Wizards (0-1) at Celtics (1-0) Round 2 Game 2 5/2/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Wizards (0-1) at Boston Celtics (1-0)
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 2
Playoff Game Game [HASH]8, Home Game [HASH]5
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
8:00 PM ET
TV: TNT
Radio: Sports Hub 98.5, WFED 1500 AM
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs John Wall

Shooting Guard
vs
Avery Bradley vs Bradley Beal

Small Forward
vs
Gerald Green vs Otto Porter

Power Forward
vs
Jae Crowder vs Markieff Morris

Center
vs
Al Horford vs Marcin Gortat





Celtics Reserves
Jaylen Brown
Terry Rozier
Jonas Jerebko
Kelly Olynyk
Demetrius Jackson
Jordan Mickey
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Marcus Smart
Amir Johnson

Injuries
Isaiah Thomas (tooth) will play

Head Coach
Brad Stevens


Wizards Reserves
Bojan Bogdanovic
Brandon Jennings
Sheldon McClellan
Chris McCullough
Daniel Ochafu
Kelly Oubre Jr
Thomas Satoransky
Jason Smith
Trey Burke

Injuries
Ian Mahinmi (calf) out
Jason Smith (calf) will play
Markieff Morris (ankle) day to day

Head Coach
Scott Brooks

Game Notes
The Celtics come into game 2 leading 1-0 in the series after a game 1 that wasn't without some drama. Isaiah Thomas suited up to play after getting in at 4am after flying to Tacoma to attend his sister's funeral. If that wasn't enough, he lost a tooth during first half action and completed the match afterward.

The Celtics spotted the Wizards a 16-0 lead, which usually is enough to guarantee a loss. But the Celtics calmly fought their way back behind 19 3 pointers to get the win. The Wizards' starting power forward Markieff Morris came down on Al Horford's foot and turned his ankle. After writing in pain on the court, he was able to shoot the free throws but went to the locker room and didn't return. After the game, he insinuated that Al may have injured him on purpose.

Brad Stevens used the same starting lineup that he did in the Bulls series with Gerald Green starting in place of Amir Johnson, however he quickly pulled him after the Wizards got off to a 16-0 start. If Morris is out for this game, Stevens may start Green or, he may insert Jaylen Brown into the lineup after Jaylen gave him some good minutes in the 4th quarter.

Morris' injury looked like it might be serious and he didn't practice on Monday but he is insisting that he expects to play in Game 2. His status is listed as day to day and he likely will be a game time decision. Jason Smith, who is dealing with a sore calf muscle, is expected to play. Ian Mahinmi is listed as out with a calf injury. Isaiah Thomas missed practice on Monday getting dental work done to repair the tooth that he lost in Game 1. He is expected to play in Game 2.

Key Matchups
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs John Wall
Wall is very quick and a tough cover for anyone. He averaged 27.0 points, 4.6 rebounds 10.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in the first round. The Celtics need Isaiah's offense, but he is going to struggle to keep Wall from having a big game. He will likely cover Portis, who is the lesser threat of the three. Wall shot 9-20 from the field for 20 points in game 1 and the Celtics would like to hold him to even fewer points in this one.

vs
Avery Bradley vs Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal averaged 24.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.2 steals per game in round 1. He scored 27 points in Game 1. Avery will need to play tough defense on Beal who is always a threat to score. Beal shot 40.4% from beyond the arc in the regular season but only 26.4% on 3's vs Atlanta. He was 4-7 on 3's in Game 1 and the Celtics need to defend him better in this game. Limiting Beal and Wall is key to getting a win in this series.

Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Marcin Gortat
Gortat finished Game 1 with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Al is very important to the Celtics fortunes as he helps to run the offense when Isaiah is trapped and he is also key to the Celtics' defense. Gortat will especially be important to the Wizards if Morris is unable to play.

