NBA: Five Keys: Cavaliers at Celtics - Game 3

Key: Bench Battle

Key: Bench Battle

The 53-win and 2nd-seeded Cavaliers have several advantages over Brad Stevens’ young Celtics squad. But one area that the C’s have superiority over Cleveland is their bench – the NBA’s highest-scoring second unit. (The Cavs have the league’s lowest-scoring bench at 24.2 ppg.)
In the first two games, the contrast has been stark. In Game 1, Boston’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s, 55-29. The margin was even larger on Tuesday night, with Boston’s bench outscoring its starters while outscoring the Cavs’ second unit, 51-7. Isaiah Thomas has been the main culprit through two games, but the Celtics have gotten good production from Jae Crowder, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk.
Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova have spent most of their energy trying to slow down Thomas. Tristan Thompson’s been fantastic on the boards and James Jones has been a steadying influence. The Cavs second unit can’t score with Boston’s group. But they will need to mitigate their production and let the starters settle the score.