Cavs Fall 111-108 in Game 3; Six Takeaways from the Loss

4. Defensive Breakdowns

Heading in to Game 3 after a phenomenal Game 2,  Lue said his big point of emphasis to his team was not letting the Celtics attempt uncontested shots. In fact, he said that was a main focus during film sessions over the last two days.

By the end of Game 3, however, it was clear that the defensive game plan did not go off without a hitch.

“I just think physically, we weren’t as physical as we needed to be defensively. They got some open shots and moved around freely,” Lue said when asked if the Cavs were complacent considering Isaiah Thomas is out for Boston.

Tristan Thompson echoed Lue’s concerns about the defensive effort.

“It wasn’t about scoring. We scored enough points to win the ballgame,” Thompson said.

“It was defensively. It doesn’t matter what Bron’s numbers were tonight. Defensively, we’ve got to be better. It starts with multiple efforts, taking the challenge one-on-one, and making those adjustments and just playing harder.”

Thompson says Cavs needed to be better defensively regardless of LeBron's performance pic.twitter.com/6h2hOuanLx

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) May 22, 2017

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