The Celtics continue their home stand as they host the Portland Trail Blazers. The Celtics are 1-1 so far on the homestand, losing to the Cavaliers and then beating the Nuggets. This is the first of 2 games between these two teams this season. They will face off one more time on March 23 in Portland. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season.
The Celtics are 75-49 overall all time against the Trail Blazers. They are 40-22 in games played in Boston against the Trail Blazers. The Blazers have lost 2 straight in Boston. The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games and will host Philadelphia on Thursday. The Celtics are 7-2 in the first of back to back games and they are 3-1 when the first game is at home.
The Trail Blazers signed Sidy Cissoko and Bryce McGowens to two way contracts in the off season. They traded Malcolm Brogdon for Deni Avdija. They drafted Donovan Clingan with the 7th pick in the draft. They lost Ibou Badji, Moses Brown and Ashton Hagans to free agency. They were one of five teams that stood pat at the trade deadline.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, and are 7.5 games behind the first place Cavaliers who have won their last 10 games, including a win over Boston. They are 3 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 7.5 games ahead of 4th place Milwaukee. The Celtics are 19-11 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 12-7 against Western Conference opponents. After they lost 2 straight, the Celtics are coming off a win in their last game.
The Trail Blazers are 12th in the West, 4.5 games behind 10th place Dallas, and a spot in the play-in tournament. They are half a game behind 11th place Phoenix. They are 1.5 games ahead of 13th place San Antonio and 12 games ahead of 15th place Utah. They are 12-20 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 13-6 against Eastern Conference teams and are coming off a win in their last game.
The Celtics are playing in the 2nd game of a 7 game home stand. They lost the first game to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then beat the Denver Nuggets on Monday. After this game against Portland, the Celtics will host Philadelphia, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah, and Oklahoma City. After the 7 home games they will play 8 of the next 9 games on the road, including another trip out West and a rematch with these Trail Blazers in Portland.
The Celtics have 6 players on the injury report at this time. Even through Jrue Holiday (finger) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) participated in practice on Tuesday, they are listed as doubtful for this game. Jayson Tatum is questionable with a shoulder impingement. Jaylen Brown is questionable with a non-covid illness. Derrick White (back) and Payton Pritchard (hip) are both listed as probable. I don’t know which players will be out and which will play. I’m guessing that the questionable and doubtful players will be out and the probable ones will play. I just took a wild guess as to who will start.
The Trail Blazers have 5 players on the injury list at this time. DeAndre Ayton is out with a left calf strain. Two Way player Justin Minaya is out with an ankle injury. Matisse Thybulle has yet to play this season and is out with an ankle injury. Former Celtic Robert Williams III has missed the last 6 games with a knee injury and remains out for this game. Jerami Grant missed the last 3 games and is questionable for this game.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Miles Norris
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) doubtful
Jrue Holiday (finger) doubtful
Jaylen Brown (illness) questionable
Jayson Tatum (shoulder) questionable
Derrick White (back) probable
Payton Pritchard (hip) probable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Trail Blazers Starters
Trail Blazers Reserves
Delano Banton
Kris Murray
Duop Reath
Ryan Rupert
Jabari Walker
Two-Way Players
Sidy Cissoko
Bryce McGowens
Justin Minaya
Injuries/Out
DeAndre Ayton (calf) out
Justin Minaya (ankle) out
Matisse Thybulle (ankle) out
Robert Williams III (knee) out
Jerami Grant (knee) questionable
Head Coach
Chauncey Billups
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Anfernee Simons
Simons is averaging 19.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He is shooting 42.5% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc. He is one of their better 3 point shooters and so the Celtics need to be sure to stay with him on the perimeter.
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Sam Hauser
Photo by Kevin Sousa/Getty Images
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Shaedon Sharpe
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Sam Hauser vs Shaedon Sharpe
Sharpe is averaging 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting 44.8% from the field and 32.0% from beyond the arc. It’s just a guess that Hauser will start here. If Brown plays, he will likely start at the two, or Mazzulla may go with someone else from the stay ready crew.
Honorable Mention
Torrey Craig vs Deni Avdija
Avdija is averaging 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He is shooting 46% from the field and 33.2% from beyond the arc. Once again, I’m just making a wild guess that Craig will start here due to so many questions about who will and will not play.
Keys to the Game
Defense – I know I say it every game, but defense is the key to winning every game and will be the key to winning another championship. The Blazers average 110.7 points and the Celtics average 116.8 points per game. The Celtics are 5th in the league with a defensive rating of 110.0 while the Blazers are 21st with a defensive rating of 114.4. The Celtics need to keep making tough defense their priority and identity. They must make defense their identity consistently in every minute of every game, especially as they get closer to the playoffs.
Rebound – As Pat Riley once stated, “No rebounds, no rings.” The Celtics are 11th with 44.9 rebounds per game while the Trail Blazers are 17th with 44.0 rebounds per game. The Celtics must make an extra effort to grab rebounds in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to keep the Blazers from scoring second chance points, as the Trail Blazers are 4th with 16.0 second chance points per game. The Celtics must be the team that works harder on the boards if they want to win this one. Much of rebounding is effort and desire and the Celtics need both to out-rebound the Blazers.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to be the team that works harder and wants the win more. They have to dive for loose balls, go for every rebound and just hustle on every play on both ends of the court. They have to be aggressive in getting to the basket as well and not settle for outside shots, especially if they aren’t falling. Whether it’s the starters or reserves, they need to go all out with maximum effort.
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 Trail Blazers average 17.4 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 17 times against the Pistons.
X-Factors
Home vs End of the Road – The Celtics are at home for the 3rd straight game. They should get a boost from playing at home in front of their home crowd. The Blazers are just 12-20 on the road and so the Celtics need to stay focused and not give them any confidence or help them by turning the ball over or shooting poorly. The Trail Blazers are playing in the 6th game of a 7 game road trip and the team is likely tired and ready to be home already.
Injuries – With 6 players on the injury report at this time, injuries can be an x-factor in this game. With Holiday and Porzingis doubtful, it makes them short handed. But with Tatum and Brown questionable, it makes them very short handed and will make it necessary for several of the reserves to play a great game. Will they step up?
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating really is always an x-factor in every game. 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 refs favor the home team and some not so much and sometimes they just make a bunch of head scratching calls. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let themselves get frustrated by the officiating.
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