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics need to make defense a priority. Defense wins games. They especially need to contain the Wizards' talented back court. The Celtics can't depend on hitting 19 threes every game and so they have to limit the Wizards' scoring. The Wizards shot 50.6% from the field and 43.5% from beyond the arc in Game 1 and the Celtics have to find a way to lower that.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team from start to finish. They need to be aggressive in going to the hoop, in crashing the boards, in fighting for loose balls and in running the court. They also have to be more aggressive on defense. They have to be the team that wants it more. They allowed the Wizards to jump on them out of the gate but finished the game being more aggressive. They need to play harder at the start and be more aggressive until the final buzzer.

Rebound - In the first meeting between these two teams, a Celtics loss, the Celtics were out-rebounded 54-31 by the Wizards. In the 2nd meeting, a Celtics win, the Celtics out-rebounded the Wizards 45-44. In the third game, a loss, the Celtics were again out-rebounded 43-32. In their 4th meeting, a Celtics win, the Celtics out-rebounded the Wizards 54-39. It isn't a coincidence that the team that won each game had the rebounding edge. In Game 1, the Celtics and Wizards both finished with 38 rebounds. The Celtics have to put out the extra effort to grab rebounds and match or exceed the Wizards efforts on the boards if they want to get a win in this game.

Focus - The Celtics at times can shoot the lights out and other times can't hit the broad side of a barn. Much of that has to be their focus on taking good shots and taking their time with their shots and not rushing them. They need to take care of the ball and focus on making good passes and not give the Wizards extra possessions and fast break points by turning the ball over.
The Celtics must stay focused and play team basketball and not allow the Wizards or the Refs to take them out of their game.

Reserves Play - The Celtics have the stronger bench and so players like Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, and Jonas Jerebko must produce for the Celtics when they come into the game. They did a great job of outplaying their counterparts in game 1 and must do so again in this game. Bojan Bogdanovic leads all advancing reserves with 9.7 points per game. The Celtics' reserves must play good defense as well as hit their shots and give the Celtics an advantage when the starters go to the bench.


X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are at home and have been playing well at the Garden this season. The Wizards haven't been the strongest road team this season and haven't played well in Boston in particular, losing 8 of their last 10 games at the Garden. The Celtics need to get energy from the fans, who should be loud and make the Garden a very hostile arena for the Wizards.

Motivation - The Celtics should be motivated to beat this team that has developed into a rival for them. They should be motivated by the accusations from the Wizards that the Celtics play dirty and that Al purposely injured Markieff Morris. And, more than anything, the Celtics should be motivated to prove everyone wrong who called them the worst [HASH]1 seed in league history. They have plenty of motivation and they just need to use it to raise their game to the next level.

The Little Guy - The Celtics depend on Isaiah Thomas to lead the team. He led the team with 33 points in Game 1 after getting in at 4 am from his sister's funeral. He lost a tooth and kept on playing. Some of that could have been adrenaline and hopefully he can keep up his superhuman exploits in this game as the Celtics need him.

Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. How the refs call the game has a big influence on how the teams play. Will they let them play or call every little bit of contact? Will they call it evenly or will they favor one team or the other. Will they be influenced by the home crowd? It all effects the outcome of the game and most importantly, the Celtics need to adjust to the way the officials call the game.

[jmost]

I'd be surprised if Morris plays again in this series, given the way he grabbed his leg up by his knee. High ankle sprains are notoriously slow to heal, but we'll see.

I don't think we'll see Brown starting. He did play well for a few minutes late, and maybe he built a little trust with Stevens, but not enough to start him IMO. But Brad has been so unpredictable so who knows?

Gotta come out stronger though. We can't expect to dig out from a huge hole twice in a row.

[DERRENMATTS]

Morris said the swelling has been going down and he plans on playing tomorrow.

I think Jaylen comes in if Bogdanovic starts catching on fire. It's nice to know we have a weapon like Jaylen at our disposal.

[jmost]

I know he said he's playing. I'd just be surprised if he was able to.

[DERRENMATTS]

Yeah, the way he came down on that ankle looked bad. If he plays tonight, he may not be as mobile as he'd like to be. I read Gortat hurt his ankle too, but he's not going to miss any time.

