The Celtics and Nuggets meet for the second time in 3 days as they continue their preseason slate of games. The Celtics won the first game between these two teams 107-103 on Friday in Abu Dhabi. After this game, both teams will return home to complete their preseason. On Friday, the starters played just the first half and then sat in the second half and let the reserves finish the game. I expect that pattern to continue in this game as well.
The Celtics lost the series to the Nuggets 0-2 last season, losing 109-115 in Denver and 100-102 in Boston. The Celtics return last year’s team mostly intact, losing just Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They have added Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson through the draft and Lonnie Walker IV as a free agent on a training camp contract. On Friday, Scheierman played just over 7 minutes while Walker and Watson saw just over 4 minutes of action. I expect that we may see more of those 3 in this 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. Westbrook played 18 minutes while Saric played 14 minutes, with both playing fairly well for the Nuggets.
The biggest question for the Nuggets is who will inherit the starting shooting guard spot with Caldwell-Pope gone. Most believe that Christian Braun will fill that spot but Malone may go with Julian Strawther, or even Russell Westbrook. Braun started on Friday and played 13 solid minutes. Strawther came off the bench to play very well for 22 minutes.
The biggest question for the Celtics will be the center rotation with Kristaps Porzingis out until December. I expected Al Horford to get the start on Friday but Luke Kornet got the start and Horford received a DNP-CD. Kornet played 21 very solid minutes. Xavier Tillman and Neemias Queta played almost 15 and 13 minutes respectively. Horford may start in this game or he may come off the bench or he may receive another DNP-CD. I’m going to include him in the starters because that is as likely as anyone else.
Kristaps Porzingis is the only player on the injury list for the Celtics. He is out after having ankle surgery after the playoffs and is expected to be out until at least December. For the Nuggets, Peyton Watson remains out with a hamstring injury. The injury is not serious but he is expected to miss at least the first two preseason matchups. DaRon Holmes is out after tearing his Achilles tendon in Summer League.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Sam Hauser
Luke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Training Camp Contracts
Tristan Enaruna
Ron Harper, Jr
Dmytro Skapintsev
Lonnie Walker IV
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Nuggets Starters
Nuggets Reserves
Vlatko Cancar
DeAndre Jordan
Zeke Nnaji
Dario Saric
Julian Strawther
Hunter Tyson
Russell Westbrook
2 Way Players
Trey Alexander
PJ Hall
Spencer Jones
Training Camp Contracts
Gabe McGlothan
Jaylin Williams
Jahmir Young
Out/Injuries
DaRon Holmes II (Achilles) out
Peyton Watson (hamstring) out
Head Coach
Michael Malone
Key Matchups
Payton Pritchard vs Russell Westbrook
These two players came off the bench to lead their respective teams. Payton Pritchard finished with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Westbrook finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists while shooting 30% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
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Al Horford
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
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Nikola Jokic
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Al Horford vs Nikola Jokic
Horford did not play in Friday’s game and we may or may not see him in this game. Kornet held his own against Jokic on Friday finishing with 6 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal while shooting 60% from the field. Jokic finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while shooting 71%. If Horford doesn’t start, Kornet will likely start once again.
Honorable Mention
Drew Peterson vs Julian Strawther
I’m guessing that the starters will play limited minutes once again and so the reserves will be key to winning this game. Peterson played well in his 12 minutes and was the star of the 4th quarter. He finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal while shooting 44% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. Strawther finished with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in 22 minutes while shooting 50% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Whether it is preseason, regular season or post season, defense will always be the key to winning games. Last season, the Celtics were first in the league with a defensive rating of 108.2 and the Nuggets were 5th with a defensive rating of 110.9. The Celtics need to make defense a priority once again this season if they want to repeat as champions.
Rebounding – Rebounding is another key to winning every game. Last season, the Celtics were 1st in the league, averaging 46.3 rebounds per game. The Nuggets were 2nd in the league with 44.4 rebounds per game. On Friday, the Celtics pulled down 44 rebounds to 49 for the Nuggets. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics have to work harder to grab rebounds to limit the Nuggets second chance points and fast breaks. The Celtics can’t allow the Nuggets to outwork them on the boards.
3 Point Shooting – The Celtics relied on shooting threes last season. They were first in the league, taking 43.5 three pointers per game. They were also 1st in the league, making 16.5 threes a game. On Friday, they took shooting 3’s to another level, taking a record 61 three pointers. Michael Malone has said that he wants his team to shoot more threes this season. Last season they were 10th in 3 point percentage with 37.4% but they were 30th in 3 point attempts with just 31.2 per game. On Friday, they took 32 threes. The Celtics made just 32.8% while the Nuggets made 37.5% of their 3’s.
Depth – With the starters playing limited minutes, the depth of these teams will be tested. In Friday’s game, the Celtics starters were outplayed by the Nuggets starters. At the half, when the starters were finished, the Nuggets led 63-56. The Celtics’ reserves were able to outplay the Nuggets’ reserves 51 to 40 in the second half to pull out the win for the Celtics.
X-Factors
It’s the Preseason – Even though these are special games in Abu Dhabi, it is still the preseason. Player development, building chemistry, and player evaluation are still the most important thing for coaches in the preseason. We will probably see more of the rookies in this game as well as the players on camp contracts as coaches evaluate the players on the bubble for playing time and try to preserve their starters for the regular season.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating can always be an x-factor even in the preseason and even in Abu Dhabi. 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. The refs are in their preseason also, so it’s hard to know how they will call this one. 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.
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