Magic (8-10) at Celtics (16-3) Game #20 11/24/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Orlando Magic (8-10) at Boston Celtics (16-3)
Friday, November 24, 2017
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]20, Home Game [HASH]9
TV: NBCSB, FSFL, NBA-LP 755(DTV), 752(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN 580 AM
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Elfrid Payton

Shooting Guard
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Terrence Ross

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Evan Fournier

Power Forward
vs
Marcus Morris vs Aaron Gordon

Center
vs
Al Horford vs Nikola Vucevic

Reserves
Aron Baynes
Shane Larkin
Abdel Nader
Semi Ojeleye
Daniel Theis
Guerschon Yabusele
Terry Rozier
Marcus Smart

Injuries
Gordon Hayward (ankle) out

Two Way Players
Kadeem Allen
Jabari Bird

Head Coach
Brad Stevens



Reserves
Arron Afflalo
Khem Birch
Bismack Biyombo
Mario Hezonja

Wes Iwundu
Jonathan Simmons
Marreese Speighhts
DJ Augustin

Two Way Players
Adreian Payne
Jamel Artis

Injuries
Jonathan Isaac (ankle) out

Head Coach
Frank Vogel

Game Notes
The Celtics return home from their 3 game road trip to face the Orlando Magic. The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games and will hit the road once again on Saturday to visit the Indiana Pacers. This is the second of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will meet again in Boston on January 21 and in Orlando on March 16.

The Celtics won the first meeting on November 5, 104-88 in Orlando. The Celtics won the series last season 3-0. The Magic are 12-42 all time in Boston and have lost their last 13 games at the TD Garden. Historically, the Magic beat the Celtics 95-92 on May 5, 1995 in the last game played at the storied Boston Garden.

The Celtics are coming off a loss after 16 straight wins. They need to use that loss as motivation to play harder and start a new winning streak. The Celtics are 7-1 at home. The Magic are on a 6 game losing streak. They are 4-6 on the road.

The Magic were without two of their point guards in the the Celtics' November 5th win as both starting PG, Elfrid Peyton, and back up PG, DJ Augustin, were both out with injuries. The Celtics were healthy in that game other than Gordon Hayward, who is out for the season. The Celtics are once again healthy in this game other than Gordon Hayward. Marcus Morris is still on a minutes restriction following the knee injury that kept him out the beginning of the season. The Magic are without Jonathan Isaac (ankle).

The regular starting lineup for the Magic is listed here. I've included the usual starting lineup for the Celtics, with Marcus Morris starting at PF and Al Horford at center. However, Aron Baynes started at center against the Heat and Morris came off the bench. Morris' knees and matchups may dictate that he start again in this one.


Key Matchups
vs
Marcus Morris vs Aaron Gordon
Aaron Gordon is one of the reasons for the Magic's success this season. He is averaging 18.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. If Morris is out because of his knee or matchups, Al will be matched up with Gordon. Stopping the Magic will begin with stopping Gordon.

vs
Jayson Tatum vs Evan Fournier
Fournier has had some big games against the Celtics over the past few years. He is playing very well this season, averaging 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.17 steals. It will be up to the Celtics' rookie to keep Fournier from having a big game in this one.

Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is off to a strong start this season with 16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Hopefully, Horford (or Baynes) will be able to slow him down in this game.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense wins games, pure and simple. The Magic have a strong offense and are averaging 107.3 points per game, which is good for 13th in the league. Boston is averaging just 102.6 points per game (21st). Orlando ranks 16th with a defensive rating of 105.1. The Celtics let their defense slip against the Heat and if the Celtics want to get back into the win column, they are going to have to get back to playing tough, in your face defense once again.

Rebound - The Celtics have to crash the boards in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to prevent the Magic from getting second chance points and fast breaks. The Magic are 23rd in the league averaging 42.1 rebounds per game. The Celtics are 4th with 47.2 rebounds per game. They allowed the Heat to out-rebound them 48-37 and if the Celtics want to win this game they have to get back to winning the rebounding battle.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team. They must be the first to loose balls and rebounds, and they have to be aggressive in driving to the basket and not always settling for jumpers. They must be aggressive on defense and set the tone for the game. They allowed the Heat to be more aggressive than they were in the last game and they can't allow other teams to play harder if they want to win.

Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics have to move the ball and find the open man. But in moving the ball, they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy. The Magic will make the Celtics pay if they don't take care of the ball. The ball kept stopping against the Heat and if the Celtics want to get back to winning they have to get back to moving the ball.

Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to get off to a good start and build a lead and then not let up until the final buzzer. They have to be ready for every Magic run and meet it with defense and then make their own runs. They have to play from opening tip till final buzzer with no let up. Letting teams build big leads and then having to climb out of big holes is not a good way to win games.

X-Factors
Bench Play - The Magic's reserves are averaging 52.9 points per game while the Celtics' reserves are averaging 36.3 points per game. The Magic get 14.1 points from Jonathon Simmons off the bench and the Celtics will need to slow him down in particular. The Celtics reserves simply have to play better.

Home Game - The Celtics are back home after a 3 game road trip. They are coming off a loss, which has not been a familiar position for them. They need to get a boost from the home crowd and they need to make the Garden an uncomfortable place for the visitors to play.

[jmost]

I'm not sure which is more distracting: Schroder's blond patch, or Payton's hair overhang.

I hope to see a crisper Celtic offense than has been shown lately. Better ball movement, and better shots taken, which includes the right guys taking the most shots - specifically more from Tatum, fewer from Smart and Rozier.

But mostly I want to see a Celtic team that is engaged every possession, not just after they fall behind and feel a sense of urgency.

[DERRENMATTS]

Right, can someone please tell Elfrid that hair style is beyond crazy (unless of course, he's doing it for a good reason).

Hoping the loss will get us back to basics. Our assists have gone down during our latter part of the 16 game winning streak.

Horford, after his concussion, hasn't been playing like he had early in the season. We need the rejuvenated Al to come back.

[DERRENMATTS]

Hard to say if we've corrected some of our little issues that Brad said we weren't doing well. Orlando is in a tailspin, so we may look dominant, even though we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing.

[DERRENMATTS]

Almost halfway through the 2nd quarter, we have 16 assists on 19 field goal makes, which is darn good. At least the ball is moving around the floor, like it's supposed to.

[jmost]

21 first half assists is special. Seeing Tatum be more aggressive, early in the game is great. Seeing Smart take only one shot is even better. He doesn't have to shoot to impact the game positively.

Nice to see Semi knock down a three. He had a nice stroke going in preseason, but I think he's been rushing his shots.

I hope TR's 5-7 shooting is not a mirage. He and Semi hitting some shots would be huge for this team longterm.

Jaylen has improved, and continues to improve, at an almost freakish rate. I never thought he'd be this good, this soon. Did anyone?

[DERRENMATTS]

Nov 24, 2017 20:43:11 GMT -5 jmost said:

21 first half assists is special. Seeing Tatum be more aggressive, early in the game is great. Seeing Smart take only one shot is even better. He doesn't have to shoot to impact the game positively.

Nice to see Semi knock down a three. He had a nice stroke going in preseason, but I think he's been rushing his shots.

I hope TR's 5-7 shooting is not a mirage. He and Semi hitting some shots would be huge for this team longterm.

Jaylen has improved, and continues to improve, at an almost freakish rate. I never thought he'd be this good, this soon. Did anyone?

Nope, I doubted the selection of Jaylen Brown in that draft. What he showed at Cal was nothing compared to what he really had to offer as a basketball player. Thankfully Ainge and Brad saw what makes him special.

[DERRENMATTS]

The bench lost our 30 pt lead, but we still won by a huge margin. Baynes and Rozier held down the fort by keeping the scoring going.

Kyrie had another big game. Horford was passing like Bill Walton.

[afceltic]

Nov 24, 2017 21:46:41 GMT -5 DERRENMATTS said:

The bench lost our 30 pt lead, but we still won by a huge margin. Baynes and Rozier held down the fort by keeping the scoring going.

Kyrie had another big game. Horford was passing like Bill Walton.

If by "the bench" you mean Smart who was 1-6 in the 4th after only shooting one shot in the first 3 quarters then you would be correct.