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Post by FLCeltsFan on Sept 29, 2017 22:20:04 GMT -5
 at  Charlotte Hornets (0-0) at Boston Celtics (0-0)
Monday, October 2, 2017
7:30 PM ET
Preseason Game [HASH]1 Home Game [HASH]1
TV: NBA-TV, CSNNE
TD Garden  Possible Starters     PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Gordon Hayward PF: Al Horford C: Aron Baynes Celtics ReservesKadeem Allen Shane Larkin Abdel Nader Semi Ojeleye Terry Rozier Marcus Smart Jayson Tatum Daniel Theis Guerschon Yabusele Players Out Marcus Morris (trial) out   Possible Starters      PG: Kemba Walker SG: Nicolas Batum SF: Michael Kidd Gilchrist PF: Marvin Williams C: Dwight Howard Probable Reserves Dwayne Bacon Treveon Graham Terry Henderson Isaiah Hicks Frank Kaminsky Jeremy Lamb Mangok Mathiang Malik Monk Johnny O'Bryant Marcus Paige Luke Petrasek Julyan Stone TJ Williams Cody Zeller Players Out Dwight Howard (back) day to day Malik Monk (ankle) day to day Michael Carter Williams (knee) out Julyan Stone (groin) questionable Treveon Graham (hamstring) doubtful Head Coach Steve Clifford Game Notes Finally Celtics basketball is back at the TD Garden. The new look Celtics will host the Charlotte Hornets in their first preseason game. The Hornets added Dwight Howard in the off season but return 4 of their starters from last season. Coach Steve Clifford worked with Howard in Orlando and in Los Angeles and is excited to be reunited with him once again. Last season, Charlotte had a solid starting five but their bench was weak. Moving Cody Zeller to the bench with Howard taking over the starting spot should strengthen the bench somewhat. They also added former rookie of the year, Michael Carter Williams, from the Bulls who will also strengthen their bench, along the 11th pick in the draft, Malik Monk. The Celtics starting five is still up in the air. Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford are definites for the starting lineup, but the other two spots are not set as yet. Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart are thought to be in the lead to replace Avery Bradley at shooting guard. Marcus Morris is thought to have the inside track at the power forward with Al Horford moving to center but with Morris out, it's possible that Al will play the 4 and Baynes will start at the 5. The Hornets will probably start Kemba Walker at point guard in his 7th season with the Hornets. Nicolas Batum, in his 3rd season with the Hornets, will likely once again start at shooting guard. Michael Kidd Gilchrist in his 5th season with the Hornets may start at small forward. Marvin Williams in his third season with the Hornets will likely return at power forward. That should give the team some continuity and chemistry that the Celtics, with just 4 players returning, may not have. Dwight Howard will round out the starting five at center. Marcus Morris will likely miss this game as his assault trial with his brother is still going on. Hopefully he will be able to join the team before the preseason is over. The Hornets are already dealing with several injuries. Dwight Howard (back) and Malik Monk (ankle) are day to day. Michael Carter Williams (knee) is out. Treveon Graham (hamstring) is doubtful. Key Matchups vs  Kyrie Irving vs Kemba Walker Kyrie Irving will get his first taste of running the point for the Celtics against another very good point guard, Kemba Walker. Kemba should have an advantage in this game since his team, for the most part, has played together for a few years and are familiar with the coach’s system. Kyrie will be getting used to a new system along with all new teammates.  vs  Gordon Hayward gets his first test as a Celtic as he faces former rookie of the year, Michael Kidd Gilchrist in his 5th season with the Hornets. Even though the Celtics are trying to find their chemistry and their identity, hopefully Hayward will shine in this one and win this matchup. It will be important for the Celtics stars to get acclimated quickly and play well.
