The playoffs have yet to start, and Darius Garland is already getting ready for the biggest matchup. He knows the Boston Celtics are the champions, but he believes that the Cavaliers can take them down. The Cavs and Celtics sit atop the Eastern Conference. They would not meet until the Eastern Conference Finals. Will both get there? One thing is certain, if both make it there, Garland is ready.
Darius Garland Sets Sight on Celtics Matchup
Garland appeared on the Run it Back podcast on FanDuel, where he talked about several topics. Among the many topics, he talked about why he believes teammate Evan Mobley should win Defensive Player of the Year, whether he believes he is a clutch player, and the team’s road to the NBA Finals. Asked about the most heated matchup, he replied,
“Of course, the Celtics. Yeah. They probably think of us like that we’re like, the little brother. So yeah, probably the Celtics.”
Given that they are the two biggest favorites to come out of the East, Garland is spot on who their biggest rival is. And of course, to win the championship, you want to beat the best, and Boston is the defending champion.
Later in the interview, he talked about people disrespecting the Cavs. Asked how some people say they would rather face Cleveland than the Celtics and how they are blocking the noise, Garland said,
“We blocking all the noise. We’ve been hearing noise for the last three years that we’ve been in the playoffs. So, yeah, we knock all that off the shoulders, and we just worried about us in the locker room.”
With Garland saying he knows the Celtics are their biggest rival, we can expect even more noise. As we get closer to the Eastern Conference Finals, if both teams make it there, there will be plenty of smoke to go around.
Celtics vs Cavs Head-to-Head
The Celtics and Cavaliers split the season series this year. The good news for the Cavaliers is that they managed to win on the road in Boston. But they also lost at home to Boston. There is no denying that these two are the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They finished 10 games ahead of everyone else in the conference.
If we get that matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals, fans can expect to see a hard-fought series. Two of the games they played this season came down to the wire. Boston won the first game 120-117, while Cleveland won the second one 115-111.
Boston and Cleveland are two of four teams that are in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive ratings. In fact, they have the two best offenses in the league. Cleveland led the league by scoring 121 points per 100 possessions. Boston finished second at 119.5 points per 100 possessions.
Cleveland Eyeing Revenge
Last season, the Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in five games. Darius Garland should be motivated to play the Celtics again because he was one of the weaker players in that playoff matchup. In the series against the Celtics, Garland averaged 16.8 points on 40.2% shooting from the floor and only 30.6% from behind the arc.
This season, the Cavaliers are better equipped to play the Celtics. Evan Mobley has grown into a reliable offensive player, and he is a candidate for DPOY. They also traded for De’Andre Hunter at the deadline, hoping to shore up their forward depth.
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