Celtics (24-7) at Grizzlies (9-20) Game #32 12/16/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (20-14) at Grizzlies (18-16)
Saturday, December 29, 2018
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]35, Road Game [HASH]19
TV: NBCSB, FSSE-MEM, NBA-LP 756 (DTV),751 (Xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub,92.9 FM
Fed Ex Forum


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Mike Conley

Shooting Guard
vs
Marcus Smart vs Garrett Temple

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Kyle Anderson

Power Forward
vs
Marcus Morris vs Jaren Jackson, Jr

Center
vs
Al Horford vs Marc Gasol

Celtics Reserves
Semi Ojeleye
Terry Rozier
Daniel Theis
Brad Wanamaker
Robert Williams
Guerschon Yabusele
Gordon Hayward
Jaylen Brown

Injuries
Jabari Bird (personal) out
Aron Baynes (hand) out
Robert Williams (knee) day to day

Two Way Players
PJ Dozier

Head Coach
Brad Stevens



Grizzlies Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Jevon Carter
Omri Casspi
JaMychal Green
Shelvin Mack
Joakim Noah
Ivan Rabb
Wayne Selden, Jr

Injuries
Chandler Parsons (knee) out
Dillon Brooks (knee) probable
Joakim Noah (heel) probable

Two Way Players
DJ Stephens
Yuta Watanabe

Head Coach
J.B. Bickerstaff

Game Notes
The Celtics continue on to the second game of their three game road trip as they visit the Memphis Grizzlies. This is the first game between these two teams this season. They will meet again in Boston on January 18. The Celtics have won the last 5 games against the Grizzlies.

The Celtics remain 5th in the East, 5 games behind 1st place Raptors and 2 games behind 4th place Philadelphia 76ers. They are 9-9 on the road and 5-7 versus Western Conference Teams. The Grizzlies are 10th in the West and 10-6 at home. They are 6-5 against Eastern Conference teams and 3-7 in their last 10 games. They have won two straight.

The Celtics are still shorthanded in the front court with Aron Baynes out with the broken hand and Al Horford on a minutes restriction in his 4th game back from an 8 game absence with knee soreness. Robert Williams was a late scratch against the Rockets with knee soreness and is day to day. For the Grizzlies, Chandler Parsons is out while Joakim Noah and Dillon Brooks are expected to return and are listed as probable.

Key Matchups
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Mike Conley
Conley is playing very well for the Grizzlies and is averaging 20.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists. We will probably see Marcus Smart covering him on defense while Kyrie guards Temple, who isn't quite as much a threat to score.

vs
Al Horford vs Marc Gasol
Gasol is always a tough cover and for the Celtics shorthanded front court, he will definitely be a tough matchup. He is averaging 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He is first in the league in charges drawn with 11 and so driving the lane gets a bit more difficult.

Honorable Mention
Marcus Morris vs Jaren Jackson, Jr.
Jackson is averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. He is playing well and it will be up to Morris to slow him down.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always key to getting a win. The Celtics has been letting their defense slip somewhat recently and they need to get back to the tough team defense that they are capable of playing. The Grizzlies average only 101.7 points per game, but they are 2nd best in scoring defense, holding teams to 102.2 points per game. The Celtics are 4th with a defensive rating of 104.2 but the Grizzlies are right behind them with a defensive rating of 104.7. The Celtics must make defense a priority.

Rebound - Rebounding takes effort and desire and the Celtics will need both to get back to outrebounding their opponents. The Celtics were outworked by the Rockets on the boards 55-37. The Celtics have to put more effort into crashing the boards because they can't score if they don't have the ball.

Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics can't just run half the game. They have to run for the entire game. They also can't let up down the stretch and have to focus especially at the end of the game. The Celtics have had a tendency to get a lead and then let up or to start off slowly and dig a hole they have to climb out of. The Celtics have to play hard from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to play hard and be the more aggressive team. They have to go after rebounds, loose balls, and 50/50 balls. They have to be aggressive on defense and in getting to the basket. They have to be the team that works harder and wants it more. The Celtics must match the Grizzlies' effort and be the team that plays harder for the entire game.

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics have to take care of the ball, make smart passes, and limit their turnovers. The Grizzlies average 18.5 points off of turnovers (8th) and the Celtics don't want to give them extra points by getting careless with the ball.

X-Factors
On the Road- The Celtics are playing in their second straight game on the road. They are 9-9 so far away from the Garden and they have to work a bit harder to overcome the distractions that come with playing on the road along with the hostile crowd. They have to dig deep and play with energy and they have to play with extra focus.

Bench Play - The Celtics bench has been coming up a bit short in recent games and are falling a bit short of the Bench With Attitude moniker that they took for themselves. Of course, two of the players with the biggest attitude are now in the starting lineup. The team struggles when Kyrie goes to the bench and so they have to figure it out if they want to get back to winning again.

[Roadrunner]

I hope BOS is back rebounding OK, because some of the recent losses, like HOU, were out classed there.

[jmost]

I just looked at the box scores of all our losses this year, and in every case we were no better than +1 on the boards. Most of the time we were beaten soundly, whereas in the wins we were typically much better. We're not a great rebounding team, 19th in the league, but it really shows up in losses.

I wonder if Robert Williams will be able to contribute significantly on the boards this year. He's probably too much of a liability on both ends at this point, but it sure would be nice to have a legit glass eater for a change.

[jmost]

That has to be the best win of the year, or at least one of them. I thought we had given the game away in the last 5 minutes of the first half, but the guys hung tough.

A few things caught my eye. Yabu made maybe his most meaningful contribution yet with some blocks, rebounds and even a 3.

Hayward closed the game and Tatum was on the bench even though Jayson seemed to be playing pretty well.

Brown continues to fade into obscurity. 3 shots in 19 minutes.

[Roadrunner]

Very good win. MEM is really a solid team w/ Gasol, and Conley.

I just realized something yesterday, that I have a bias when certain players are playing, like in negative way. Example - Brad subs in Yabu, and I am like "what the...". Yabu provided some solid minutes, offensively, and defensively. On the same thought, that negative bias I had when Morris was shooting, or Smart is playing has been erased. Granted, Morris is hitting those 3's now, and Smart no longer takes no more than 5 shots per game.