Lessons Learned from Cleveland Cavaliers' 1st-Round Victory over the Celtics

During one of the most physical first-round sweeps in recent NBA memory, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally finished off the Boston Celtics in a wild 101-93 affair.

While no one should be surprised with the outcome, the Celtics' young, scrappy roster did anything but lay down against the mighty Cavs. Hard fouls on LeBron James were prevalent throughout the series, resulting in an all-out WWE-style contest during Game 4 that left the future availability of a few Cavaliers in question.

“I think the biggest thing is we have a lot of fighters on our team,” Kyrie Irving told ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. “Just the fight that we have for each other, and we have each other’s backs through whatever we go through.”

In the end, the Cavs took care of business and will likely face the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

As they gear up for a potential heavyweight fight with Chicago, we take a look back over what the Cavaliers learned from their important first-round series.

Physicality Is Not an Issue

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Physical play and the NBA playoffs go together like Cleveland sports and bad luck, so it was no surprise when things got chippy between the two teams.

The Cavaliers had to prove they could respond to rough play, and respond they did.

While Games 1-3 were pretty status quo (save for the Celtics' hack-a-LeBron strategy), the final contest was anything but. Kelly Olynyk's attempt to disarm Kevin Love set the table, while Kendrick Perkins and J.R. Smith would later provide the main dishes.

More on Love later, but first, let's look at Perkins and Smith. While they crossed the line when it came to shoving and later smacking Celtics forward Jae Crowder, it was important that the Cavaliers had some sort of retaliation. Like a pitcher in baseball beaning a batter after one of his own guys was previously hit, Cleveland wasn't about to accept Olynyk's dirty play.

This is one of the reasons the Cavs signed Perkins after he reached a buyout following a trade to the Utah Jazz. Along with Timofey Mozgov, Smith, Tristan Thompson and others, Cleveland needed some extra muscle and toughness come playoff time.

The Bulls are another physical team that isn't afraid to stir things up when the situation calls for it. The Cavs have proven they'll be ready.

Rotation Changes Need to Be Made

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Even with Love (shoulder) and Smith (possible suspension) set to miss time, the Cavaliers' rotation needed to be altered anyway.

There's no argument to be had with the starting lineup. The combination of James, Love, Kyrie Irving, Mozgov and Smith has been brilliant. It's coach David Blatt's bench that needs some work, however.

Blatt prefers to use lineups with only one traditional big man and one who can shoot from the outside. He'll pair Mozgov with Love, Thompson with James and even use 6'8" James Jones as a stretch 4 at times.

Unfortunately, any lineup including Jones is bound to struggle. The 34-year-old was ice-cold in the first round, connecting on a team-low 18.2 percent of his three-pointers despite shooting nearly three a game.

Receiving extended time for an injured Love in Game 4, Jones was 0-of-6 from deep to finish with just two points in 23 minutes. Jones' plus/minus rating of negative-1.5 was tied for last on the Cavaliers during the series.

On the flip side, Mozgov (24.5 minutes a game against Boston) needs to see the court more often. Cleveland was a whopping 21.9 points per 100 possessions better against the Celtics with Mozgov in the game, via NBA.com.

The Cavaliers' best bet may be to bench Jones permanently, using James more at power forward much like his time with the Miami Heat. This would in turn open up more minutes for Iman Shumpert on the wing, who's been tremendous defensively. The Cavs could also use Shawn Marion at the 4 to help with spacing should they need it.

Blatt may have to shuffle the deck significantly if Love and Smith miss extended time. Even if they return quickly, some adjustments will have to be made.

Still Too Much Iso-Ball

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Isolation plays, or "hero ball," was all too common during James' first era from 2006-2010 with the Cavaliers.

Despite a much-improved supporting cast, we're still seeing much of the same.

Cleveland is at its best moving the ball and creating a free-flowing offense that finds the open man. The Cavaliers may be captained by James, but he's far from their only scoring option.

This was a problem against the Celtics. The Cavaliers' 16.8 assists per game are the fewest among all playoff teams and a drop of 5.3 from their regular-season average. Smith, whose primary job is to stand behind the three-point line and shoot, actually led Cleveland with a 55.2 assist percentage.

Clearly, something wasn't right.

Only James (6.5) and Irving (4.3) averaged more than 2.5 assists for Cleveland. Both preferred to take opponents one-on-one, combining for 6.1 turnovers in the process.

As opposing defenses get tougher, the Cavaliers will need to open the offense up and work to find the open man once again.

Defense Could Be Better Than We Thought

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

After two games, it appeared postseason defense would be a concern for the Cavaliers.

Isaiah Thomas was averaging 22 points off the bench, and Cleveland's guards could do little to stop his dribble penetration. Even big men like Mozgov and Thompson hadn't figured him out in the paint yet, either.

What appeared to be a weakness quickly turned into a strength.

Led by Shumpert and Mozgov, the Cavaliers defense responded to the challenge. It pestered Boston's leading scorer as soon as he received the ball, often stripping it away or swatting inside attempts by cutting off Thomas' angles.

After a hot start, Thomas' scoring dropped to just 13 points on 23 percent shooting from the field and 10 percent from three over the final two contests.

For the series, Shumpert held his opponents to just 17.6 percent shooting from 15-plus feet and a stingy 12.5 from three, per NBA.com. Mozgov controlled the paint, swatting away 12 shots in four games.

Cleveland's switches were crisp and intensity was high. Granted, the Celtics aren't an offensive powerhouse, but the Cavaliers made some impressive adjustments after appearing sloppy over the first two games.

Kevin Love Is Absolutely Crucial to Cavaliers' Title Hopes

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports that Love will miss at least two weeks while recovering from a separated left shoulder suffered in Game 4 courtesy of Olynyk.

If the Chicago Bulls close out their 3-1 series lead over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, the Cavaliers will play next on Saturday, May 2. Should the Bucks steal one more game, the Bulls-Cavs series will be pushed back to Monday, May 4. Either scenario has Love missing at least one week against a very good Bulls frontcourt.

How important is Love? The Cavaliers were 3-0 against Chicago with Love this season and 0-1 when he sat.

Thompson will likely step in as the team's short-term starter. Even though he can make up for Love's rebounding, the Cavaliers' offensive spacing will suffer. Thompson rarely shoots the ball outside of five feet, while Love has proven to be a reliable three-point threat.

In his first three games against the Celtics, Love was averaging 18.3 points and nine rebounds while shooting 47 percent from deep. Love's 9.0 plus/minus rating was second on the Cavaliers, while his offensive rating of 120.5 ranked first.

Can Cleveland still beat the Bulls if Love is forced to sit the entire series? Most likely.

Could it still win a championship without him? Probably not.

The Cavaliers have to pray for a quick recovery by Love, who is very much a necessity for their title hopes.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.