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Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Reasons the Cavs will beat the Celtics

By Nick Dudukovich

Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) works the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) works the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 5, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) tries to get around Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) during game three of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 5, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) tries to get around Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) during game three of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Cavs can guard the 3-point line

The Cavs will be happy to let Boston have as many 2s as they want. With that said, Brad Stevens knows his team will have to be successful from 3-point range to have any success in this series.

Expect the Cavs to pay extra attention to guarding the 3-point line. If Cleveland takes it away, the Celtics have no chance.

Check out this stat from ESPN.com.

"The Celtics have attempted 73 more uncontested shots than any other team this postseason. They’ve actually been below average making those open looks (57 percent, league average is 58 percent), but the sheer volume makes up for it. Problem is, when the shot is contested, the Celtics make only 40 percent of their tries, which is worst among the four remaining teams."

The NBA Playoffs are different beast. This isn’t the Cavs going through the motions of the regular season, any longer. LeBron is engaged defensively on every possession. J.R. Smith’s defense gets overlooked, too.

Iman Shumpert‘s playoff emergence can’t be overlooked, either. Cavs’ coach Ty Lue, who told Shumpert the organization would need more of him for the postseason, praised his wing for his play in the first two rounds, via Ohio.com.

"Lue praised Shumpert before the Cavs finished a sweep of the Raptors in the conference semi­finals, saying Shumpert had been “very valuable in these playoffs.” “Taking the defensive challenge of guarding the best player on the floor every single night and shooting the shots when you’re open, straight line drives, just keeping the game simple and keeping it easy,” Lue said. “To keep himself in shape he’s been playing three-on-three with the guys, four-on-four, five-on-five full court. He’s been continuing to work on his game, staying in shape, and he’s been ready.”"

Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Gerald Green, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart do a lot of the Celtics heavy lifting from 3-point range.

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