The Celtics return home from their road trip as they take on the Phoenix Suns. This is the 2nd and final game between these two teams. The Celtics won the first game 117-107 on their recent road trip. The Suns and Celtics split the series 1-1 last season with each team winning on their home court. The Celtics are 76-60 overall all time and 42-24 in games played in Boston.
The Celtics are 1st in the East, 9.5 games ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee, 10 games ahead of 3rd place Cleveland, 13 games ahead of 4th place New York, 14 games ahead of 5th place Orlando, and 14.5 games ahead of 6th place Indiana. They are 29-3 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 17-7 against Western Conference teams and have won their last 3 games.
The Suns are 6th in the West, 7 games behind 1st place Oklahoma City, 3.5 games behind the 4th place Clippers and 1.5 games behind 5th place New Orleans. They are half a game ahead of 7th place Sacramento and 1 game ahead of 8th place Dallas. They are 17-13 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 16-8 against Eastern Conference teams. They are coming off a win in their last game.
The Celtics are coming off a 3-2 road trip, losing to Cleveland and Denver and finishing the trip with 3 wins over Phoenix, Portland and Utah. They will return home to face the Suns before a game in Washington. They then have home games against Detroit and Milwaukee before a 6 game road trip through Detroit, Chicago, 2 games in Atlanta, New Orleans and Charlotte.
The Suns are are coming off a 1-1 home stand, beating Toronto and losing to the Celtics. They are playing in the 2nd game of a 4 game road trip. They started off with a win over Cleveland. After this game, they will visit Charlotte and Milwaukee. They will return home against Philadelphia and Atlanta before going on a 5 game road trip starting with 2 games in San Antonio and then Denver, Oklahoma City and New Orleans.
Jaylen Brown is questionable for this game. He missed the game in Utah with a sacroiliac injury and is questionable for this game with a hip contusion. His status is a game time decision. Kristaps Porzingis will miss his 4th straight game with a hamstring injury. I expect Al Horford will once again get the start in his absence. If Brown is out, I would guess that Sam Hauser starts in his place once again.
For the Suns, Eric Gordon is questionable with a knee injury. He was limited in practice on Wednesday and may miss his 2nd straight game. Damion Lee remains out after meniscus surgery he underwent in October. Josh Okogie will miss his 6th straight game with an abdomen injury. Nassir Little is probable for this game after going through a full practice on Wednesday.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Luke Kornet
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Jaden Springer
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Neemias Queta
Drew Peterson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) out
Jaylen Brown (hip) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Suns Starters
Suns Reserves
Bol Bol
Drew Eubanks
Royce O’Neale
David Roddy
Thaddeus Young
Two Way Players
Udoka Azubuike
Saben Lee
Ish Wainright
Injuries/Out
Eric Gordon (knee) questionable
Damion Lee (knee) out
Nassir Little (knee) probable
Josh Okogie (abdomen) out
Head Coach
Frank Vogel
Key Matchups
Jrue Holiday vs Devin Booker
Booker missed the game in Phoenix but is back and ready to play in this one. He is averaging 27.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. He is shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.4% from beyond the arc. Over his career, he has averaged 26.8 points against the Celtics, including a TD Garden best 70 points on 3/24/17. The Celtics need to defend him well because as they know from experience, he can put up a lot of points if left open.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images
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Kevin Durant
Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Kevin Durant
Durant remains one of the best players in the league and is tough to cover and also is still a good defender. He is averaging 28.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks. He is shooting 52.59% from the field and 42.5% from beyond the arc. In the game in Phoenix he finished with 45 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 69.2% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to do a better job of defending him in this one.
Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Bradley Beal
Beal has played in just 36 of the Suns games so far this season due to an assortment of injuries. He is averaging 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He is shooting 49.7% from the field and 37.7% from beyond the arc. In the first game in Phoenix, Beal finished with 25 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 3 steals. He shot 50% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to do a better job of defending him in this game.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 110.4 (2nd) while the Suns have a defensive rating of 114.2 (13th). The Suns are a good shooting team and the Celtics will need to up their defense if they want to beat the Suns at home. The Suns are 12th, scoring 117.1 points per game and they shot 50.6% from the field in their first meeting. They shoot a lot of midrange shots and so the Celtics need to defend those shots better.
Rebound – The Celtics need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Suns from racking up fast break points. They also have to crash the boards on the defensive end to prevent the Suns from getting tip ins and second chance points. The Celtics are 1st with 47.2 rebounds per game while the Suns are 12th with 44.0 rebounds per game. The Celtics are going to have to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards in this one.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to be aggressive on defense, driving to the basket, rebounding, diving for loose balls and just playing harder in general. They need to get off to a strong start and play hard right up until the final buzzer. They can’t let the Suns outwork them for any period of time because even the best team in the league can lose to the worst if they don’t play with effort.
Play Hard 48 Minutes – The Celtics seem to have lapses where they let up on their effort and where they lose focus for awhile. We saw what happens when they stay focused for 48 minutes and play hard the entire time against the Warriors. They allowed the Jazz to cut the Celtics lead to 2 before they built the lead back up. They can’t afford to let the Suns play harder than them for any period of time or they may not be able to recover. They must come out ready to play right from the opening tip and they have to play hard and stay focused through all 4 quarters right up until the final buzzer.
X-Factors
Home Game – The Celtics are back at home where they should get a boost from the home crowd. They need to focus on the game and gain motivation from having the fans behind them. The first game at home after a road trip is always a tough game and so the Celtics need to stay focused and give 100% effort. The Suns are playing in the 2nd game of a 4 game road trip and should be dealing with distractions from travel, staying in a hotel, and playing in a hostile arena as well as fatigue from traveling. The Celtics need to protect home court and come out ready to play hard.
Injuries and Returns – The Celtics are once again without Kristaps Porzingis and they may be without Jaylen Brown. The other starters and the reserves need to all play harder to make up for the absence of their teammates. The Suns have Devin Booker back in their lineup and they were missing him in Phoenix. He will make a big difference for them and so the Celtics have to be ready for him and up their defense.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating always has the possibility to be 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 call for both teams evenly. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not allow the officiating to take away from their focus.
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