The Celtics begin their 4 game Western road trip with a stop in Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves. This is the second and final meeting between these two teams this season. They met for the first time in Boston on November 24 when the Celtics won 107-105. These two teams tied the series last season with each team winning on their home court. Both of those games went to overtime.
The Celtics are 47-22 overall, all time against the Timberwolves. They are 21-14 in games played in Minnesota. They are 5-3 all time facing off in preseason games. The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games, heading out after this game to play in Houston on Friday. The Celtics are 3-2 in the first of back to back games. They are 1-1 when both games are on the road.
The Celtics remain in 2nd place in the East with the gap widening to 5 games between them and the first place Cavaliers, who have won 8 straight games. And the gap is narrowing to just 1 game between them and the 3rd place New York Knicks, who have also won 8 straight games. The Celtics are 11-3 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 2-2 against Western Conference teams and are coming off a big win on New Year’s Eve.
The Timberwolves are 8th in the West, 10 games behind first place Oklahoma City and 1.5 games behind the 6th place Clippers and the last guaranteed playoff spot. They are 2 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns and falling out of play-in contention. They are 9-6 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 3-5 against Eastern Conference opponents and are coming off a loss in their last game.
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. But the biggest move was trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It is that move that seems to be taking time for the team to work out their chemistry.
The Celtics just completed a 4 game home stand where they beat the Pacers and Raptors and lost to the Pacers and 76ers. They are heading out on a 4 game Western road trip through Minnesota, Houston (and Ime Udoka), Oklahoma City and Denver. They will return home to face 2 more Western teams, Sacramento and New Orleans. They then head to Toronto to face the Raptors again for the 3rd time..
The Timberwolves upcoming schedule is full of travel as they alternate home and away games. After this game against the Celtics at home, they will play at Detroit, home vs the LA Clippers, at New Orleans, and at Orlando. They then have one game at home against the Memphis Grizzlies before playing at Washington. They then return home to host the Golden State Warriors then travel to New York to take on the Knicks and back home to play Cleveland before playing at Memphis and at Dallas.
The Celtics finally got Jrue Holiday back for their last game after he missed three straight games with a shoulder injury. Now, Jaylen Brown is questionable with a shoulder injury. He was seen with ice on his shoulder during Tuesday’s game. If Brown can’t play, Sam Hauser will l likely start once again. Kristaps Porzingis is still questionable with the ankle injury. If I were to guess, since they are playing back to back, I would guess that they hold Porzingis out one more game and Al Horford will start. Then Horford will sit out on Friday against the Rockets.
The Timberwolves are mostly healthy. They have just 2 players on the injury list. Luka Garza has been ruled out for the seventh straight game with a sprained ankle. Rookie Rob Dillingham will sit out a third consecutive game due to a right ankle sprain. Neither of these absences should affect the regular rotation for the Wolves.
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/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Jaylen Brown (shoulder) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Timberwolves Starters
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Julius Randle
C: Rudy Gobert
Timberwolves Reserves
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Donte DiVincenzo
Joe Ingles
Leonard Miller
Josh Minott
Naz Reid
Terrance Shannon, Jr
2 Way Players
Jaylen Clark
Jesse Edwards
Daishen Nix
Injuries/Out
Luka Garza (ankle) out
Rob Dillingham (ankle) out
Head Coach
Chris Finch
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Anthony Edwards
Edwards is averaging 24.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. He is shooting 44.3% from the field and 41.5% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 42.9% from the field and 54.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter as he can score very well from 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 20.2 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. He is shooting 47.6% from the field and 36.1% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 46.7% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. As with Edwards, the Celtics have to guard Randle both in the paint and on the perimeter.
Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Rudy Gobert
Gobert is averaging 10.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He is shooting 63.2% from the field and 0% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 10 points and 20 rebounds while shooting 80% from the field but no 3 pointers. The Celtics need to box out and keep him off the boards and be aware of his presence in the paint for blocks.
Keys to the Game
Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is the key to winning every game. The Timberwolves average 109.2 points per game (22nd) while the Celtics average 119.6 points per game (4th). The Celtics are 7th with a defensive rating of 109.0 while the Wolves have a defensive rating of 108.9 (6th). The Celtics have been very inconsistent on defense this season. They especially have been weak on defense in the paint. They are 22nd, allowing 49.7 points in the paint this season. The Timberwolves are a very good defensive team and 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 45.5 rebounds per game (6th) to 43.2 rebounds per game for the Timberwolves (21st). 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.
Effort and Energy – In most of their losses this season, inconsistent effort was the reason for the loss. 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.
3 Point Shots – When the Celtics make their 3’s they are tough to beat but when the 3’s aren’t falling, the game gets really ugly. The Celtics are 1st in the league, taking 50.4 threes per game. The Timberwolves take a lot of 3s as well, averaging 40 per game (6th). Although the Celtics are first with 18.5 made 3s per game, they are 13th , shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc. The Timberwolves are 4th, making 14.9 threes a game and are 10th, shooting 37.2% from beyond the arc. The key is simple. The Celtics must make their threes and they have to defend the perimeter well to keep the Timberwolves from making theirs.
X-Factors
On the Road – The Celtics are playing in the first game of a 4 game road trip. They need to focus on the game and on playing with effort and not on the distractions of playing on the road. They can’t let the travel and staying in hotels and playing in front of a hostile crowd take away from their focus on the game.
Injuries – The Timberwolves are mostly healthy with just 2 reserves on the injury list. The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games and we may see some players sit out due to injury management. Currently, only Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis are on the injury list. If Jaylen can’t play, the Celtics lose a lot on both ends of the court and others will need to step up. I’m thinking that Porzingis may sit out this game with Horford starting and then Horford will sit on Friday.
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. The Celtics can’t afford to allow the other team to go on playing while Celtics players are hanging back and complaining to the officials.
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