For a first-round opponent who finished the season under .500, the Boston Celtics did a good job making the championship-contending Cavaliers work hard for three straight games. There's an identity growing in Boston, and just like Brad Stevens did at Butler, he has favored scrappy, two-dimensional players that mostly have plenty of room to grow.
Cavaliers vs. Celtics 2015 final score: 3 things we learned in Cleveland’s 103-95 win
Boston challenged LeBron and Cleveland, but fell short to Kevin Love’s big game.
But a team like that isn't ready to really challenge LeBron James in a seven-game series yet. To underscore the point, the Cavaliers won Game 3, 103-95, to go up 3-0 in the first-round series.
Like the first two games, Boston hung around as long as they could. With under 30 seconds, they trailed by just three points, but James blew by Evan Turner and found Kevin Love in the corner, who drilled a dagger three-pointer. That shot, plus a crazy James block on a driving Turner on the Celtics' previous possession all but sealed the victory.
The shot capped a fantastic night for Love -- 23 points, 8-of-16 shooting, nine rebounds and three assists. James had a huge game with 31 points on 13-of-26 shooting, plus 11 boards, four assists and four steals. Irving was quieter -- 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting -- but it didn’t matter.
3 things we learned
1. Kevin Love is a helluva offensive “afterthought”
Cleveland’s offense doesn’t involve Love like he was featured in Minnesota in years past. This much is fact. His numbers have fallen from 26 points a game to 16, and he’s averaging three fewer rebounds and two fewer assists. In Cleveland’s offense, he’s more useful as a floor-spacing shooter than a focal point.
But wherever Love decides to go as a free agent this summer, it's clear that Channing Frye or another similar shooting big simply wouldn't make an impact like Love does all over the floor. Cleveland probably should involve him in more offense, especially in their second unit when James and/or Irving are on the bench -- even in this game, all but one of his makes were spot-up attempts. But Love is still an integral part to this playoff team.
2. Maybe this is home for Evan Turner
Turner's dismal showing with Indiana after a 2014 trade cost him quite a bit of money. He didn't fit the slow, defensive religion Frank Vogel taught, and instead signed cheap with Boston.
Despite a couple of late-game embarrassments by James, Turner finished with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, eight rebounds and eight assists. Turner still has his limitations -- defensive problems and high volume, sometimes inefficient offense -- but he’s working in Boston. Maybe this is the place for him.
3. Cleveland is already having to shorten its rotations
The Cavaliers look fantastic, there's no doubt about that. But as the postseason wears on, there's danger that fatigue could build for Cleveland. The starters played heavy minutes all season, with James and Irving both averaging more than 36 minutes a game (although James did get two weeks off for a sabbatical).
In Game 3, with the Celtics hanging around, there was never a chance to get the Cavalier starters any extra rest. James played 42 minutes, and Irving, Love and J.R. Smith all played at least 37 minutes. That's fine for now, but Cleveland has plans to play into June. If that happens, you have to wonder if all these heavy minutes will catch up to them.
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