Keys to the Game:Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is the key to winning every game, whether the preseason or the regular season or the playoffs. The Celtics lost both Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder who were both at the heart of the defense. Other players must step up and commit to playing tough defense if the Celtics expect to be contenders. Chemistry - The Celtics for the most part are all new to each other while the Hornets for the most part have played together for a few years. Is it possible to build chemistry quickly? Yes, but we need to be patient with the Celtics if they miss a few cues and don’t have perfect chemistry in the first preseason game. Rebound - The Celtics struggled with rebounding last season and hopefully this team will be better at crashing the boards. The Hornets have some good rebounders, especially Howard, and so this will be a good test of the Celtics’ rebounding ability. |
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 2, 2017 13:13:55 GMT -5
Prediction time!
Yabusele goes off for 23 pts and 8 boards to be the game MVP.
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Post by jmost on Oct 2, 2017 14:09:26 GMT -5
Get ready for some up-tempo ball this year. Stevens has told the boys he wants to pick up the pace, even in half-court play. Must be a reflection of the personnel changes. Should be fun.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 2, 2017 14:13:44 GMT -5
Get ready for some up-tempo ball this year. Stevens has told the boys he wants to pick up the pace, even in half-court play. Must be a reflection of the personnel changes. Should be fun. I have a feeling we're going to turn the ball over a lot in the preseason, and early part of the season, as we make a concerted effort to increase the tempo with 11 new players. But that's the way the league is going. I watched the 76ers practice, and they're looking to speed up the tempo as well. |
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 2, 2017 15:40:58 GMT -5
A couple of updates. Steve Clifford expects everyone to play except Carter-Williams. Kemba missed practice with an illness but is expected to play as is Howard who has missed much of training camp with back soreness. The Celtics have named 4 of 5 starters - Irving, Smart, Hayward,  ?, Horford. Not sure who will start at the 4. I'm hoping it's the Dancing Bear. |
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 2, 2017 16:04:01 GMT -5
Yeah, Dancing Bear or Baynes. Being that Dwight Howard is playing, we may need size and power to keep him away from the boards.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 2, 2017 17:40:21 GMT -5
Tonight's staring lineup against Charlotte:
Kyrie Irving
Jaylen Brown
Gordon Hayward
Al Horford
Aron Baynes
That's what I predicted in the first place. Brad was sending out false signals this afternoon!!
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 2, 2017 17:58:36 GMT -5
Maybe once it was determined that Howard was in, Brad scratched Yabusele and went with the more boulder-like Baynes.
BTW, thanks for always doing these game pages. Really well done and informative, FL.
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Post by jmost on Oct 2, 2017 20:40:01 GMT -5
Some early thoughts based on tonight's game:
We're going to be a very good passing team. Very unselfish play from just about everyone. (We might have even been overpassing in the first half.) And a lot of the guys seem to have very good vision.
We're going to be much more aggressive on the offensive boards this year.
We're not going to get killed on the defensive boards this year. It seems like we're gang rebounding. And when Baynes is in there we won't get bullied.
Theis really impressed me. He is way ahead of Yabusele or Ojeleye right now.
Tatum was anxious for the first half but really showed his total game in the second. I don't see how he can not be a regular rotation player and average double digits virtually from the start.
Still waiting for Brown to calm down and find his game.
