The Boston Celtics made things look easy in their Game 1 win against the Cavaliers and they will try to go for two in a row at TD Garden on Thursday for Game 2 of their best-of-seven series. Their opening win was easily secured without Kristaps Porzingis, who is still out with a calf injury. Jaylen Brown led the way with 32 points, Derrick White had 25 of his own and Payton Pritchard tacked on 16 points off the bench. On a night when Jayson Tatum went just 7 of 19 from the floor and finished with just 18 points, Boston proved that its depth can cover for off nights from its star players.
Cleveland struggled to get anything going from deep, and without Jarrett Allen manning the paint got absolutely dominated on the glass by Boston. You know the matchup is incredibly lopsided when four of your five starters score in double figures and yet you still lose by 25 points. The Cavaliers are going to need to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to make this more competitive in Game 2 because right now, it looks like Boston could very well sweep this Cleveland team.
Here’s everything you need to know for Game 2.
Celtics vs. Cavaliers schedule, scores
All times Eastern | * If necessary
- Game 1: Celtics 120, Cavaliers 95 — Boston leads 1-0
- Game 2: Thursday, May 9 — Cavaliers at Celtics, 7 p.m., ESPN
- Game 3: Saturday, May 11 — Celtics at Cavaliers, 8:30 p.m., ABC
- Game 4: Monday, May 13 — Celtics at Cavaliers, 7 p.m., TNT
- Game 5*: Wednesday, May 15 — Cavaliers at Celtics
- Game 6*: Friday, May 17 — Celtics at Cavaliers
- Game 7*: Sunday, May 19 — Cavaliers at Celtics
Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Game 2
Where to watch
Time: 7 p.m. ET | Date: Thursday, May 9
Location: TD Garden — Boston, Massachusetts
TV channel: ESPN | Streaming: ESPN app/fubo
Storylines
Celtics: There are not very many teams in the league that can have their best player score just 18 points, be without another of their top 3 scorers and still win a playoff game. But these are the Celtics, a team assembled to withstand poor shooting nights and injuries. The game plan for Thursday night shouldn’t be much different, although Tatum having a more efficient performance would obviously be ideal, but right now, every game is Boston’s to lose in this series.
Cavaliers: Not having Allen in the lineup proved to be a massive loss for the Cavs in Game 1. Without him, the Celtics had a +17 rebound advantage, and that’s without Porzingis. Cleveland can’t let that happen again in Game 2, especially the 13 offensive boards the Celtics managed to corral. That right there is an easy fix to try and make Game 2 closer. Evan Mobley did his part in grabbing 13 rebounds, but he alone isn’t going to be enough if the Cavaliers want to limit second-chance opportunities, which killed them in Game 1.
Prediction
The talent disparity is just too much in this series, especially without Allen. I do believe the Cavaliers will pick up a win at some point, but it won’t be in Game 2. Pick: Celtics -13.5
