Stops have been a start for the Cavaliers
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - In one another we trust.
That is the key to playing good defense, at least in the view of Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, whose team has become the Fort Knox of the NBA during the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Cavaliers got themselves back into the series by beating the Celtics, 108-84, Saturday night and have a chance to send the series back to Boston deadlocked at two games apiece when Game 4 is played tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
An in-your-shorts defense can do wonders for a sputtering offense, and that is the reason the Cavaliers are still breathing in their bid to return to the Finals for the second year in a row. The Celtics still sport the best defense in the league in the postseason, holding Atlanta and Cleveland to 86.3 points per game. The Cavaliers damaged that by going over the 100-point mark Saturday night (free chalupas for the crowd) and they own the league's third-best defense with an 89.1 average. The Cavaliers have held opponents to 90 points or fewer in seven of nine playoff games.
"If I had to boil it down to one word it would be, 'trust,' " Brown said yesterday at the team's new practice facility. "First, you have to trust in the defense you are playing. Then, you have to trust your teammates. Finally, you need to communicate and help.
"It is never one guy guarding the basketball. It is five guys on a string and everyone has to help. Our team is playing good defense."
Just how good can be found in the numbers. The Celtics averaged 100.5 points a game during the regular season, making nearly 48 percent of their field-goal attempts. Cleveland has held them to 83 points a game and they have made 41 percent (88 of 214) of their shots.
Outside of Kevin Garnett, the Cavaliers have done an exemplary job against Boston's big point producers. No one has felt the Cavaliers' defense more than Ray Allen. Allen averaged 17.4 points during the regular season, third on the team. He was held scoreless in Game 1 and had just 10 points in Saturday night's loss. He is averaging 8.7 points in the series.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics during the regular season with a 19.6 average. He, too, has taken a hit. After an uncharacteristic 4-point night in Game 1, Pierce's 14-point effort Saturday night left him with a 12.3 series average.
That leaves Garnett, who is the only one of the big three who has exceeded his regular-season average in this series, scoring 19.3 points per game against Cleveland after a regular season in which he averaged 18.8.
Delonte West, who torched the Celtics for a personal playoff high of 21 points Saturday night, said playing defense is a matter of effort.
"I am as competitive as the next guy and I hate being scored on," he said. "A lot of guys don't like playing defense because it's hard work. There are so many talented guys and teams in this league that if you don't play defense you aren't going to win."
