since 1964.
With a chance to extend their attempt at the Warriors record, the Cavaliers travel back to the site of their playoff run’s demise to take on the Celtics in Boston. The game carries much more than just the hopes of an extended streak, however. With the second year of the NBA Cup underway, we have been given this matchup as part of the tournament’s group play phase. With a group play win against Chicago, the Cavs are already in a better position than a Boston team who lost to Atlanta last Friday, however, this game is a must-win to ensure their position in the tournament semi-finals later this year in Las Vegas. More than a chance to advance their positioning in the NBA Cup, this game offers the Cavaliers the opportunity to prove to the NBA that they are the best team in the league.
At 15-0 the assumption would be that the Cavaliers were the assumed best team in basketball, but despite their successes, a considerable portion of the media has been hesitant to name the Cavs as legitimate title contenders. If it hasn’t been said outright the evidence for this can clearly be seen in the current betting lines for the game which favor the Celtics by a margin of 4.5 points. As the saying goes, “To be the best, you have to beat the best,” and that is the opportunity which sits in front of the Cavaliers in this game. It seems that the importance of this game is evident to Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson as he chose to rest Donovan Mitchell somewhat surprisingly in Cleveland’s 128-114 win over the Hornets on Sunday. With a rested Donovan Mitchell, the expectation around Cleveland should be for the toppling of a Celtics team that has been painted a virtual Goliath in the Eastern Conference over the past few seasons.
The Celtics won’t be likely to roll over easily, however, as the team has stressed continual dominance throughout the season under head coach Joe Mazzulla. Despite their championship win, the Celtics feel they have something to prove after the lack of playing time for star forward Jayson Tatum in the Olympics this past summer. Unlike the relatively calm, if not wholesome, media coverage covering the Cavaliers this season, there has been a small media circus following this Boston team. Between Tatum’s lack of playing time, Jaylen Brown’s recent media “beef” with the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the ever-looming media questioning on who the true star is between Tatum and Brown, the Celtics world is one fraught with distractions. Through it all, the Celtics have continued to prevail continuing to win on their way to an 11-3 start to the season.
Throughout this season, the Cavaliers have had to fight to find every possible way to win games. Whether it be a blowout, a come-from-behind victory, a scrappy close win, or winning with a redirected offense missing key starters, the Cavs have continued to prove themselves at every possible opportunity. If this team is truly going to have championship potential, they need to continue to be tested and this is a perfect opportunity to develop. A key for coach Atkinson’s Cavs will be not to buy into their own hype and this is the sort of game that will force a team to get up from resting on their laurels and fight for a win. Regardless of the outcome of this game, this team will exit this game one step closer to making a serious run in the playoffs this year. However, that being said, there’s no reason the Cavaliers shouldn’t win and continue to do what they’re good at: let ‘em know.
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