The Boston Celtics got off to a great start to the Eastern Conference Finals, taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers convincingly 108-83 on Sunday afternoon, but the victors are by no means satisfied with their performance.
Following a team effort to limit LeBron James to 15 points and forcing him into coughing up the ball seven times, the Celtics will enjoy the W, but won't rest on their laurels, knowing a more aggressive James will return for Game 2.
“We’re definitely happy with the win, but we’re not content,” said center Aron Baynes, according to the team.
Baynes noted James was “the head of the snake” and would come out with a renewed intensity, looking to put this playoff-worst performance in the back burner.
Boston defended eagerly and with numbers, clearly a chess match between coach Brad Stevens and James, who was surrounded by different bodies and given multiple different defensive schemes to figure out throughout the game.
The Celtics showed a much more aggressive and intrepid approach to defending James than the Indiana Pacers or the Toronto Raptors were able to show throughout this postseason, clearly dominating a team that seemed lost after going 0-for-12 from deep in the first half.
James saw eight different defenders, from the smaller Marcus Smart, who nabbed the ball from James during a post-up, to the likes of Baynes and Al Horford, who heavily contested his shots, forcing him into a 5-of-16 shooting night from the floor.
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