Trailblazers (36-23) at Celtics (37-24) Game #62 2/27/19

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Portland Trailblazers (36-23) at Boston Celtics (37-24)
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
8:00 PM ET
Game [HASH]62, Home Game [HASH]32
TV: ESPN, NBCSB, NBCSNW/BP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, Rip City Radio 620AM
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Damian Lillard

Shooting Guard
vs
Marcus Smart vs CJ McCollum

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Maurice Harkless

Power Forward
vs
Marcus Morris vs Al-Farouq Aminu

Center
vs
Al Horford vs Jusef Nurkic


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

Injuries
Aron Baynes (foot) out

Two Way Players
PJ Dozier
RJ Hunter

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Trailblazers Reserves
Zach Collins
Seth Curry
Rodney Head
Enes Kanter
Skal Labissiere
Jake Layman
Meyers Leonard
Anfernee Simmons
Gary Trent, Jr

Injuries
Evan Turner (knee) out

Head Coach
Terry Stotts

Game Notes
The Celtics return home after a 3 game road trip to face the Portland Trailblazers. This is the second and final game between them this season. The Celtics lost 100-94 in November when they faced each other in Portland. The Portland Trailblazers are forever linked with the Celtics by the trivia question: "What was the only team to beat the Celtics at home in the 1985-86 season?"

The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games. They played a tough game on the road on Tuesday as they faced the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics are 4-5 in the second game of back to back games and are 1-0 when the games are road/home. The Blazers last played on Monday when they beat the Cavaliers.

The Trailblazers are 4th in the Western Conference, 6 behind the first place Warriors. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 12-15 on the road. They are 16-4 vs Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 3 games. The Celtics are 5th in the East 2 games behind the Sixers. They are 24-8 at home and 10-11 vs Western Conference teams. The Celtics have lost all 3 games on their recent road trip.

Aron Baynes is getting closer to a return but will miss this game and will hopefully be back next week in time for the West Coast trip. The Trailblazers will be without former Celtic Evan Turner who will miss the game with a knee injury.


Key Matchups
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Damian Lillard
Kyrie will have his hands full guarding Damien Lillard who is averaging 25.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game. Kyrie will need to play defense as both of Portland's backcourt players are a tough cover. In their meeting in Portland, Lillard put up 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists.

vs
Marcus Smart vs CJ McCollum
While Kyrie is working to guard Lillard, Smart will have a challenge of his own trying to stay with CJ McCollum, who is averaging 20.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. In their first meeting, McCollum had 14 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. The Celtics will need to play tough defense to try to control Portland's high scoring back court duo.

Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Jusuf Nurkic
While the Celtics backcourt is working to cover the Blazers talented backcourt, Al Horford will have his hands full guarding Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic is averaging 15.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Al has said that he is feeling the best he has felt and he has been playing very well and should be up to the task of matching up with Nurkic. He will especially need to keep Nurkic off the boards as in their first meeting he finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 3 assists.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is a key to winning every game. In the Celtics losses, it's usually the effort on defense that is suspect in the loss. The Celtics are 5th with a defensive rating of 105.9 while the Blazers are 16th with a defensive rating of 109.3. The Celtics have to continue to play tough defense in order to get a win.

Rebound - The Celtics must make an extra effort to grab rebounds in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to keep the Blazers from cashing in with second chance points. The Blazers pull down 47.8 rebounds per game while the Celtics average just 45 rebounds per game. The Celtics simply must work harder on the boards if they want to win this one.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be the team that works harder and wants the win more. They have to dive for loose balls, go for every rebound and just hustle on every play. They have to be aggressive in getting to the basket as well and not settle for outside shots, especially if they aren't falling. They need to outwork the Blazers who should be feeling some effects of travel.

Play Hard and Play as a Team - Last year's team was so much fun to watch because they always played hard and they played together. The Celtics just haven't had that consistent effort this season. They also haven't played as a team as much as they have as a group of individuals doing their own thing. In their recent losses, they have allowed teams to play harder than them. They have to reach down deep and find that extra gear and start to play with heart and fight every minute of every game or their season may be over much quicker than they expect.

X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are back at home after a 3 game road trip. They should get a boost from playing at home in front of what should be a loud crowd. The Blazers aren't a great road team with just a 12-15 record on the road. Can the Celtics take advantage of playing on their home court after losing 3 straight on the road?

Back to Back - The Celtics played on Tuesday night in Toronto and then had to travel back to Boston after the game. There may be some fatigue and jet lag still hanging around from the game and travel, even though it can be said that no one played especially hard in that game. Can they shake that off and outplay the Blazers?

Contenders - The Portland Trailblazers have to be considered as contenders in the West. They are 4th right now in the West, just 6 games behind the Warriors and 2 games behind the Thunder. They are also 2 games ahead of the Rockets. The Celtics have tended to play best when playing contenders, other than Tuesday's Raptors' game. Can they continue that trend and play up to the Blazers?

[afceltic]

Smart taking that shot with 52 seconds left and 22 left on the clock is why he needs to be on the bench at the end of games.

One of the lowest bball IQ's i have ever seen.

[jmost]

That was a really dumb shot choice.

I thought we overpassed at times in this game. Horford in particular passed up multiple wide open shots that he's shown he can make. For us to be our best he has to look to score more. Often he's wide open at the top of the circle - his shot - and doesn't even look at the basket. Then we wind up with a shot that is a lot worse. Shooting isn't selfish if it's your shot, you're wide open, and you've proven you can make it regularly.

In short, some guys need to shoot more and some need to shoot less.

[eddietours]

i just want the regular season over

[Roadrunner]

I really do not like back to back games, esp when playing two solid teams in a row. A 5-point loss to a good team is not that bad taken out of context, however when in the meat of 4-game loss sandwich, it hurts.