Celtics earn the praise of the vanquished Cavaliers: ‘Man, they’ve got some dogs’
“I think they’re definitely suited to make a good run. They get the big fella [Kristaps Porzingis] back, and I think they will definitely be a problem.”
The Celtics had little trouble dispatching the Heat and the Cavaliers en route to their sixth Eastern Conference finals appearance in eight years.
Each series featured a scare with a loss in Game 2, but the Celtics made the necessary adjustments both times and closed out each series with wins in the final three games.
All of their wins this postseason except for Game 4 of the Cleveland series have been by 10 points or more. They’ve won by an average of 18.5 points.
Now that the series is over, Cleveland’s Marcus Morris, a former Celtic, said he believes they are poised for a deep run.
“A couple of years back, being a part of this team with a lot of the guys that are actually there now, I think they’ve got some great players over there,” Morris said. “Man, they’ve got some dogs.
“I think they’re definitely suited to make a good run. They get the big fella [Kristaps Porzingis] back, and I think they will definitely be a problem.”
Evan Mobley, who scored 33 points in Game 5 and shot 62.7 percent from the field in the series, praised the Celtics for their depth.
“They’re a great team,” Mobley said. ”They’ve got a lot of different players that can create a lot of different scenarios for them. They know how to create mismatches and attack them, so they’re a great team and it’s going to be great to see them and see how far they go.”
Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Payton Pritchard all shot 39 percent or better from 3-point range against Cleveland. The Celtics had six players average 9.6 points or more. Despite struggling for most of the series, Al Horford posted 22 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks in the clinching win Wednesday.
Jayson Tatum (27.3 percent) was one of the few Celtics who didn’t have his 3-point shot falling, but he found various ways to impact the games. He led the Celtics in points (26.8), rebounds (10.4), and assists (6.2) per game.
Getting that kind of production from Tatum bodes well for the Celtics, Morris said.
“He’s being super aggressive. He’s being a leader,” Morris said. “It’s just good watching him grow, just having a relationship with him when he came in as a rookie. Just seeing how quickly things change, and it’s crazy how [Mobley] reminds me of him a lot.
“I’ve been a big fan of [Mobley] for the few years that he’s been in the league and I think he has a really good chance to make that same leap that I’ve seen Tatum make. It’s times like this, being able to perform in these types of lights, that allows you to grow in the offseason, and coming into the next year, I think this guy right here is going to be a problem.”
The Celtics’ unselfishness stood out to Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who noted that they emphasize the empowerment of all their players, not just Brown and Tatum.
“They have really talented players throughout their lineup,” Bickerstaff said before Game 2. “But they all understand their role and they all play their role in a way that’s just going to help them win. As you sit back and watch the film and study them, you don’t see guys stepping outside of who they are in a way that’s going to impact other people.
“They don’t mind a Derrick White, for example, going off. If he’s going off, they allow him to do his thing and they feed him the ball and put him in a position to be successful and the other guys become great decoys.
“So I think you watch them and it doesn’t appear — again, from the outside — that it’s about me at all. It’s about winning and it’s about winning consistently.”
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