Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 2, 2024 22:41:46 GMT -5
at 
Golden State Warriors (32-27) at Boston Celtics (47-12)
Sunday, March 3, 2024
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]60 Home Game [HASH]32
TV: ABC
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 95.7 the Game
TD Garden
Probable Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday ...................................... SG: Derrick White
C: Kristaps Porzingis
SF: Jaylen Brown ............................................ PF: Jayson Tatum
Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Al Horford
Luke Kornet
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Jaden Springer
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Neemias Queta
Drew Peterson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (quad) questionable
Neemias Queta (knee) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Starters
PG: Stephen Curry .................................................. SG: Klay Thompson
C: Draymond Green
SF: Moses Moody .............................................. PF: Jonathan Kuminga
Warriors Reserves
Trayce Jackson-Davis
Cory Joseph
Kevon Looney
Chris Paul
Gary Payton II
Lester Quinones
Gui Santos
Dario Saric
Andrew Wiggins
2 Way Players
Usman Garuba
Pat Spencer
Jerome Robinson
Injuries/Out
Andrew Wiggins (personal) out
Brandin Podziemski (knee) questionable
Gui Santos (knee) probable
Stephen Curry (knee) questionable
Head Coach
Steve Kerr
Game Notes
The Celtics host the Golden State Warriors as they look to close out their current home stand. This is the 2nd and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Warriors won the first game 132-126 in OT in San Francisco on December 10. They split the series last season with each team winning on their home court. The Celtics are 209-139 all time overall and 115-40 in Boston.
This is a clash of two teams on win streaks. The Celtics have an impressive 10 game win streak, which is the longest in the NBA this season. Six of those 10 games were at home and 4 were on the road. Overall, they have a 6 game home win streak and an 8 game road win streak. The Warriors come in on a 3 game win streak overall, but they have won 8 straight games on the road.
The Celtics remain 1st in the East, 8 games ahead of 2nd place Cleveland and 3rd place Milwaukee, 12.5 games ahead of 4th place New York, 13 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia, and 13.5 games ahead of 6th place Miami and 7th place Orlando. They are 28-3 at home and 10-0 in their last 10 games. They are 14-6 against Western Conference teams and they have won their last 10 games.
The Warriors are 9th in the West, 9.5 games out of first. They are 3 games behind 6th place New Orleans, 2 games behind 7th place Sacramento, and 1.5 games behind 8th place Dallas. They are tied with the 10th place Lakers and 6 games ahead of 11th place Utah. They are 16-12 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 16-6 against Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 3 games.
The Celtics are playing in the final game of a 3 game home stand. They beat Philadelphia and then Dallas in the 1st 2 games. Next, they head out on a 5 game road trip through Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Portland and Utah. After a game at home against Phoenix, they play at Washington then back home to host Detroit and Milwaukee before going on a 6 game road trip.
The Warriors are playing in the 4th game of a 4 game road trip. They are 3-0 so far on the trip, having beaten Washington, New York and Toronto. After this game they return home to face Milwaukee, Chicago, and San Antonio before heading out on a 3 game road trip at San Antonio, Dallas and Los Angeles against the Lakers.
Kristaps Porzingis is questionable with a left quad contusion that occurred in Friday's game against Dallas. His status will be a game time decision. If Porzingis can't play, then I expect Al Horford to get the start. Neemias Queta is out with a knee injury. For the Warriors, Stephen Curry is questionable due to bursitis in his left knee. Brandin Podziemski is questionable due to knee soreness. Both will be a game time decision. Gui Santos is probable due to knee soreness. Andrew Wiggins is out due to personal reasons.
Key Matchups
vs Jrue Holiday vs Stephen Curry
Curry is averaging 27.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. He is shooting 45.4% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. The Celtics have to find some way to slow him down and keep him from willing the Warriors to a win. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 33 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 54.4% from the field and 54.5% from beyond the arc. He is a threat to pull up from anywhere on the court and so the Celtics must stay with him, especially on the perimeter.
vs Jayson Tatum vs Jonathan Kuminga
Kuminga has been playing very well lately for the Warriors and is one reason that they have been winning. He is averaging 15.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He shot 61.5% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.
Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Klay Thompson
Thompson is averaging 17.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is shooting 42% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 42.9% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. Thompson is also a good defender and will try to make it difficult on the Celtics to score. In recent games, Thompson came off the bench in favor of Podziemski starting but Podziemski missed the last game and is questionable for this one.
Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 4th in the league, averaging 121.0 points per game. They are 3rd in the league with a defensive rating of 110.6. The Warriors are 6th in the league, averaging 119.1 points per game. The Warriors are 18th with a defensive rating of 115.3. It is highly likely that the team that defends better in this game will be the winner.
Rebound - Rebounding is always a key to winning as you need the ball to score and a good way to get it is to grab rebounds. The Celtics are 1st with 47.1 rebounds per game while the Warriors are 2nd with 46.9 rebounds per game. It takes effort to grab rebounds and the Celtics must make an extra effort to crash the boards and beat the Warriors to rebounds. If they put out extra effort on the boards, that usually carries through to the rest of their game. More rebounds gives them extra possessions and limits the possessions for the Warriors. The Warriors are 4th with 16.0 second chance points per game and so the Celtics especially need to keep them from getting offensive rebounds.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics play the best when they move the ball and find the open man. They struggle more when players try to do too much and when the ball sticks with one player too long and when they take quick shots without looking for the best shot. The Celtics are 18th with 26.3 assists per game. They need to look to share the ball and not over dribble or try to take over at the expense of open teammates. The Warriors move the ball very well and are 4th with 29.1 assists per game.
Don't Get Complacent - The Celtics have to fight becoming complacent. They have won 10 in a row, have lost just 3 home games and have the best record in the league. They have an 8 game lead on the next best team in the East. They need to keep a sense of urgency and play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer. They can't afford to let their opponents play harder than them because regardless of record or talent, if a team doesn't put out the effort to play harder then their opponent, they can be beat.
X-Factors
Home Game vs Road Fatigue - The Celtics are 28-3 at home while the Warriors are 16-12 on the road. However the Warriors have won their last 8 road games. The Warriors are away from family and home and have the distractions of staying in a hotel and playing in an unfamiliar arena in front of a (very) hostile crowd. Hopefully the Celtics crowd will be loud and rowdy and give the Celtics extra energy to avenge their earlier loss to the Warriors. Also, the Warriors are playing in the final game of a 4 game road trip and often the last game of a road trip is one of the roughest to win.
Coaching - Steve Kerr is an experienced head coach. He has been head coach of the Warriors since 2014 and has won 4 championships with them. He was Coach of the Year in 2016 and is a top 15 coach in the NBA. Steve Kerr also out coached Ime Udoka in the 2022 Finals. Joe Mazzulla is a 2nd year head coach that is still finding his way. He will have his work cut out for him in this game.
Officiating - Officiating always has the potential to be a factor in every game. Every officiating team calls the game differently. Some call it tight and others let them play. Some favor the home team while some call it evenly. However the game is called, the Celtics must adjust to it and not allow the officiating to take away their focus on playing the game. Complaining about calls rarely changes anything other than to take away from their focus on playing the game and irritate the officials.
