What to watch for in Game 5 of the Celtics-Cavaliers series

The series is now a best-of-three.

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers' forward Kevin Love during Game 3.

By Andrew Mahoney

May 23, 2018

3 minutes to read

The Celtics and Cavaliers are back to where they started heading into Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5 at TD Garden. With each team having held serve through the first four games by winning at home twice, the series is now a best-of-three.

After seizing a 2-0 lead, the Celtics had an opportunity to get a stranglehold on the series if they could split in Cleveland. But after getting run off the floor in Game 3, they came up short in Game 4 as well because LeBron James finally got some help from his teammates.

“It’s the best two out of three to go to the NBA Finals,’’ coach Brad Stevens said. “It doesn’t get better than that. Anybody who didn’t think that was going to be tough, everything is tough.’’

Here’s what to look for in Game 5:

Can the Celtics regain the momentum of Games 1 and 2?

The Celtics enter Game 5 with a record of 9-0 in the playoffs at home. But the process of regaining momentum may have actually began in Game 4. Having lost Game 3 by 30 points, the Celtics fell behind by 19 points early in the second quarter in Game 4. The game never really got out of hand though, as the deficit was trimmed down to single digits several times. Each time, LeBron and the Cavaliers had an answer, pushing the lead back into double digits.

“I thought we defended a lot better in the second half,’’ Stevens said. “We have to have five guys playing all-out and really honed in defensively. In the first half, I didn’t think we were as honed in. I thought we were playing hard, but I didn’t think we were as honed in. The second half we were much better.’’

They will need to do a better job of finishing on offense. Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum missed dunks in Game 4. Tatum in particular may need to be more aggressive and look to take over, much the way he did in Game 3 of the Philadelphia series.

Can the Cavaliers take their act on the road?

But will that translate when the series shifts back to Game 5? Korver is the type who will make the Celtics pay when left open, no matter where the game is played, whereas Hill and Smith have shown they can be rattled on the road, particularly if they get off to a slow start.

Tristan Thompson has been an effective presence down low for the Cavaliers, and had 13 points and 12 rebounds in Game 4. The Celtics may counter with more playing time for Aron Baynes, who had 8 points and 7 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action.

Can the Celtics make defensive adjustments?

After defending well in Boston, the Celtics struggled at Cleveland, particularly in the first half of Game 4 when they allowed 68 points. Part of the defensive woes could be attributed to Marcus Morris’s foul trouble. Without Morris to harass James, other players needed to step up.

“He’s going to go after whoever he wants to go after,’’ Stevens said of James. “But at the end of the day, we’ve gone through it a lot. I think one of the things that sometimes we all get consumed with is the points he scores on that switch. If it’s eight but it keeps you from rotating and you can still guard the 3-point line, then sometimes you just have to pick your poison.’’

The Cavaliers had also switched things up offensively, utilizing the pick-and-roll to make Terry Rozier have to defend a larger body, whether it was James, Kevin Love, or Tristan Thompson. The most straightforward change for the Celtics would be if Rozier can fight through the screens and stay on his man, typically Hill or Smith, and not have to switch to one of the larger bodies.