Larkin and Nader looked good. I just don't know how much they'll see the court in real games.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 2, 2017 21:01:13 GMT -5
Prediction time! Yabusele goes off for 23 pts and 8 boards to be the game MVP. Last time I go to that fortune teller!! Going to have to wait till tonight when the kids are in bed to watch this game. From the sounds of it, lots of positives. |
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Post by jhvos7979 on Oct 3, 2017 9:13:25 GMT -5
Some early thoughts based on tonight's game: We're going to be a very good passing team. Very unselfish play from just about everyone. (We might have even been overpassing in the first half.) And a lot of the guys seem to have very good vision. We're going to be much more aggressive on the offensive boards this year. We're not going to get killed on the defensive boards this year. It seems like we're gang rebounding. And when Baynes is in there we won't get bullied. Theis really impressed me. He is way ahead of Yabusele or Ojeleye right now. Tatum was anxious for the first half but really showed his total game in the second. I don't see how he can not be a regular rotation player and average double digits virtually from the start. Still waiting for Brown to calm down and find his game. Larkin and Nader looked good. I just don't know how much they'll see the court in real games. From last year team to this year, it's going to be a lot more speed and athleticism than we had in the past which should translate in better rebounding and defense. It was very noticeable at least for this game especially going up against a elite rebounder like D. Howard. Hopefully that trend continues, if we can rebound and play better defense at all 5 spots we should be able to have a successful season. |
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 3, 2017 12:07:15 GMT -5
Yeah, we looked, at the very least, average on the boards -- which is a step up. Hayward, Tatum and Baynes stood out on the boards.
It looked like we were very anxious to pass the ball. At times, it was like we were passing the ball, just for the sake of passing, like hot potato. Once players get a feel for the system, for each other, for what they're trying to accomplish with the ball movement, our passing will have better intentions.
Brown played quite a bit, but you almost didn't see him.
When the ball starts moving around like it should, Hayward and Horford are going to shine! They are built for team basketball.
Baynes looks good. I'm more leaning towards starting him, especially if he and Kyrie continue to click.
Smart slows down the ball movement -- not sure if this is by Brad's design or not. While the starters are moving the ball at a rapid pace, Smart is behaving like a traditional PG who holds the ball, scans the court, and deliberately waits for things to appear.
Rozier looks more confident, but still want to see more impact.
Theis (I'm going to call him Theis-Man cause it sounds like Ice-Man), looked good against the Hornets subs. I want to see more of him and see how he does against starters. Long arms and active, could be one of our better bench players.
Larkin can play an Eddie House role.
Tatum was missing shots I know he can make. But though this was his first pro game against pro level players, he wasn't rattled (though anxiousness may have caused him to over fire his shots). Once he settles down and has his feet under him, he's going to leap over Jaylen Brown in playing time. Tatum made a number of Marcus Smart type of plays.
Yabusele and Nader look like they can contribute this year.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 3, 2017 13:02:30 GMT -5
I agree with just about everything said so far. I was very much impressed with Theis. The guy doesn't back away from contact. He has long arms and played good defense. Baynes impressed as well. Nice to have a pair of bigs that play big.
Yabusele looked a step slow, but he just got back on the court from ankle surgery in the middle of training camp. It may take a bit for him to get back into game shape.
I loved the ball movement, especially with the starters. Once they learn each other it is really going to be good. Hopefully all the misses were just a bit of rust but they looked good.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 3, 2017 13:35:29 GMT -5
I agree with just about everything said so far. I was very much impressed with Theis. The guy doesn't back away from contact. He has long arms and played good defense. Baynes impressed as well. Nice to have a pair of bigs that play big. Yabusele looked a step slow, but he just got back on the court from ankle surgery in the middle of training camp. It may take a bit for him to get back into game shape. I loved the ball movement, especially with the starters. Once they learn each other it is really going to be good. Hopefully all the misses were just a bit of rust but they looked good. I don't know if Yabusele looked a step slow, because he caught my attention a couple of times blazing down the court (though he did stumble over himself and kicked the ball on one play). But I think right now, his anticipation defensively is a step late. |
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Post by jmost on Oct 3, 2017 20:35:30 GMT -5
Looked to me as though Yabusele has lost some weight. Should make him quicker once he's fully recovered.
Baynes has a nice short-mid-range jumper. With all the attention Irving and Hayward are going to draw that shot should be open for him all year. I like him already. Horford said having a big guy like him out there makes things easier for everyone.
Theis showed some nice court vision and passing skills. I predict he will be a fan favorite. Energy guy!
I thought a lot of our shots looked "hard". Probably too much adrenaline. Guys' touch should be better as time goes on.
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?, Horford. 
