February 28, 2025 Game of the Day Recap
Cavaliers 123 – Celtics 116
This game ended up not being a best-on-best game. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis both did not play for the Celtics. However, that did not slow down the Celtics early in the game. They got out to a hot start going up 25-3 very early in the first quarter. Jayson Tatum led this assault for the Celtics as he seemed to make everything.
The Celtics kept a double digit lead a for a large portion of the first half as any time the Cavaliers made a shot, the Celtics responded well. Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished the first half with a combined 49 points. Boston went into the break up 10 points.
The second half is when the Cavaliers, led by Donovan Mitchell, started to fight back and force more Boston misses. This is also when the lack of depth due to injury for the Celtics started to catch up with them. On the game, the Celtics had 6 people take shots so it was getting easier for Cleveland to play defense as the game went on. As the third quarter came to an end, the Cavaliers erased the once 22 point deficit early, down to 3 by the end of the 3rd quarter.
Again, in the 4th quarter, the Celtics’ lack of depth ended up being what cause them to slip and fall. Their absolute dominant start by now is nulled out by the performance of Donovan Mitchell and the sudden emergence of Evan Mobley in the second half after he struggled heavily in the first half. What was looking best for me is my bet was looking better and better as the game went on. Thankfully, for me, the Celtics defense had no chance. The Cavaliers were getting Sam Houser matched up on all of their guards and it was impossible for him to stop them. He is way too slow. I believe that’s one of the bigger reasons the Cavaliers were able to come all the way back and take the lead and eventually win the game.
In reality, I got extremely lucky that the Celtics were shorthanded with my bet. I think if they had even one of Porzingis or Holiday playing, they end up winning the game. Tatum and Brown ended the game with 83 points.
Donovan Mitchell: 41 points, 5 assists, 13-26 FG, 5-12 3P
Evan Mobley: 17 points, 12 rebounds, 6-12 FG, 2-5 3P
Jayson Tatum: 46 points, 9 assists, 16 rebounds, 19-37 FG, 4-12 3P
Jaylen Brown: 37 points, 5 rebounds, 13-24 FG, 4-6 3P
March 1, 2025 Game of the Day Preview
Alabama – Tennessee
Another game of the day with my favorite team in another top 10 matchup. This game will almost assuredly be on ESPNNEWS for the first 15-20 minutes because that is how ESPN basketball seems to work every Saturday.
Tennessee is exactly a week from their last top-10 game as they played Texas A&M on the road and came out with a victory. The Volunteers have won the last 3 meetings in this matchup and need some help in order to finish in the top 2 in the conference, as they are 2 games behind Alabama and 1 game behind Florida. Alabama has this game in Knoxville and on the road against the best team in the country, Auburn. Florida plays #12 Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Auburn and Florida will also play in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday and that will be our game of the day. This next 10 days or so will be a battle to see who will get what seed in the conference tournament.
The key to an Alabama victory is if they can play at their pace and not let Tennessee’s defense dictate too much. If they can play clean transition basketball and get their guards shooting well early, it is hard for almost any team in the country to beat them. Mark Spears will need to play well with tough defense on him, in Zakai Zeigler, who is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
For the opposite side of the ball’s keys to victory, it will yet again be how they can start offensively themselves. The Volunteers tend to get off to very slow starts and that is why last Saturday it was so important to see Chaz get hot early. He was the reason we won. Look forward to seeing Chaz Lanier continue his streak of 10+ point games, as his current streak for that is nearing a dozen games.
Zeigler is one of the best glue guys in the country. If you need a guy to go play defense on the best guard, it’s him. If you need someone to make a clutch shot in a much needed moment, it’s him. He can get to the rim, be a playmaker at a high level with his pass IQ, and most of all his effort is off the charts. As a relatively new fan of Tennessee sports since the 2020 baseball season, Zakai Zeigler has been my favorite basketball player on the team.