The matchup that has probably kept the already game-plan obsessed Brad Stevens up into the wee hours is how the Celtics will attempt (key word: attempt) to contain the best basketball player in the world, LeBron James.
He is essentially the Cleveland Cavaliers. James leads the team in four of the five major statistical categories — points, assists, blocks, and steals — and is 0.7 rebounds behind leader Kevin Love. The Celtics have been asked constantly the past few days how they are going to slow down a 6-foot-8-inch, 260-pound freight train.
But that train has very capable teammates. That train has the ability to draw three defenders and then pass to an open Love or J.R. Smith or Kyle Korver. The bizarre aspect of this Cavaliers’ resurrection that has led them to a fourth consecutive Eastern Conference finals appearance is that they are using the same veteran players whose early-season struggles prompted a series of trades to get younger.
The Cavaliers are the same bunch — minus Kyrie Irving — that beat the Celtics last year, with the addition of veteran point guard George Hill. The Celtics are going to have to contain Cleveland’s shooters. If they allow James to score 30, they’ll live with that, but if Love, Smith, and Korver add another 60, that’s major trouble.
Defense, as it has been since the Stevens tenure began five years ago, will be the primary source of the Celtics’ success in this series. They spent the Philadelphia series chasing J.J. Redick, Ersan Ilyasova, Dario Saric, and Marco Belinelli off the 3-point line and will have to do the same against Cleveland.
The Cavaliers sliced through Toronto’s defense in their four-game sweep, shot 41 percent from the 3-point line, while James shot a stunning 63.5 percent on 2-point shots. Korver and Smith combined to go 24 of 38 on 3-pointers.The Raptors did nothing to contain LeBron and nothing to hinder the Cleveland shooters.
“Cleveland has a lot of guys who can shoot the ball, but also a lot of guys with dog in them, that’s been there before, that are veteran guys,’’ forward Marcus Morris said. “So it’s a different aspect. They’re very smart. They do a lot of things playing off LeBron, but they make a lot of good cuts [to the basket], so you can’t just defend the 3-point line and think that’s going to be it.
“My thing is, cut down the easy baskets and cut down the other guys that are going to score. We can’t have them having 30-point games. I think in the Toronto series, no disrespect to them, but watching film it just looked very easy at times. [James] looked very confident, getting to different places on the court, no [defensive] help. I didn’t see no physicality. I didn’t see any of that.’’
Stevens is treating the Cavaliers as if they are the juggernaut they were in previous years because that’s the way they looked against the Raptors. All of James’s complements have surged at the same time, making Cleveland the most formidable opponent the Celtics have faced in the playoffs.
“They’ve got so many guys that are good players that we have to be alert, not only at that LeBron matchup, but everybody else as well,’’ said Stevens. “They’re super-talented. They’ve got a lot of guys they can go to and they’re versatile and long as well.’’
Offensively, the Celtics are going to have to push the pace and make their 3-pointers. The Celtics were able to overcome the 76ers because they were able to contain Philadelphia’s 3-point shooters. The 76ers shot 30.9 percent for the series, with a combined 14 for 54 from Ilyasova, Belinelli, and Robert Covington.
The Celtics can’t rely on the Cavaliers struggling from behind the arc. So they have to be better than the 37 percent 3-point clip they shot against the 76ers. Rookie Jayson Tatum and veteran Al Horford combined to make just eight 3-point shots in the Philadelphia series, one more than Aron Baynes by himself.
If that trend continues against the Cavaliers, the series could end quickly. Tatum will be a key player in this series because Cleveland doesn’t really have a player, besides LeBron, who can match up with him. Smith, who is a good defender when he wants to be, may be assigned to Tatum, who averaged 23.6 points in the Philadelphia series because Covington couldn’t stop his drives.
With a group of young talented players, the Celtics are going to have to try to tire Cleveland out. Of course, the Celtics would love to run the floor and sprinkle the ball out to 3-point shooters and make Love and Korver defend the perimeter. James is going to defend either Brown or Tatum, so there could be a mismatch the Celtics can capitalize on if they are able to move the ball and make Cleveland move on defense.
The Celtics lack the experience of the Cavaliers and won’t be able to stop LeBron, but they do have an edge in athleticism and Stevens will devise ways to get his scorers open and put the onus on any Cavalier besides LeBron to make plays. It’s difficult to determine how these teams match up because they haven’t played in three months, and Cleveland whipped the Celtics with their new-look lineup that lasted for about a month.
Three of those players who made a major impact in that game — Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood — have been relegated to little-used reserves. So the Celtics will be facing a new/old team Sunday and it will be interesting how the teams match up since the regular-season meetings mean little.
The Celtics know the Cavaliers are savvy in these situations, and will pose the biggest challenge they’ve faced since this retooled team made this spirited run.
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
