How Cavaliers Exposed Celtics Flaw That Requires Fix Before Playoffs

BOSTON — The Celtics fell back into some rather unhealthy trends Friday night.

They couldn’t have started their playoff preview against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team started on a 25-3 run capped by a Jayson Tatum three-pointer that got a patented Mike Breen specialty on the ESPN broadcast and lit the TD Garden crowd into a postseason-level roar.

That’s where the fun ended for Boston.

The Cavaliers forcefully reminded the Celtics why they’re the current No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference when they outclassed Boston on the glass and around the floor for the remaining three quarters. Cleveland fought back for a 123-116 win over Boston that split the season series and should have the Celtics in deep assessment but not total panic.

Among the other issues?

The Celtics were outscored 33-6 in bench production. The strong pacing of their transition offense fizzled in the second half, and Boston only tallied 18 points in the fourth quarter after it poured in 74 points in the first half.

Boston just has to accept a few things from Friday night. It’s hard to beat the NBA’s best team without two starters in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Donovan Mitchell (41 points) is almost impossible to stop, and there are still imperfections to address before the postseason chapter of the Celtics’ repeat bid begins.

Boston absolutely has to fight complacency when the team establishes leads in the caliber of Friday night. If not, there’s too much talent around the NBA in both conferences that will burn the Celtics for such a flaw in the postseason. The Celtics have a championship pedigree, but controllable regressions need to be extinguished in the final stretch of the season to prevent major disappointment in the spring.

Luckily for the Celtics, they have six games remaining on the homestand against legitimate talent, so they can attack this flaw while there’s still time before it really matters.