Fast start, big night from Jaylen Brown keys Celtics’ Game 1 win

Despite having sat for nearly a week since their Game 5 series-clinching win over the Miami Heat last Wednesday, the Boston Celtics showed very little rust in their 120-95 Game 1 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. In particular, Jaylen Brown got the game, and series, started on a high note.

Brown scored the first seven points of the game for the Celtics, as they jumped out to a 7-2 early lead. He kept going from there - in eight-plus minutes on the floor in the first quarter he scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, with his lone miss a last-second half-court heave that rimmed out.

What led to Brown's early aggressiveness? "Nothing. Just like you said, just be aggressive," Brown told reporters after the game. "Every time you catch the ball, try to get to the paint. Getting to the paint opens it up for all the guys on my team that love to shoot threes. Just trying to get some paint touches.”

Perhaps just as big of a development, Brown hit all four of the free throws he attempted in the game (all four came in the first quarter). That's after he was 9-for-20 from the stripe overall in the first round.

Unlike playoff games he's had in the past where he's started fast and then faded, Brown kept the performance up and was the driving force for the Celtics' offense for most of the night. He scored nine points between the second and third quarters.

Then in the fourth quarter, Brown took control again and helped the Celtics put the game away. He scored a team-high eight points in the fourth shooting 3-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from deep, in less than five minutes of time before head coach Joe Mazzulla turned things over to the bench in a 20-point game.

Brown finished the night with a team-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting. He was 4-of-6 from three and had the 4-for-4 mark from the stripe. On top of that he added six rebounds, two assists, and a block while turning the ball over just once.

It's just one game, but overall Brown looked like a completely different player than he did in the playoffs last year. After the game, Mazzulla was very complimentary of Brown's growth this season.

"He takes a ton of pride in just growing as a player. Every year, every game, every day. He spends a lot of time on it. He’s not afraid to go after something that he knows that he can improve on, which I think is huge for his growth mindset," Mazzulla said.

"He has evolved," Mazzulla continued. "His ability to pick and choose his spots, when to play in transition. He had a couple times when he scored in transition, and two plays later, he slowed it down, went into the pick-and-roll, and made the right play. I think the growth with him, even if he scores six or eight in a row, he gets into the paint, and pass next one. He’s grown as a player, and it’s helped us, and he’s playing big stretches for us. It’s important.”

Read more about the Celtics below...

After almost a week off, the Boston Celtics return to the floor at TD Garden on Tuesday night. They'll begin their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As far as NBA playoff series go, this one is scheduled to be relatively concise. In recent years, the NBA has received criticism for spacing out its playoff series too much - but not this one. The Celtics and Cavs are scheduled to play every other day, through the potential Game 7 on May 19.

Game 1: Tuesday, May 7 at 7 p.m.
Game 2: Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.
Game 3: Saturday, May 11 at 8:30 p.m.
Game 4: Monday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m. 
Game 5: Wednesday, May 15 at TBD*
Game 6: Friday, May 17 at TBD*
Game 7: Sunday, May 19 at TBD*

*If necessary

That tight schedule is all the more reason for the Celtics to get this series wrapped up as soon as possible. During their playoff runs the last two years the C's played longer, physical series that took their toll on the team's health and conditioning. That showed down the stretch against the Golden State Warriors in 2022 and the Miami Heat last year.

Granted, the Celtics should be able to handle business against the Cavaliers team. Boston took two out of three against Cleveland in the regular season, and had a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter of the third meeting before letting their foot off the gas

Still, the Cavs are here for a reason. What will be the determining factors between these series being a breeze or a battle for the Celtics? Here are three things to watch for in the Celtics-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Semifinals series...

All Celtics playoff games can be heard on the BetMGM Sports Hub Celtics Radio Network. Coverage for all games begins with with pregame 30 minutes prior to the scheduled tip-off time.

As mentioned above, the Celtics haven't played since Wednesday, when they knocked off the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their first-round series. By the time Game 1 rolls around they will have gone five full days without playing a competitive game.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have been grinding. Their first-round series against the Orlando Magic went seven games. Game 7 was on Sunday in Cleveland, giving the Cavs just one day of rest before facing the Celtics. Their last consecutive off days were May 1 and 2 - now a week ago.

That brings us to a timeless question when it comes to playoff matchups - rest versus rust. Does the team that is more well-rested but has been sitting and away from the floor heading into the series have an advantage? Or the team that may be more tired but is already in a rhythm?

