COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Cavaliers got their only real test of the preseason against one of their biggest rivals on Wednesday night. For the most part, they failed it.
The retest is next Tuesday, and fortunately for the Cavs, that's the one that will count.
The Boston Celtics didn't play several of their key players but still looked much further along and focused across the board in hammering the Cavs and their normal rotation, 96-82, in front of a sellout crowd at Value City Arena.
Even though the regular season begins Tuesday, Cavs coach Mike Brown says it might take a few more weeks for his team to find a rhythm.
Game reset
CELTICS 96, CAVS 82
Preseason Game No. 8,at Value City Arena, Columbus
What Happened
The Celtics outplayed the Cavs completely in leading by double figures from start to finish despite resting some top players. LeBron James again struggled shooting the ball, and guard Mo Williams briefly got into a shoving match with Celtics forward Shelden Williams. The Cavs allowed 58 percent shooting through three quarters in their worst defensive performance of the preseason.
The star
Eddie House ripped the Cavs" slow-moving defense, repeatedly getting open for jumpers and hitting them to the tune of 21 points.
Highlight
In the first quarter Celtics guard Rajon Rondo tried some trickery by faking a behind the back pass and going for a layup but LeBron James caught him from behind and blocked his shot into the stands.
Lowlight
The Cavs allowed 50 percent shooting.
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For various reasons the Cavs haven't been able to get as much out of the preseason as they wanted. Coach Mike Brown has even started routinely saying he thinks it'll be a few more weeks before there's any sort of rhythm. That rhetoric was verified with this one; the Cavs looked like they were a step slow and a second late all night.
"The way we lost the game was disappointing," Brown said. "I hoped we'd be further along but that's part of what this process is about. We're not going to be all together right now and if we try to get better in areas we're lacking we'll have a chance to be a pretty good team."
While the game was refreshingly intense for the preseason -- both sides were very physical and there was even a minor altercation -- the Cavs did not look like they are as ready for the real thing.
Boston sat normal starters Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett plus key reserve Glen Davis. Star Paul Pierce also only played the first half while the Cavs' front line played three quarters.
Regardless, the Cavs' major problem was on defense. Brown hasn't been thrilled with the team's defensive effort all month, though Tuesday night they played better against the Dallas Mavericks. This, however, was more than a setback; the Celtics were able to get whatever they wanted.
Boston shot 50 percent overall and was at 58 percent after three quarters, so they were having a hot night. But it was made somewhat easy by the dribble penetration the Cavs allowed over and over again, combined with general slow rotations. Not exactly the Cavs' way or what Brown wanted to see in a game with regular season intensity.
"We have to be more physical," Brown said. "The amount of direct drives tonight to me was horrific."
The Cavs coach called a few angry timeouts, including once after Mo Williams allowed opposite number Rajon Rondo a free drive to the basket because he was arguing a non-foul call at the other end. After a while, though, Brown just sat down and watched, perhaps just letting things unfold so he could build a better teaching tool with what turned out to be some ugly game film.
At one point during the third quarter the Celtics' lead stretched to 21 points with Williams, LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal on the floor.
Indeed there was injury and sickness, but after eight preseason games the Cavs were allowing opponents to shoot 46 percent. Which, of course, simply won't do when things get real.
"At the end of the day it's a preseason game and you don't want to look far into it," James said. "But we did want to play better and we have more than enough days to get better."
For the rest of the bad news, James had a second consecutive poor shooting night going just 6-of-15 on his way to 18 points. He shot 45 percent in six preseason games, which isn't bad, but was just 9-of-28 in the two games this week. Historically James usually plays his best at the end of the preseason.
O'Neal did play well, attacking Celtics' big men Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace with plenty of success. He scored 16 points in just 20 minutes and hinted at how he can attack the Celtics in the regular season. He ended up shooting 52 percent during the preseason.
Williams, meanwhile, was outplayed by Rondo as he had just one assist in 30 minutes. At the end of the first half he got into a shoving match with Celtics forward Shelden Williams. Shelden Williams pushed Mo Williams down as the buzzer sounded and Mo Williams got him and returned a shoulder blow. Both were hit with technical fouls.
The Celtics had five different players in double figures led by Eddie House, who was fastest on open jumpers permitted by drive and kicks, plus slow rotations. He scored 21 points and hit three of Boston's nine 3-pointers.
"It is a little bit of a setback," O'Neal said. "Next week it will be no excuses, it will be the real deal and we'll be ready."
