Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 24, 2017 20:53:54 GMT -5
at 
Wizards (18-15) at Boston Celtics (27-9)
Regular Season Game [HASH]37, Home Game [HASH]19
Monday, December 25, 2017
5:30 PM ET
TV: ABC
Radio: Sports Hub 98.5, WFED 1500 AM
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs 
Kyrie Irving vs John Wall
Shooting Guard
vs 
Jaylen Brown vs Bradley Beal
Small Forward
vs 
Jayson Tatum vs Otto Porter, Jr
Power Forward
vs 
Al Horford vs Markieff Morris
Center
vs 
Aron Baynes vs Marcin Gortat
Celtics Reserves
Abdel Nader
Daniel Theis
Guerschon Yabusele
Terry Rozier
Marcus Smart
Injuries
Shane Larkin (knee) probable
Marcus Morris (knee) hopeful
Semi Ojeleye (back) doubtful
Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
Two Way Players
Kadeem Allen
Jabari Bird
Head Coach
Brad Stevens
Wizards Reserves
Tim Frazier
Ian Mahinmi
Chris McCullough
Jodie Meeks
Kelly Oubre, Jr
Thomas Satoransky
Mike Scott
Jason Smith
Injuries
Shelden Mac (Achilles) out
Two Way Players
Devin Robinson
Mike Young
Head Coach
Scott Brooks
Game Notes
The Celtics and Wizards meet for the first time since their contentious 7 game series in last year's Eastern Conference Semifinals. This is the first of four meetings this season. They will meet once more in Boston on March 14 and twice in Washington on February 8 and April 10. All 4 meetings are scheduled to be on national TV.
I'm sure the reason for all the national TV appearances of these games is that they were hoping for a continuation of the heated rivalry that was brewing last season. However, even though the Wizards are mostly unchanged, there are just 4 Celtics left from that team. Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Terry Rozier weren't the main protagonists in those fights, but they certainly remember them. It remains to be seen if this season's games will be as heated as last season's were.
This game will make Celtics' history in that it is the first time ever that it is the first time ever that the Celtics will play a Christmas Day game at home. For many years, Celtics' patriarch, Red Auerbach, did not want the Celtics to play at home on Christmas since it would keep the arena workers from being at home with their families on Christmas and so the Celtics Christmas games were always away from home before this season.
The Celtics have beaten the Wizards 9 straight games at the TD Garden. Last season, Boston won all 6 games (playoffs included) at the TD Garden. The Wizards won all 5 games that were played in Washington. This is only the second time that the Celtics have played the Wizards on Christmas day. The last time was a 113-99 Celtics win in 1965. The Wizards are 15-7 all time on Christmas day.
Another twist to this matchup is that the Celtics traded Avery Bradley to Detroit this off season and in return they got Marcus Morris. Marcus' identical twin brother plays for the Wizards. Marcus has missed the last 8 games with a sore knee but is hopeful that he will be able to return for this game. Brother vs brother will add another wrinkle to this already fun matchup.
Shelden Mac is out for the Wizards with an Achilles injury. For the Celtics, as mentioned above, Marcus Morris is hoping to return from his knee injury and is officially listed as questionable. Shane Larkin missed the last two games with a knee injury and is probable for this game. Semi Ojeleye injured his back in Saturday's game and is doubtful for this game. All three will be a game time decision.
Key Matchups
vs Kyrie Irving vs John Wall
Wall is very quick and a tough cover for anyone. He is averaging 18.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game. Kyrie will need to have a big game on offense, but he will also need to try to keep Wall from having a big scoring game.
vs Jaylen Brown vs Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal is averaging 23.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Last year, Avery Bradley was tasked with guarding Beal and this year, Jaylen Brown inherits that tough task. Jaylen has the size to disrupt Beal and hopefully will be up to the task. Limiting the Wizards' talented backcourt is key to getting a win in this series.
Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Otto Porter Jr
Porter is averaging 14.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Porter is shooting 45.2% from beyone the arc. He has put up some big games against the Celtics and Jayson needs to stay with Porter to keep him from having another big game in this one. Tatum also needs to make Porter work on defense as well.
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 Wizards are averaging 105.7 points per game. The Celtics are averaging 103.5 points per game. The Celtics can't depend on winning a shoot out with the Wizards and so they have to play tough defense to stop the Wizards from scoring.
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 need to play harder at the start and be more aggressive until the final buzzer.
Rebound - The Celtics are averaging 43.9 rebounds per game while the Wizards are averaging 43.3 rebounds per game. 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, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris (if he plays), Shane Larkin, Daniel Theis and Abdel Nader must produce for the Celtics when they come into the 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 with a 14-4 record. The Wizards haven't been the strongest road team this season with an 8-9 record on the road and haven't played well in Boston in particular, losing their last 9 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, even though only 4 players remain from the team that engaged in the hostilities last year. They should be motivated by last season's accusations from the Wizards that the Celtics play dirty and that Al Horford purposely injured Markieff Morris. And, more than anything, the Celtics should be motivated by the fact that they are on the NBA's biggest stage on national TV. They have plenty of motivation and they just need to use it to raise their game to the next level.
