The Champion Celtics host the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers for an Emirates NBA Cup game. The Celtics are 0-1 in Cup games while the Cavs are 1-0. This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will play in Cleveland on December 1 and February 4 and they will meet again in Boston on February 28. The Celtics are 2-1 last season with each team winning at home. The Celtics are 139-87 overall against the Cavs all time and they are 84-27 in games played in Boston.
Along with the drama of the Cavaliers being undefeated and the Celtics being the defending champions. The Cavaliers have vowed to avenge their loss to the Celtics in last year’s playoffs. The Celtics beat the Cavs 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In particular, Jarrett Allen, who missed that series with a cracked rib, is looking forward to beating the Celtics in this one. Donovan Mitchell, who missed 2 games in that series, also wants to show that they measure up to the champs.
These two teams have much in common about how they handled the offseason. Both teams mostly stood pat without making any major trades or free agent signings. The Cavs did make a big move when they fired JB Bickerstaff and hired Kenny Atkinson as their coach. Atkinson is getting a lot of credit for the Cavs’ hot start. They extended Mobley, Mitchell and Allen and they drafted Jaylon Tyson. They also signed JT Thor to a 2 Way contract.
The Celtics have not played since Saturday and won’t play again until Friday when they visit the Washington Wizards in an Emirates NBA Cup game. They then host the Minnesota Timberwolves and and the LA Clippers before playing at Chicago and at Cleveland. They then have a 5 game home stand against Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis and Chicago.
Cleveland just finished a 2 game home stand where they hosted Chicago and Charlotte. After this game at Boston, they will have a 3 game home stand against New Orleans, Toronto and Atlanta. After that will play at Atlanta and then they will host Boston, Washington and Denver. Of all their 15 wins, their toughest opponents were the Lakers and the Warriors. Other than that, the other teams they faced during the streak have been struggling including the Knicks, Bucks and 76ers.
Jrue Holiday missed Saturday’s game against the Raptors but should be back in the lineup for this game. Jaden Springer has missed the last 4 games but at this time isn’t on the injury list. Kristaps Porzingis is getting closer to a return to the team and is practicing with the Maine Celtics but will miss this game. Payton Pritchard has been added to the injury list as questionable with a thumb sprain. He will be a game time decision.
For the Cavaliers, Emoni Bates is out with an ankle sprain. Max Strus is also out due to an ankle sprain. Sam Merrill is questionable with an ankle sprain. Dean Wade left Sunday’s game in the third quarter with an ankle sprain and is questionable for this game. Caris LeVert is questionable with knee soreness. Isaac Okoro also left Sunday’s game in the second quarter after spraining his ankle and is also questionable for this game. if Okoro can’t go, Ty Jerome will likely get the start.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Neemias Queta
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Payton Pritchard (thumb) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Cavaliers Starters
Cavaliers Reserves
Ty Jerome
Georges Niang
Craig Porter, Jr
Tristan Thompson
Jaylon Tyson
2 Way Players
Emoni Bates
JT Thor
Luke Travers
Injuries/Out
Sam Merrill (ankle) questionable
Max Strus (ankle) out
Dean Wade (ankle) questionable
Isaac Okoro (ankle) questionable
Emoni Bates (ankle) out
Caris LeVert (knee) questionable
Head Coach
Kenny Atkinson
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell is averaging 24.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 46.9% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the arc. Slowing Mitchell down will be key to getting a win for the Celtics and it is likely that White, Holiday and Brown may all get a chance to try to defend him. He is shooting very well from the perimeter and so the Celtics need to especially defend him beyond the arc.
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Jrue Holiday
Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images
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Darius Garland
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Darius Garland
Garland and Donovan have formed a very good backcourt for the Cavs. Garland is averaging 21.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 53.1% from the field and 45.8%from beyond the arc. As with Mitchell, slowing him down will be key to winning this game. Also, as with Mitchell, Garland is shooting the 3 very well and so the Celtics can’t leave him open on the perimeter.
Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Evan Mobley
Mobley is averaging 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game. He is shooting 55.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to try to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always a key to winning games. The Cavaliers are a good defensive team with a 110.7 defensive rating, which is 8th in the playoffs. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 111.2, which is 10th in the playoffs. Last season, the Celtics were 1st and the Cavaliers were 11th with basically the same rosters. The Celtics must get back to making defense a priority and they have to play that tough defense for 48 minutes and not let up. The Celtics must especially defend the Cavs on the perimeter as they are tops in the league, shooting 41.9% as a team on threes. The Cavs are going to play tough defense and so the Celtics will need to match or exceed their defensive intensity.
Rebound – Next to defense, rebounding is the biggest key to winning. Much of rebounding is effort and desire and when the Celtics put out the extra effort on the boards, it usually carries through to the rest of their game. The Celtics are averaging 42.8 rebounds per game (21st) while the Cavs are averaging 42.1 rebounds per game (23rd). Last season, with mostly the same roster, the Celtics were 2nd with 46.7 rebounds per game. The Celtics must work harder to grab rebounds and to box out the Cavaliers on the boards.
Bench Play – The Cavs bench is 7th in the league with 39.3 points per game. Their reserves are shooting 50.4% from the field and 41.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics bench will lose a lot if Payton Pritchard is out with the thumb injury. They will need Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, and Luke Kornet to play well when they come into the game.
Points in the Paint – One of the Celtics biggest problems so far is points in the paint. Not only have they not been scoring in the paint, due to averaging 51 threes per game, but they haven’t been defending the paint well at all. The Raptors scored 76 points in the paint against the Celtics. The Celtics are 27th in the league, allowing 53.1 points in the paint per game. Cleveland is 7th, allowing just 44.8 points in the paint while being The Celtics need to especially defend the paint against the Cavaliers as they are 4th in scoring in the paint with 53.6 points in the paint per game.
3 Point Shooting – When the Celtics struggle to hit their 3s, the game gets very ugly. The Celtics are 1st in the league, taking 51.1 threes per game. The Cavs take just 37.1 threes per game. However, the Cavs are 1st in the league, hitting 41.9% of their 3s. The Celtics have been up and down , averaging 37% from beyond the arc (10th). The Celtics must move the ball to get open shots and they have to focus on taking and hitting good shots.
X-Factors
Playing at Home – The Celtics are playing at home where they lost just 4 games all last season. They have already lost 2 games at home and so they need to lock in and focus on defending their home court. They need to gain motivation from the crowd and from playing on their familiar court. The Cavs are playing on the road and so will have distractions of travel, a hostile crowd and an unfamiliar court. The Cavs are 7-0 so far on the road and so it won’t be easy but the Celtics have the advantage if they stay focused and play hard.
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game a little differently with some calling it tight and others letting them play. The officiating has been questioned after games this past weekend, with the refs missing several crucial calls in crunch time. The Celtics have to adjust to how the game is being called and focus on the game and not on the officials.
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