1. Stopping “The Kid”
Kyrie Irving (or the kid as LeBron James has continued to call him) has been on an offensive tear this season, and really, what else is new? In the first showdown between these two teams on opening night back in October, Irving recorded 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting, dished out 10 assists, and added four boards and three steals. Irving currently averages 24.8 points to lead the Celtics, 4.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds.
A lot has changed for these two teams since opening night. After losing Gordon Hayward to a catastrophic injury in the opening minutes of that game, The Celtics have continued to roll, including a 16-game win streak earlier in the season.
The Cavs for their part have continued working to iron out some defensive and chemistry issues led by James, and have gone on a 13-game win streak of their own.
But maybe the biggest difference this time around is the starting point guard situation. Last time out, Derrick Rose spent a large part of the night guarding Irving. This time, the duty will fall on Jose Calderon since Isaiah Thomas will not play. If Calderon begins to struggle (and keep in mind, he didn’t even get in the game the last time these two faced off), it will be interesting to see how the Cavs adjust their help defense.
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