Boston sports fans just had this conversation with the Bruins a day ago, as the Bruins went down to Florida two days after their Game 7 and picked up an emphatic 5-1 win over the Panthers, who hadn't played in seven days. Now local fans will flip to the other side as they hope the Celtics don't show too much rust. Of course it's a completely different situation, and aside from it being a different sport the Bruins and Panthers are much more evenly matched than the Celtics and Cavaliers.

Rust wasn't a problem for the Celtics out of the gate in these playoffs. They had about a week off while the play-in tournament happened before beginning their series against the Heat, and still came away with a 114-94 win in Game 1. However, they did trip up in Game 2 and fell 111-101 for their only loss of the series. Let's see if this time they can take advantage of their rest over the first two games of the series.

Last round, the Celtics got to play a Heat team without a star player as Jimmy Butler missed the series with a knee injury. Now they will have to deal with a star - and a focal point at that.

The Cavs are lead by All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell, who carried the team to this point. During the regular season Mitchell averaged a team-high 26.6 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting including a 36.8 percent mark from three. No other player averaged more than 18 points per game for the Cavs (guard Darius Garland). On top of that, he was second on the team in assists (6.5 per game) and third in rebounds (5.1).

In the first round, Mitchell's importance only grew. He averaged 28.7 points per game, with Garland managing just 14.9. In the wins alone Mitchell averaged an even 30 points per game with 39 in the clinching Game 7. He did score 50 points in one loss, but had 18 and 13 in the other two.

Mitchell is crucial to the Cavs' success. They struggle to keep up without him (the two games he failed to score 20 points, the Cavs lost by 38 and 23 points), and even when he is on he's usually dragging the team to a win. If the Celtics can keep him in check, there's not much else the Cavs can do to be a threat. 

Against the Celtics this year, Mitchell scored 29 and 31 points in the two Cavs losses in December. He didn't play in the matchup in March.

Given the short rest, Mitchell's health is something to watch early in this series as well. He left Game 6 of the first round with a knee injury, and although he returned he was visibly playing through something - even as he led the Cavs to an 18-point comeback in their Game 7 win.

While Garland was the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer this season, there's an argument to be made their second-most impactful player is center Jarrett Allen. During the regular season Allen averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, in what was a career year for the 25-year-old.

In the playoffs Allen was a factor right away as well. He averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds per game through the first four games of the first round. However, he hasn't played since Game 4 as he's dealt with a rib injury.

Allen is listed as questionable for Game 1, and appeared to be a limited participant in Tuesday morning's shootaround. If he can't go, it likely means a bigger role for Evan Mobley, who averaged 12.1 points and 9.1 rebounds in seven first-round games. As far as the starting line up goes, Isaac Okoro started two games in Allen's place, while former Celtic Marcus Morris started one.

The real question is here, how many games will Allen miss? If the Cavs go down early, will they show more urgency and rush him back to the floor? The Celtics are also expected to be without their top big man in his series as Kristaps Porzingis nurses that calf strain he suffered in Game 4 against the Heat. However many games Allen misses will make that absence less of a factor for Joe Mazzulla's team.

 Celtics fans may remember guard Max Strus as a key part of the Miami Heat's bench unit in each of the playoff matchups the last two years. Well, he's now in Cleveland's starting lineup after signing a four-year, $63 million deal with the Cavs this offseason.

For a Cavs team that is young and isn't super deep in terms of playoff experience, Strus has been on deep runs multiple times in his career. He's also gone toe-to-toe with the Celtics in the postseason before, so he knows what to expect. It wouldn't be surprising if Cleveland leans on him at times in this series.

While with the Heat, Strus averaged 8.6 points per game against the Celtics in the playoffs. However he did have individual games where he was more of a factor, such as a 16-point performance in Game 3 of the 2022 ECF, and then a 15-point performance in Game 1 last year. Both were Heat wins.

That kind of production is about what Strus gave the Cavs in the first round of this year's playoffs. After averaging 12.2 points per game in the regular season that number dipped to 9.1 against Orlando. He was heating up as the series went on though, scoring his three highest totals over the final three games (16 in Game 5, 10 in Game 6, and 13 in Game 7).

Strus played in two of the matchups between the Cavaliers and Celtics this regular season - both Celtics wins. He scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including a 5-for-11 mark from deep, in one of those games. He was limited to just five points in the other.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.