Cleveland's Resurgence, Injuries Threaten Boston Celtics Hold of NBA East Conference
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 14 Nov 2024
With many of their perceived rivals still recovering from injuries to and loss of key players and trying to gel with new additions, the Boston Celtics are expected to have easier time dominating the NBA Eastern Conference this season.
But their hold of the East and the NBA title are being threatened this early by injuries to key players of their own, inconsistent team performance and the resurgence of the Cleveland Cavaliers which remain as the only unbeaten franchise in the three weeks old league.
Boston is currently 10-3 following a 139-114 win over the Brooklyn Nets. They are trailing the Cavaliers who are 13-0 after beating Philadelphia 76ers, 114-106 thus equaling their historic best start done thrice before during the Lebron James era.
Still trying to compensate for ace regular center Kristaps Porzingis missing in action, the Celtics fell to last season archrival Indiana Pacers on the road. But they also lost at home to another past arch nemesis Golden State with top power forward Jalen Brown out with minor injury. Brown returned to the starting line-up but still Boston lost at home yesterday to Atlanta, 117-116.
With a lineup built around starters Porzingis, Brown and Jason Tatum at forward and Derrick White and Jrue Holiday at guard, the Celtics ran away with top honors in the East and then utterly dominated Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 to bag their first NBA crown since 2008. Backing up the starters was a crew of usual dependables which included Al Horford, Peyton Pritchard and Sam Hauser.
The Celtics are back this season with the same cast of regulars and reserves making them pre-tournament favorites to repeat at least as East champions.
But the Celts have been bedeviled by injuries resulting to inconsistent team performance putting them at risk of losing their hold of the Eastern Conference leadership.
Coach Joe Mazzula has initially tried Nehemias Quetta to start at center and moving Horford to share minutes with Brown at forward. But Quetta proved inadequate prompting Mazzula to resort back to a starting lineup anchored by Horford which was enough to carry the team for most of the regular season last year.
However, this season, the combination seems to be inadequate as Horford has not been chalking up the same figures like last year particularly in points production and rebounding. The 38-year-old Horford is averaging 6.8 ppg, 5.5rpg and 2.6 apg currently, down from his previous season's averages.
Obviously, Mazzula has lot of retooling to do as the season progresses.
Meanwhile, the biggest factor in the Cavaliers resurgence has been the arrival of their new head coach Kenny Atkinson from the Nets whose style of coaching has been described as "blunt, scrappy and bulldog" by his former wards including Stephen Curry.
Atkinson has not only been astutely taking advantage of the Cavs' also intact, healthy lineup this season but likewise been trying with success involving other role players in contributing to the team's success thus far.
The Cavs finished last season at fourth in the Eastern Conference while sustaining a win streak for a time that rivalled the Celtics until injuries particularly to ace center Jarret Allen slowed them down.
Cleveland advanced to the second round of the post season in the East after a 4-3 grueling series win over the Orlando Magic. But the Cavs were routed by Boston in their own series, 4-1 as they were left short handed by injuries to ace scorer Donovan Mitchell, even to other key starters as Eric Monley, Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro.
Allen, Mitchell, Mobley, Garland and Okoro are back and healthy together with Caris Le Vert, Dean Wade, George Niang and Ty Jerome who has shown great improvements coming off the bench.
With these bunch, Atkinson has also been afforded the chance to experiment in what he believed was the right combination to win close games like he did against Brooklyn when he moved Mobley at center and used LeVert at forward in combination with three guards to eke out the win.
After hosting Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets next, Cleveland may be 15-0 by the time it meets Boston on November 20 in Boston. Even if they lose, the Cavs by then may have already banked enough wins to stave off the Celtics for the top of the East for a considerable time as the other usual contenders as New York, Indiana, Orlando and Brooklyn continue to struggle with their materials and Philadelphia and Milwaukee with injuries and key personnel losses.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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