The Celtics complete their 4 game Western road trip with a stop in Denver to take on the Nuggets. The Celtics will be looking to end the road trip on a high note to erase the bad taste from that loss to the Thunder on Sunday. This is the first of 2 games between these two teams. They will meet again on March 2 in Boston.
The Nuggets won the series 2-0 last season. These two teams met twice in Abu Dhabi in the preseason. The Celtics won the first game 107-103 and they won the second game 130-104. The Celtics are 58-40 overall all time against the Nuggets and they are 20-30 in games played in Denver. The Celtics last played on Sunday while the Nuggets last played on Saturday.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East, 5.5 games behind the first place Cavaliers, who have won their last 10 games. The Celtics are 2 games ahead of the 3rd place Knicks and 5.5 games ahead of the 4th place Magic. They are 13-4 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 4-3 against Western Conference teams and are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Nuggets are 4th in the West, 9.5 games behind the first place Thunder. They are 2.5 games behind the second place Rockets and 2 games behind the 3rd place Grizzlies. They are half a game ahead of the 5th place Lakers, 6th place Mavericks and 7th place Clippers. They are 10-6 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 7-4 against Eastern Conference teams and are coming off a win in their last game.
The Nuggets lost their starting two guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic in free agency. They also lost Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday. They have added a couple of very key players in Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric along with DaRon Holmes II. Holmes was lost for the season with a torn Achilles while Westbrook has moved into the starting lineup.
This is the fourth and final game of a 4 game Western road trip that started with back to back wins in Minnesota on Thursday and in Houston on Friday. They then lost a very tough game to the Thunder on Sunday. They will return home to face 2 more Western Conference teams, Sacramento and New Orleans. They then head to Toronto to face the Raptors for the 3rd time. They will then host Orlando and Atlanta before their 2nd Western road trip of the month through Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers and Dallas.
The Nuggets won in San Antonio on Saturday in their last game. This game is the first game of a 3 game home stand. They will host the Clippers and Nets after this game. They then go on the road for 2 games in Dallas against the Mavericks. They will host the Rockets before playing at Miami and Orlando. Then back home to host Philadelphia and Sacramento before a 5 game road trip through Minnesota, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Charlotte.
The Celtics initially had no one on the injury report. However, early Tuesday, they added Derrick White and Jordan Walsh as questionable, both due to an illness. Derrick White has been ruled out for this game. Sam Hauser will likely get the start. Jayson Tatum was bruised and scraped when he landed in the first row against the Thunder but he is expected to play.
For the Nuggets, Aaron Gordon is out with a calf injury and Christian Braun should start in his place. Vlatko Cancar is out with a knee injury. DaRon Holmes II is out with an Achilles tear. Spencer Jones is out with a groin injury. Nikola Jokic was a very late addition as questionable due to an illness.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Al Horford
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Derrick White (illness) out
Jordan Walsh (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Nuggets Starters
Nuggets Reserves
Vlatko Cancar
DeAndre Jordan
Zeke Nnaji
Jalen Pickett
Dario Saric
Julian Strawther
Hunter Tyson
Peyton Watson
2 Way Players
Trey Alexander
PJ Hall
Spencer Jones
Out/Injuries
DaRon Holmes II (Achilles) out
Vlatko Cancar (knee) out
Aaron Gordon (calf) out
Spencer Jones (groin) out
Nikola Jokic (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Michael Malone
Key Matchups
Kristaps Porzingis vs Nikola Jokic
Jokic is has won 3 MVP’s and is in the conversation for MVP every season for a reason. He is averaging 31 points, 12.3 rebounds, 13.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is shooting 55.3% from the field and 47.3% from beyond the arc. Over his career, against the Celtics, he averaged 22.8 points, 10.5 rebounds 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is a handful and the Celtics need to try to slow him down by any means necessary.
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
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Jamal Murray
Photo by C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Jamal Murray
Murray is averaging 19.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He is shooting 43.3% from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc. Over his career, Murray has averaged 20.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals against the Celtics. The Celtics will need Jrue Holiday to continue to play well on both ends of the court and they need to defend Murray very well both on 3’s and in the paint as he can put up points in a hurry.
Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Michael Porter, Jr
Porter is averaging 19.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. He is shooting 52.4% from the field and 42.3% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.5 rebounds. Porter is a very good 3 point shooter and so they have to stay with him on the perimeter but he can also score in the paint so the Celtics need to stay with him wherever he is on the court.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is the key to winning every game. The Celtics are 6th with a defensive rating of 109.3. The Nuggets have a defensive rating of 113.5, which is 19th. The Celtics average 118.5 points per game (4th), while the Nuggets average 120.8 points per game (3rd). The Nuggets are 1st in the league with 58.8 points in the paint per game and so the Celtics must especially defend the paint and keep the Nuggets away from the rim. The Celtics saw first hand how defense can turn a game when the Thunder clamped down on them in the second half on Sunday. They are capable of that type of defense but they have to commit to it and put in the effort.
Rebound – Rebounding is another key to winning every game. The Celtics are 10th in the league, averaging 45.1 rebounds per game. The Nuggets are 7th in the league with 45.4 rebounds per game. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics have to work harder to grab rebounds to limit the Nuggets second chance points and fast breaks since the Nuggets are first with 20 fast break points per game.
Effort and Energy for 48 Minutes – The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to fight for loose balls, defend aggressively, be aggressive in driving to the basket, and just play harder than the Nuggets for the entire game. They have to be the team that wants it more and play like it. They especially have to begin the game with energy and not allow the Nuggets to race out to a big lead and they can’t let up throughout the game. They especially have to come out strong in the 3rd quarter and play hard until the final buzzer. As shown against the Thunder on Sunday, the team that is more aggressive and that plays harder usually gets the benefit of more calls from the refs as well.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to keep moving the ball to find the open man and make it much harder to guard them. However, they have to be careful with their passes and not turn the ball over as the Nuggets average 19.3 points per game off turnovers. The Celtics also need to be careful when they dribble the ball and not drive into a crowd and turn the ball over. The Celtics are usually very good at taking care of the ball but they turned the ball over 16 times against the Thunder. They need to do better than that in this game.
X-Factors
Mile High on the Road– It’s tough to win in Denver because of the altitude that the teams are playing at. Denver is called the Mile High City because it is 5,280 feet above sea level. Nuggets players are used to the altitude but visiting teams often struggle with playing there and often are fatigued before the end of the game. It is a very unique home court advantage. The Celtics also have to shake off the distractions of travel and playing in front of a hostile crowd.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating can always be an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently whether they call every little ticky tack foul or they let a lot of contact go and let the teams play. Some crews favor the home team and the Celtics need to be ready for that. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let the calls affect their focus or their play. They also need to keep their minds on the game and not constantly complain about the calls as that does little to change the calls and only irritates the referees. Being more aggressive will do more to get more calls than complaining.
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