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The Boston Celtics have put together a stellar record this season, but there has been something missing. Boston entered Wednesday night 3-11 vs. the Cavaliers, Raptors, Wizards, Warriors, Spurs, and Rockets. They have been straight up bad vs. the top teams in the league. But they got a signature victory -- the one they needed -- on Wednesday, 103-99 in Boston. It’s their first victory against the Cavaliers this season.

Regular-season games do not project to the playoffs -- we have ample evidence of that. You look for matchups, adjustments, lineups. The key is to find signals for what you might find in a playoff matchup. There was plenty of that to go around in Boston’s biggest victory of the season, and here’s what you need to know:

THE BIG ADJUSTMENT: Isaiah Thomas becomes the playmaker the Celtics need

The big debate with the Celtics is that they are led by the incomparable, insurmountable miniature titan Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has been brilliant this season ... but at 5 feet 9, there’s real concern about what will happens when teams scheme and body him in typical postseason play. That didn’t happen on Wednesday night; it’s not the playoffs yet. But late in the game, after several games in which Thomas has struggled in the fourth quarter -- in which he usually takes over -- Thomas made a key adjustment that you need to watch out for in the playoffs. When the Cavaliers defense collapsed on him, Thomas made terrific passes to good shooters.

Those are two key plays that Thomas could not have made in last year’s playoffs. His game and comfort with the Celtics wasn’t there, and both Crowder and Bradley were injured. He needed shooters -- he has got them this season. The trust on that play is crucial, and it makes a big difference going forward. If the Cavaliers can’t collapse completely to focus on Thomas, that gives him more room, which is what he’ll need. Now, some notes on these plays: 

  1. LeBron James’ defense was not playoff-good here. He half-helps without actually making an impact on Thomas’ drive, and both times -- both times -- fails to close out hard. In the playoffs, it’s not merely a harder closeout, but it’s anticipating that closeout. So it’s a bit different. But in this situation, that’s really on James.
  2. J.R. Smith’s absence hurts quite a bit in this game. Smith’s defense, shockingly, has become pretty great with the Cavaliers, and they need him to be able to help with different assignments.
  3. Crowder was pivotal in this game overall, but making those kinds of shots is part of why Danny Ainge is so reluctant to make those trades that reportedly involve him.

Big-time play by Isaiah Thomas here. The scoring is awesome, no doubt. But to make those kinds of plays? To adjust and hurt the defense for their decisions by trusting the teammates you should? That’s MVP level.

THE BIG PROBLEM: Tristan Thompson vs. Al Horford is an issue

The Celtics’ big addition last summer was Al Horford, and Horford has been great for Boston. It hasn’t been his best season, but he has helped make Boston better and he finished with nine points, 10 boards and 10 assists on his way to a plus-11. He was great. But there was one problem: Tristan Thompson ate him alive on the glass.

This was a problem for Horford in Atlanta, where the Cavs swept the Hawks the past two years. This is something to watch in a series. The Cavaliers have 17 second-chance points to only six for the Celtics. That’s a concern going forward.

THE FINAL CAVS POSSESSION: The good, the bad, the interesting

Here’s what happened:

OK, first off, you can’t blame Kyrie Irving for that hero ball shot. It’s what he does. You can’t celebrate when he hits those shots and blame him when he misses. It’s good defense by Bradley, and that would be a stellar playoff matchup, but Irving can hit that. He does it all the time.

Great rebound by Thompson, covered above. James’ decision here is interesting. With 11.5 seconds left, Crowder is closing, but he’s open for a 3-pointer. James has always looked to make the right play in his career, so passing it up isn’t bad. Granted, if he pump-fakes and drives, he has Al Horford trapped between guarding James on the move and guarding Thompson, who can easily catch the lob. James elects not to. Instead, he fires to a wide-open Deron Williams for a potential go-ahead corner 3. 

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The Celtics contained Kyrie Irving on Wednesday.  USATSI

He goes for the win on the road. If James drives, and misses, he gets blamed here for not finding Williams. Really either decision is good, but it just feels notable that after those bad closeouts on the Thomas assists, James elects to go for the win instead of the tie. Merely a bad game? Willing to gamble a little bit at this point in the season? Fundamentally the right play? All of the above? It’s interesting, if nothing else.

OTHER NOTES: The Celtics are good and still almost lost

  • In those games where the Celtics have lost to those good teams, for most of them, they were without at least one starter. That should be noted, just as it should be noted that the Cavaliers were missing Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. No one’s healthy for the playoffs -- everyone deals with injuries -- but both sides have injury discussions they can make for their season series.
  • Jaylen Brown continues to impress. He was a minus-9, but eight points and seven boards matters, and his defense and effort helps Boston. These games are still a little big for him, but he’s giving the effort and aggressiveness to push. He’s contributing to the second-best team in the East, and that’s not easy as a rookie.
  • Jae Crowder was phenomenal. Seventeen points on 5-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds, plus the toughest assignment one-on-one in the NBA: guarding James. It should not be overlooked how great Crowder is for this team.
  • Boston’s defense was great, and that was a big part of this. The Celtics need more of that every night.
  • Notice how I’ve pointed out all these things that went wrong for Cleveland went right for the Celtics, including the Celtics outscoring Cleveland from 3-point range and the Cavs shooting 41 percent, and the Cavs still could have stolen this game, without two starters? That’s a bad sign for the Celtics.
  • But don’t think of this game as proof the Celtics can hang with Cleveland in a series. Think of it as proof that there’s a formula, a blueprint, a model for them to get there. The Celtics have to figure out a lot of things if they’re going to upset the champs. This game was a step in the right direction.