CLEVELAND – As expected, Brad Stevens will go with the same starting five he had in Boston’s Game 5 win in Boston, a lineup that included Aron Baynes in for Marcus Morris.
Prior to Games 4 and 5, Stevens had been coy about who would be in his starting lineup, leading some to believe he was doing it as a means of not revealing his initial strategy for that particular game.
Stevens is less concerned about who starts, but more about how his team collectively starts games which has been a major issue in this series on the road.
In Boston’s two previous games in Cleveland, the Celtics found themselves outscored by an average of 15.5 points per game.
Avoiding a major deficit early in the game will be among Boston’s chief goals tonight.
“I don’t think we can be down 20 again at the end of the first,” Stevens said. “I know that sounds very obvious. I got caught up in really going back and dissecting and analyzing Game 4 and blah-blah-blah, but don't be down 20 in the first quarter. Don't end the first quarter that way. Don't end the third quarter that way. There are moments in games where you have to manage and weather storms, and we did not do that here in either game early. I do think it's important.”
Which is in part why Baynes is with the first unit and not Morris.
Boston Celtics
One of the reasons Boston has struggled in the early going of games is the Cavs’ ability to establish control of the boards courtesy of Tristan Thompson who came into Game 5 averaging 9.3 rebounds per game.
But in Game 5 with Baynes starting, it allowed Boston to have a more competitive frontline with Baynes and 6-foot-10 Al Horford that factored in Boston winning the battle on the boards, 45-39.
The Baynes-Horford tandem limited Thompson to just six rebounds in Game 5, his lowest rebounding total in a game in this series.
Thompson came in averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds per game in this series, but in Game 5 the Cavs as a team only totaled 3 with Thompson grabbing just one of his own.
Stevens places a high value on every minute of every game, but he knows all too well that how the Celtics start will have a major impact on how this game ultimately ends.
“Every minute is important in these games,” Stevens said, “but ultimately we can't be as poor as we were in the first quarter of the last two here.”