[eja117]

NBA type officiating again tonight. It's that bad

[jmost]

Great game! IT sure is making it hard to even think about trading him. The guy is a warrior. Tough, clutch, and fun to watch to boot.

I am absolutely loving Terry Rozier. Plus 25, hitting threes, making his FTs, rebounding, assists. He's getting better and better as we watch.

Marcus Smart. Can you both love AND hate a player? There is a lot to love about Marcus. And a lot to hate. I wish they would limit his role on offense to standing in the corner to shoot open 3's, and hitting the offensive glass. If he did that, and threw in his usual tenacious D, I'd be less conflicted about him. He does seem to have a knack for coming up with a big block or rebound at the most important times though. Gotta give him that.

I think we are going to love Jaylen Brown next year. He's showing signs of being a beast in the future.

Where was this Al Horford most of the year?

And finally, did anyone else see KO's dance near the end of the game after a Celtic basket? Pretty ugly stuff. But funny.

[DERRENMATTS]

Agreed with everything you said, JMost!

IT was CLUTCH!!! There was a stretch late in the 4th that I thought he would cost us the game by playing hero ball. But like Horford said in the post game, IT has a knack for knowing when to take it and when to dish it out.

But it was not all rosy. Brad said we were lucky to win the game. WAS played one heck of a game, and if it weren't for IT's heroics, we'd have a tied series right now.

[DERRENMATTS]

And I really don't like Markief Morris. Has sort of a diva personality.

OTOH, i wouldn't mind Otto Porter on our team.

[DERRENMATTS]

Should we be concerned, even though we are up 2 - 0?

In Game 1, WAS was up 17 pts, then Morris sprains his ankle, we end up winning by 12.

Game 2, Morris plays, we needed an overtime frame, and 53 pts from Isaiah, to put WAS away.

And now we have to head down to their turf.

In other words, we were fortunate that Morris sprained his ankle, and we were fortunate that IT carried us BIG time in the 4th and OT to be up 2 - 0.

[afceltic]

No because all we need to do is split the games in Washington to come home and close them out in 5 in front of our home fans. At this point I will only be worried if someone important gets injured or Washington wins both games at home making Game 5 a must win for us.

[jmost]

I kind of expected a long series before it started, and I still do. So far these teams have played 6 games this season, and the home team has won all 6.

I confess I couldn't have been more wrong about Morris. He not only played, he played really well. I think we'll have our hands full in DC. I'd be thrilled with a split.

[dilligaf53]

I'm a little concerned after that win. Both Wall and Beal had a shot at the end of the game to win. And at least one of them should of hit their shot!
Oh man I've been saying that about Marcus for way to long. His shot choices kill me sometimes, then he makes a sweet move gets an IT looking layup and I'm at a loss of words. Or he's pissing me off all game then makes a block at the end and outlet pass and that is the turning point! We def love/hate this guy.
I'm cool with AL taking his time all season as long as when the games matter he is playing hard. His game is definitely best when he is playing with his team, and knows exactly who is doing what.

[FLCeltsFan]

May 3, 2017 7:47:55 GMT -5 jmost said:

I kind of expected a long series before it started, and I still do. So far these teams have played 6 games this season, and the home team has won all 6.

I confess I couldn't have been more wrong about Morris. He not only played, he played really well. I think we'll have our hands full in DC. I'd be thrilled with a split.

I read an article that was questioning whether that really was Markieff playing or maybe Marcus taking his place.  With a twist that bad and he was really in pain,  I was very surprised to see him come out and play with no limp or any indication of the sprain.   Markieff and Marcus are identical right down to their tattoos.   They have pulled a switch before when Marcus fouled out and Markieff was injured.  They admitted to swapping places.  Maybe they did it again. 

I think I need to take my tin hat off now.  But then again..... :-)

[DERRENMATTS]

Yeah, that is a possibility. That was a pretty bad looking injury. I mean, it was so bad that he couldn't come back into Game 1. Are we to imagine that 48 hours later, it would have healed well enough to the point that there was no limp whatsoever? Hmm...... Especially since they did this trick once before, it makes this very suspicious.