The King Mountain Battle, Quicken Loans Arena was packed.
The importance of this game is self-evident, and the air before the match is filled with tension.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both teams were announced. Chapters fırst released on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽
Celtics: Irving, Bradley, Durant, Horford, Towns
Cavaliers: Hansen, Wade, Covington, TT, Jokic
Stevens was momentarily stunned upon seeing the Cavaliers’ starting lineup.
Malone unexpectedly put Wade into the starting lineup.
Before the game, there was no inkling of changes in the Cavaliers’ starting lineup; their secrecy was quite effective.
However, the purpose of this change is apparent to him, solely to let Wade handle the ball and reduce Hansen’s initial energy expenditure.
This would indeed have some effect, but Wade’s form this season has declined, not to mention that putting Wade in the starting lineup weakens the Cavaliers’ bench strength.
As long as he allocates appropriately, putting pressure on the Cavaliers during the bench transition phase, forcing Malone to bring Hansen back in, it would further deplete Hansen’s energy.
However, once the game truly started, things were somewhat different from what Stevens anticipated.
Malone did not let Wade handle the ball for attack; instead, the Cavaliers played an isolation strategy, and it was Jokic holding the ball, not Hansen.
As for Wade, he was cutting in without the ball to find opportunities.
Stevens stood up to command, and the Celtics did not double-team Jokic.
Jokic isolated Bradley, spun towards the basket, and after a confrontation with Towns, netted the turnaround hook shot.
Hansen’s skills are pretty much maxed out; the tactical shift could only boost his stats, but the numerous isolation strategies for Jokic this season have significantly honed his abilities.
In the transition between offense and defense, the Cavaliers also showcased changes on defense.
For previous games, Malone had JR defend Irving to let Hansen go all out offensively, but tonight it’s Hansen matching up with Irving.
At this point, Malone’s tactical approach fully revealed itself.
To maximize Jokic’s contribution, it’s futile to expect more on the defensive end, so they must invest more in offense.
This series of changes for the Cavaliers tonight was based on this rationale.
Having Hansen matchup with Irving reduces Jokic’s energy drain on defense, allowing Jokic to focus more on offense;
Putting Wade in brings weak-side constraint, preventing the Celtics from forcing Jokic to pass using weak-side coordination;
Assigning Wade instead of Hansen as the weak-side constraint allows Hansen to focus solely on defense, avoiding excessive energy expenditure;
Because fundamentally, the plan to have Jokic attack more is to conserve Hansen’s energy at the start.
Facts proved that Malone’s tactical adjustments were very effective.
Jokic was indeed underestimated.
The speed with which he initiated mismatched offense was swift, coupled with Hansen and Wade’s constraint on the strong and weak sides, making it difficult for the Celtics to limit his performance.
Jokic’s drive tonight was greater than ever before, with muscles on his face visibly exerting.
Most importantly, with the game progressing, the axis of control shifted.
Previously, Stevens played the isolation card, Malone followed, having Hansen overpower the Celtics, which was correct strategy-wise but led into a quagmire played by Stevens.
But now, he played the Jokic card, putting Celtics’ interior defense in trouble, thus leading Stevens by the nose.
By the 9-minute mark in the first quarter, the score was 20 to 27, with the Cavaliers in the lead.
Jokic scored 13 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished 3 assists in a single quarter, performing admirably.
However, entering the bench rotations, Stevens’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
The 7-point gap is within an acceptable range; although Hansen’s energy expenditure in the first quarter was minimal, Jokic’s consumption was considerable.
If they can turn the score around in this bench transition phase and play on par, just like in Game 4, the Celtics’ chances of winning would increase.
During this phase, the lineup for both teams: Cavaliers: Ross, JR, Korver, TT, Dedmon;
Celtics: Irving, Smart, Jeff Green, Towns, Olynyk
Stevens had already rested Irving and Towns for two minutes earlier in preparation to turn the score around in this phase or at least force Hansen back onto the court.
Irving immediately utilized a pick-and-roll with Towns to drive inside, scoring with a close-range board against TT.
Irving was almost entirely marked by Hansen for a whole quarter without scoring much, and later he simply gave up on offense, meaning his energy was now well-rested.
The Cavaliers’ offense, with Ross and TT running a pick-and-roll, prompted the Celtics to directly double-team Ross.
In the current Cavaliers lineup, only Ross poses a threat holding the ball for offense.
Ross responded swiftly, passing to TT before being forced to halt, but TT failed to quickly distribute the ball to Korver when confronted with Green’s collapsing defense, resulting in a missed forced shot against Green.
Towns collected the defensive rebound under the basket, and the Cavaliers’ attack ultimately fell short.
Turning back, Irving continued running pick-and-roll with Towns.
Irving, this time under TT’s strenuous interference, missed the basket, but Towns followed up with a put-back.
After rotations, the Celtics ran a 4-0 streak against the Cavaliers, narrowing the gap to 3 points.