The Celtics crushed the Cavaliers in the statement game that wasn't

BOSTON -- What if you had a statement game and neither team felt comfortable making one? On the one hand, you had a Celtics team that was feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after a rare break in the schedule. And on the other, you had a Cavaliers squad playing a back-to-back without one of its key players who had only recently returned to the lineup.

“You know, we’re not going to go out and overdo this,” Brad Stevens said after his Celtics had secured an uneventful, 102-88, victory.

That seems wise, considering all the scheduling factors that played into the outcome. And, of course as Stevens noted the other day, the Cavs are still the team to beat in the East and everyone knows it.

That’s an important point and it’s worth reinforcing over and over again from now until we finally get to the spring. The Cavs are the team to beat for the simple reason that they have LeBron James and he’s ruled this conference for the last seven years. Until someone beats him on that stage, the regular season is all conjecture.

The intriguing development from the Celtics’ perspective on Thursday was they were able to beat the Cavs handily despite a subdued effort from Kyrie Irving — just 11 points on 14 shots. Their main scoring contributions came from Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart off the bench, along with young forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Their emergence this season has given the Celtics a jolt of energy and athleticism that’s atypical of the Celtics we’ve grown to know over the years. They are all X-factors of a sort because no one really knows what they’re going to be able to do come playoff time. We know they will play hard, but will they be able to execute and perform when gameplans are fully implemented and the pressure is ratcheted up to postseason levels?

The Celtics were also able to throw multiple waves at defenders at James, beginning with Marcus Morris and on through Brown, Tatum, and rookie Semi Ojeleye, who is a reliable jump shot away from being a rotation fixture for years to come. Having forwards who can not only switch everything but stay in front of James is the key to their defensive structure.

“You know, against LeBron , there’s nobody that can guard him the whole game, so you have to throw as many bodies at him as you can,” Stevens said. “And then pray.”

What is interesting about this season is that the other contenders — Boston, Toronto, and Washington — have all made strides in their development. The Wizards have proven dangerous against good teams, albeit with a stubborn inconsistent streak against lesser opponents. The Celtics are 31-10, their best mark at the midway point of their season since 2010-11. Then there are the Raptors who have updated their style and are playing out of their minds.

The East, as James noted, is “damn good this season.”

“I’m always concerned about teams getting better and better, but I’m more concerned about us getting better,” James said. “That’s the bigger thing. Right now we’re not so great, good, not so great … we’ll see what happens next.”

What happens next is the full-scale integration of Isaiah Thomas into the lineup. Even Thomas’ return to the Garden was subdued. He had jokes and greetings for all the familiar faces who lined up to pay their respects and he even hugged it out with Danny Ainge in the hallway when they crossed paths.

“I love this city. I love this organization,” Thomas said. “They’ve given me the opportunity to be who I always wanted to be and I can’t thank them enough. So there’s no hard feelings to anybody in this city or anybody in this organization. And I’m glad I’m back. Like I always said, it’s genuine love, and that’s — that’s for the rest of my life here.”

The fans gave him a standing ovation when his face flashed on the jumbotron and the whole evening seemed like a nice bit of closure before the main event on Feb. 11 when he should be back to his old self for the rematch. “Now that I’m back playing you all have something else to write about,” he said.

Thomas made his debut the night before against Portland and scored 17 points off the bench in just 18 minutes of action. He’s still finding his rhythm and he’s still testing out his hip, but the old familiar confidence was on display early and often against the Blazers.

Thomas is slated to rejoin the starting lineup against Orlando Saturday and then the team will go from there. It will be an adjustment, but it’s one they’ve been waiting to make.

“He’s somebody you have to trap and you got to gameplan for, and that can help us with energy and movement,” Kyle Korver said. “I think we’re going to have to change how we play a little bit, which will be an adjustment in the beginning, but in the long run will be really good. We’re all excited for it. Tonight’s a bit of a bummer, but it’s just one game. This team is going to keep evolving.”

That, as much as anything, is the real story of this conference this season. These teams are obviously much different than the ones that met in conference finals last season and they both recognize that where they end up will be drastically different than where they are now. That doesn’t make for compelling January basketball, but maybe we’ll all be in for something special this spring.

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