The Cleveland Cavaliers (32-12) and their fourth-ranked offense welcome the Boston Celtics (25-21) and their second-ranked defense. Action begins at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, Feb. 5 and can be seen on CNE and FxO.
The Cavaliers enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out the Suns 115-93 in their last matchup. LeBron James was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 116-91 win against the Wizards in their last game. Isaiah Thomas led the game in scoring by registering 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
This showdown pits one of the league’s top offenses against one of its elite defenses, as Cleveland currently ranks fourth in the NBA in offensive efficiency and Boston is second in defensive efficiency. It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the up-and-down Celtics are ranked second in possessions per game, with the grind-it-out Cavaliers at 27th.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning the first matchup 89-77. Kevin Love had a stellar game with 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal, two blocks, and three three-pointers.
Notes
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a formidable 20-6. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Boston Celtics have an underachieving record of 4-10.
The Cavaliers have a 12-6 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Celtics have also performed well when they reach the century mark with a record of 21-11 in such games.
The Celtics have a defensive rating of 99.3, second-best in the NBA. The Cavaliers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 106.6 (ranked fourth).
The Boston Celtics average 101.6 possessions per game and 1.027 points per possession. The Cleveland Cavaliers earn fewer possessions with 95.2, but they score more points with 1.066.
Cleveland is ranked sixth in the NBA with an average effective field goal percentage of 51.3%. Boston has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-11).
Boston ranks near the top of the league in assists at fifth (24.3 assists per game). Cleveland is ranked 10th, with 22.4 assists per game.
Cleveland makes an average of 3.7 blocks per game (ranked 28th). Boston ranks higher in blocks with 4.3 (ranked 23rd).
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank eighth in offensive rebounding, while the Boston Celtics rank 16th in defensive rebounding.
The Boston Celtics rank second in steals, with an average of 9.6 per game. When the Cleveland Cavaliers allow at least 9 steals, they have a winning 8-3 record.
