Tale of the tape: How Celtics, Cavs stack up ahead of NBA Cup showdown originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
All eyes in the NBA world will be fixated on TD Garden on Tuesday night when the defending champion Boston Celtics host the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s a historic matchup the likes of which we haven’t seen in almost 30 years — a defending champ going up against a team that’s on a win streak of 15-plus games. It’s also an NBA Cup group stage game, and if the Celtics lose — which would drop their record in the tournament to 0-2 — it would be extremely difficult for them to reach the knockout stages of the competition.
If the Cavs beat the Celtics, they would become just the second team to begin a season 16-0, joining the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who set the record at 24-0.
How are the Cavs playing so well?
One explanation is 3-point shooting. Cleveland is hitting a league-best 41.9 percent of its 3-point shots, which is at least 2.9 percent higher than any other team. The Cavs also lead the league with 123.7 points scored per game and a 52.2 field goal percentage. Cleveland is dominating inside as well, ranking No. 4 in points in the paint and No. 7 in points allowed in the paint.
One area where the Cavs have struggled is defending the 3-point line. They are allowing opponents to shoot 37.8 percent from beyond the arc — the third-highest rate in the league. The Celtics attempt a league-high 51.1 3-point shots per game and shoot 37 percent. Many of Boston’s lineups feature five players capable of knocking down 3-pointers.
Here’s an in-depth look at how the Celtics and Cavs stack up.
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The Celtics have played quite well to begin the season, too, with an 11-3 record in second place in the Eastern Conference. The C’s rank No. 2 in points scored per game, No. 1 in scoring margin, No. 3 in net rating and No. 2 in turnover percentage.
Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum is putting together an MVP-caliber season with 29.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Reigning NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is averaging 25.6 points per game. Payton Pritchard is providing a spark off the bench with a career-high 15.5 points per game.
All of the Celtics’ success through 14 games has come without star center Kristaps Porzingis, who has not played yet this season but is making good progress in his leg injury rehab.
Will the Cavs send a statement to the rest of the league by beating the Celtics in Boston? Or will the defending champs prove they are still the best team in the East? NBC Sports Boston’s coverage begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live, followed by the game at 7 p.m., and then Celtics Postgame Live after the final buzzer.
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