Wizards (25-36) at Celtics (37-25) Game #63 3/1/19

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Wizards (25-36) at Boston Celtics (37-25)
Regular Season Game [HASH]63, Home Game [HASH]33
Friday, March 1, 2019
8:00 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, NBCSWA, NBA-LP 755(DTV), 755(xfinity)
Radio: WROR 1057, WFED 1500 AM
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Thomas Satoransky

Shooting Guard
vs
Marcus Smart vs Bradley Beal

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Jeff Green

Power Forward
vs
Marcus Morris vs Trevor Ariza

Center
vs
Al Horford vs Bobby Portis


Celtics Reserves
Semi Ojeleye
Guerschon Yabusele
Jaylen Brown
Gordon Hayward
Brad Wanamaker
Robert Williams

Injuries
Aron Baynes (foot) out
Terry Rozier (knee) game time decision
Daniel Theis (knee) game time decision

Two Way Players
P. J. Dozier
RJ Hunter

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Wizards Reserves
Troy Brown Jr
Thomas Bryant
Sam Dekker
Wesley Johnson
Ian Mahinmi
Jabari Parker
Chasson Randle

Injuries
Dwight Howard (gluteal) out
John Wall (Achilles) out

Two Way Players
Jordan McRae
Devin Robinson

Head Coach
Scott Brooks

Game Notes
Celtics will be looking for their first win since the All Star break as they host the Washington Wizards. This is the second of three games between these two teams this season. The Celtics won 130-125 in overtime back on December 12. They will face each other one more time in the last game of the season on April 9 in Washington.

The Wizards have changed quite a bit since that first game in December. John Wall is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles tear. Markieff Morris, Kelly Oubre, Otto Porter, Jr., and Austin Rivers are no longer with the team. Bobby Portis and Trevor Ariza are now with the team. The Celtics stood pat at the trade deadline for better or worse.

The Celtics remain 5th in the East, 2.5 games behind the 76ers. They are 3.5 games behind the Pacers. They are 5.5 games ahead of the 6th place Brooklyn Nets. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have lost their last 4 games. They are 23-9 at home. Washington is 11th, 3 games out of the playoffs. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games and are looking for their second straight win. They are just 8-24 on the road.

Aron Baynes is still out for the Celtics but he is close to a return and is targeting Sunday vs the Rockets for his return. Terry Rozier missed Thursday's game with a sore knee and is probable for this game. Daniel Theis is a game time decision with knee soreness. For the Wizards, John Wall is out with an Achilles tear and Dwight Howard is out with a gluteal injury.
vs
Marcus Smart vs Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal has been playing very well in the absence of John Wall. He put up career numbers in February and is averaging 25.7 points and 5.4 assists for the season. Limiting Beal will go a long way toward getting a win for the Celtics.

vs
Jayson Tatum vs Jeff Green
Former Celtic, Jeff Green will be looking to have a big game vs his former team. He is averaging 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds for the season. Jayson will need to limit Green's production and at the same time, try to get his own offense going.

Honorable Mention
Marcus Morris vs Trevor Ariza
Ariza has given the Celtics problems in the past and is always a player that you have to pay attention to. He is averaging 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Marcus has been struggling somewhat in recent games and this would be a good time for him to get back to early season form.

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics need to make defense a priority. Defense wins games. The Wizards are averaging 114.0 points per game (7th). The Celtics are averaging 112.2 points per game (15th). The Celtics have been struggling to put the ball in the basket recently, and so they can't depend on winning a shoot out with the Wizards. They have to play tough defense to limit the Wizards 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. If the Celtics want to get a win in this game, they have to play harder than the Wizards.

Rebound - The Celtics are averaging 44.9 rebounds per game while the Wizards are averaging 41.0 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. They allowed the Trail Blazers to get way too many offensive rebounds in the last game and need to work harder on crashing the boards in this one.

Play the Right Way - The Celtics need to move the ball to find the open man and to get quality shots. However, they have to make careful passes. They also have to play team defense and be sure to have each others' backs. They have to be focused and not rush their shots and play as a team. Most of all, they need to have fun out there and not freeze up.

X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are playing at home and should get a boost from playing in front of their home crowd and on their home court. The Wizards have struggled on the road with just an 8-24 record away from home. They need to use their home court to help them get back on track.

Desperation - The Celtics have not won since the All Star break and have lost 4 games in a row for the first time this season. They have their backs against the wall and if they are going to turn things around, they need to start with this game.

[Roadrunner]

FL, I like glasses icon. Which BOS team plays tonight?

[eja117]

I am telling you the only reason I am watching this is Tommy and that is the single reason

[eja117]

Theis just shot a contested 3. Sissy ball

[eja117]

Horford just failed to chase a rebound. Sissy

[eja117]

They're just daring us to shoot because they know we will and then we do

[eja117]

Jaylen just showed more effort knocking out a steal and chasing it then most of the vets show in a month

[eja117]

Tommy saying he can't believe we never block out. Gorman responds "ever"

[eja117]

Smart with a hustle play. Who would have ever thought? Smart making an effort. Whaddaya know?

[eja117]

Marcus Morris is saying they "defended our azz off"

Cmon. The Wiz got 96 points on our home court without John Wall and that was with 18 TOs. They had 6 blocks to 3. They out rebounded us by 53 to 46. If he thinks that's good that's a problem

[eja117]

Tommy saying "they didn't come out with any sense of bravado" and attributes the win to better defense in the future and hopes the game gives them an idea of how to play because everyone was involved.

Gorman saying they'll need the defense the next game cause it's against the Rockets

[jmost]

Well, it would be hard to be less excited about a win. For the first time all year I didn't even watch the whole game, switching to a movie at each time out and not coming back until the movie went to commercial. It's just ugly now - even the wins.

It's gotten to the point with Gordon that he won't even look for a shot. He's out there to play point forward. No confidence in his shot at all. It's kind of sad. I only hope it's not permanent, and I don't think it will be, but it's hard to watch.

[afceltic]

IMO the playoff royation should be if/when Baynes comes back:

Kyrie
Tatum
Brown
Horford
Baynes

Bench

Morris
Rozier
Smart
Heyward

Smart gives the bench energy and Baynes give the starters more toughness. Starting Smart worked for awhile but it isn't working anymorw and I feel like Brad is losing Brown because Smart and Heyward are getting more minutes. Gordon needs to be the last guy off the bench if he isn't right come playoff time.

[jmost]

I pretty much agree with all of that, afceltic. One guy who I'd like to see more of is Semi. And if Rozier is going to be good at home but awful on the road, let's see more of Wanamaker in road games.