The Celtics look to win their 5th straight game as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is the first of 2 games this season with the second game on January 2 in Minnesota. These two teams split the series 1-1 last season with each team winning at home. The Celtics are 45-24 overall all time against the Wolves and 25-8 in games played in Boston. The Celtics have won 17 straight games against the Timberwolves in Boston.
The Timberwolves made some big moves in the off season and it may be taking them awhile to build chemistry with their new players. They lost Kyle Anderson to the Warriors and signed Joe Ingles, who they expect to fill Anderson’s spot. They also lost Monte Morris to Phoenix and they signed former Celtic, PJ Dozier. But the biggest move was trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It is that move that seems to be taking time to gel.
After hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves in this game, the Celtics will host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in back to back games. They will then play at Chicago and at Cleveland before returning home for a 5 game home stand against Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis and Chicago. They then visit Chicago and Orlando before another 4 game home stand where they host Philadelphia, Indiana twice, and Toronto.
The Timberwolves just finished a 3 game road trip, playing at Portland twice and at Sacramento. They hosted Phoenix before losing to the Raptors at Toronto. After this game at Boston, they return home for a 4 game home stand including Houston, Sacramento, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. They then head on the road to take on the Clippers and the Warriors.
The Timberwolves are 10th in the West, 4 games out of first and just half again ahead of 11th place San Antonio. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 3-2 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 3-5 on the road. The Celtics are second in the East, 2.5 games behind first place Cleveland. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and they are 5-2 at home. They are 0-1 against Western Conference opponents.
Al Horford missed Friday’s game against the Wizards with a non-covid illness. He is listed as questionable for this game. If he is unable to play, I expect Neemias Queta will once again start in his place. Kristaps Porzingis is listed as out for this game but should return soon. For the Timberwolves only Mike Conley is listed as out on their injury report with a toe injury.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Al Horford
Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/OutK
ristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Al Horford (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Timberwolves Starters
PG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Julius Randle
C: Rudy Gobert
Timberwolves Reserves
Rob Dillingham
Donte DiVincenzo
PJ Dozier
Luka Garza
Joe Ingles
Leonard Miller
Josh Minott
Naz Reid
Terrance Shannon, Jr
2 Way Players
Jaylen Clark
Jesse Edwards
Daishen Nix
Injuries/Out
Mike Conley (toe) out
Head Coach
Chris Finch
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Anthony Edwards
Edwards is averaging 27.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 47.5% from the field and 43.1% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter as he can score very well in both.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
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Julius Randle
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Julius Randle
Randle is averaging 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. He is shooting 50.2% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc. As with Edwards, the Celtics have to guard Randle both in the paint and on the perimeter. Tatum struggled with his shot on Friday and the Celtics will need him to shoot better in this one.
Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Rudy Gobert
Gobert is averaging 11.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. He is shooting 63.9% from the field and 0% on 3 pointers. Hopefully the Celtics can pull Gobert away from the basket as he is a very good rebounder and rim protector. If Horford is out, either Luke Kornet or Neemias Queta or Xavier Tillman are likely to start here
Keys to the Game
Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is the key to winning every game. The Timberwolves average 113.3 points per game (15th) while the Celtics average 120.7 points per game (2nd). The Celtics are 8th with a defensive rating of 110.7 while the Wolves have a defensive rating of 111.7 (13th). The Celtics have not been playing the same tough defense they played last season. They especially have been weak on defense in the paint. They are 27th, allowing 53.2 point in the paint this season. The Celtics have got to play tough team defense for all 4 quarters if they hope to get a win in this game.
Rebound – The Celtics are averaging 42.8 rebounds per game (20th) to 40.6 rebounds per game for the Timberwolves (26th). The Celtics will need to crash the boards to keep the Wolves from getting extra possessions and second chance points. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics have got to work harder on the boards than the Wolves. Once again, the Celtics were a much better rebounding team last season with the same roster. They need to increase their effort on the boards.
Play Hard 48 Minutes – The Celtics have got to come out strong and not allow the Wolves to build an early lead. They have to play hard through the 2nd and 3rd quarters and not let up to allow the Timberwolves to pull ahead because the Celtics aren’t playing their hardest. The Celtics also must finish strong and not allow the Wolves to surge ahead to close the game. The Celtics have started slowly in several games recently and in games where they started off strong and built a good lead, they have slacked off and allowed their opponent to come back and make it a close game. They have to play hard for all 48 minutes.
Effort and Energy – Against several teams this season, the Celtics have lacked energy. They have allowed teams they should have blown out to either beat them or make it a close game. The Celtics lack of effort and energy can also help to explain their lack of rebounds. Along with putting out more effort and energy, the Celtics must put that effort into playing team ball. They need to keep the ball moving and not lapse into hero ball.
X-Factors
It’s Home Court Advantage for a Reason – There is a reason why they call it home court advantage. The Celtics have the crowd behind them and if they give a good effort, the fans will cheer them on and help to motivate them. It is when the team lacks effort that the crowd will turn on their own team. The Wolves had to travel, stay in a hotel, play in front of a hostile crowd and on an unfamiliar court. The Celtics need to come out with effort and protect their home court.
Officiating – Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus on playing the game. The Celtics can’t let the officiating get into their heads.
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