If you were watching the Celtics-Cavaliers game last night, you were probably both frustrated and impressed by Kenny Atkinson’s game plan with the Celtics down one and/or two scores. Fouling a realistically superior team up three and draining the clock was perhaps the only way a less talented team was going to win in that situation.
I am not for what-ifs; however, this game could have revealed the limits Mazzulla’s obsessed tactics will go to, and you could argue it still did. With the Celtics knowing that the Cavaliers were again going to foul from the three-point line, the chess match could have suggested for Mazzulla to get either Tatum or Pritchard to shoot around the logo, getting a last shooting look they simply didn’t end up having.
Pritchard’s free throw attempt of hitting the rim and rebounding wasn’t a poor effort by any means, but you have to wonder if Mazzulla is committed to that philosophy going forward or if he learned something important from last night. Regardless, the Cavaliers could look dangerous if they add a few pieces at the deadline, and Atkinson’s win in this chess match should also remind us about the aggressiveness the Cavaliers would provide in a potential playoff rematch.
Flavin Media 
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