6 takeaways as Celtics blow Cavaliers and Jaylen Brown make history

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The Boston Celtics tore the Cleveland Cavaliers apart 141-103 Sunday and lost a discouraging three-point series.

Six takeaways when the Celtics returned in the winning column.

Jaylen Brown made the game look easy.

Sometimes when a player walks away, you can see how difficult the game is. Other times a player seems so dominant individually that he makes the defense seem almost non-existent.

Brown’s performance Sunday was the latter. After a strong start, Brown made the Cleveland defense (which we will get to in a minute) look silly. He rode directly to the edge in both half lanes and transition sessions, converting layup to layup. When the Cavaliers finally shut down the track, Brown began splashing both middle and long-distance jumpers. As noted by Jay King of The Athletic, Brown became the first player in NBA history to score 33 points in 19 minutes or less.

If Jaylen Brown does not play again after checking out late in the third time, he will become the first player in the @bball_ref database (dating from 1983-84) to score at least 33 points in 19 minutes or less. Paul George (37 points), Kiki Vandeweghe (36) did it within 20 minutes.

– Jay King (@ByJayKing) 25 January 2021

Brown’s All-Star candidacy is almost a foregone conclusion at this point. What else can he earn?

The Celtics wiped out a defense at the highest point.

After losing several consecutive games against the Sixers last week, Brad Stevens gave his players something of a wake-up call.

“We’re not going to win a game with the group we won by 122 points,” Stevens said. “And until we’re really committed to it – and again, it might not change the outcome in any of these games, but until we’m really committed to it, I just do not see us being sustainably competitive.”

The Celtics responded to this on Sunday, blocking an attack by the Cavaliers that beat the Brooklyn Nets twice in a row last week. Interestingly, however, it was the Boston offense that did the most work. The Celtics predicted a Cleveland squad that had the fifth-best defense in the NBA on Sunday.

The Cavaliers’ defensive numbers were probably a bit noisy – with all due respect, their top five players are not elite defenders. So far this season, the Celtics have scored 141 points against a much-improved defensive team.

Aaron Nesmith should see some shots go off.

The Celtics rookie got a few minutes into the second quarter when the Celtics took a big lead and won 1-for-3 behind the arc. One of his attempts was a balloon. Another looks very uncomfortable.

Nothing took a shot out of rhythm like mocking minutes, and Nesmith’s minutes were very mocking. In the second half, Nesmith seemed more comfortable burying two three-pointers, and he showed few flashes of his play other than just spot-ups, which is an encouraging sign.

Still, if the Celtics hope Nesmith can make a contribution this season (an open question at this point), it could help get a few minutes. Rhythm matters quite a bit.

Carsen Edwards dropped 18 points. What should we make of it?

Don’t take too much away from the sheer numbers in Edwards ’big night, most of which came in garbage time. He is sometimes a streak goal scorer, even if he does not get a constant few minutes, and the match was decided when he started scoring.

Much more important to Edwards: he seems to have earned some confidence from Brad Stevens. Earlier this season, Stevens noted that Edwards was one of the players who impressed with effort and tenacity in practice.

Edwards also showed a much improved essay package, which is of cardinal importance to him. He should be able to score, even if he is not white-hot from the 3-point range. To collapse the defense and show a little touch would be great.

The double series was great (do not expect it to continue).

If the Celtics had played with the Cavaliers every night, the double series, which was won by 19.8 points per 100 possessions this season before Sunday’s game, might have saved its numbers. Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson finished +32 and +34 respectively in their minutes, which was a big boost against a Cleveland team with a ton of size.

Yet one successful match is probably not enough to consistently bring that duo to the fore, especially if the return of Jayson Tatum is looming.

Kemba Walker will not play against the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

The Celtics tackle the Bulls on Sunday the second night of a rugby camp. According to Brad Stevens’ post-match, Kemba Walker is not expected to play. The Celtics’ full ensemble of stars will have to wait.