CLEVELAND – Only three players have lit up the Celtics defense for 40 or more points in the last couple of seasons.
The bad news?
Two of them will play Friday night when the Celtics try to keep their winning streak alive in one of the toughest buildings to play – Cleveland’s Q Arena.
“It’s definitely not an easy to come in here and win a game,” said Tyler Zeller, who played for the Cavs when they weren’t nearly as tough to beat at home. “But they have talented players. That’s what me and the rest of our team is more focused on.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens believes the Cavs are the most talented team in the NBA this season.
“The talent level is ridiculous,” Stevens said. “It’s probably the best in the league when you look at it. (LeBron) James has been the best player, forever. (Kyrie) Irving who is able to go for 55 at San Antonio. (Kevin) Love who has been one of the top scorers in the league forever. And then you got the additions they made were perfect. They did a really good job midseason of surrounding those guys with the perfect complementary pieces. They’re all capable of going off for big games.”
Stevens and the Celtics know this all too well.
Boston Celtics
Among the last three players to score 40 or more points against them, Irving (40 points, Jan. 22, 2013) and James lit Boston up for 41 points on Nov. 14.
Here are some more newsy nuggets, courtesy of our good friends at the Elias Sports Bureau, leading into tonight’s matchup between two of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.
* Boston lost the first two games against Cleveland this season. The Celtics haven’t lost three in a row to the Cavs since a seven-game losing skid between 2005-07.
* The Celtics made 33-of-34 (.971) free throws in Wednesday’s victory at Detroit. It was the team’s highest free-throw percentage with 30 or more attempts since they shot 33-for-34 against New Jersey (now Brooklyn) on Feb. 8, 2000.
* Isaiah Thomas had 34 points and six assists against the Pistons on Wednesday. The only other player in the league this season with that many points and assists in the same game doing it coming off the bench, was Indiana’s Rodney Stuckey (34 points, 7 assists) on March 10.