Prior to the series, Boston Celtics power forward Marcus Morris was adamant about the importance of containing Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James in this series. Boston managed to do a solid job of doing so up until their embarrassing loss in Game 3 on Saturday night.
Morris has since taken responsibility for James' stellar outing in the 30-point loss to Cleveland. According to ESPN's Michele Steele, he did not mince words when it came to his performance defensively:
“I did a s—t job defensively against Lebron.”
Needless to say, there is plenty of truth to Morris' comments. He managed to back up his pre-series comments by helping to hold James to just 15 points in Game 1. Although he mustered up a 40-point triple-double in Game 2, the Celtics were still able to force plenty missed shots and turnovers. However, that was certainly not the case in Game 3.
James registered 27 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting on the night. He also managed to tack on 12 assists and five rebounds while hitting all three of his attempts from deep. That said, it was not a good showing for Morris, who was the primary defender throughout the night.
There is no doubt that containing James every game from here on out will be a tall task. However, Boston will need to find a way to force his teammates to beat them much like they did in the first two games of the series.
That said, Morris is hardly to blame for the entirety of James' performance. The Celtics came out flat on both ends of the floor and the Cavs' star was finally able to take advantage of it. Fortunately, the team is optimistic that Game 3 will serve as a wake-up call moving forward.