76ers (1-1) vs Celtics (2-0) Preseason Game #3 10/12/24
Oct 11, 2024 21:03:03 GMT -5
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 11, 2024 21:03:03 GMT -5
at 
Philadelphia 76ers (1-1) at Boston Celtics (2-0)
Saturday, October 12, 2024
8:00 PM ET
Preseason Game [HASH]3
TV: League Pass
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.5 Fanatic
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs 
Jrue Holiday vs Tyrese Maxey
Shooting Guard
vs 
Derrick White vs Eric Gordon
Small Forward
vs 
Jaylen Brown vs Kelly Oubre, Jr
Poward Forward
vs 
Jayson Tatum vs Caleb Martin
Center
vs 
Luke Kornet vs Andre Drummond
Celtics Reserves
Sam Hauser
Al Horford
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Training Camp Contracts
Ron Harper, Jr
Jay Scrubb
Dmytro Skapintsev
Lonnie Walker IV
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Sixers Reserves
Adem Bona
Ricky Council IV
Paul George
Reggie Jackson
Kyle Lowry
KJ Martin
Jared McCain
Judah Mintz
Guershon Yabusele
2 Way Players
Jeff Dowtin, Jr
Justin Edwards
Lester Quinones
Training Camp Contracts
Max Fiedler
Isaiah Mobley
Jordan Tucker
Injuries/Out
Joel Embiid (rest) questionable
Paul George (rest) questionable
Head Coach
Nick Nurse
Game Notes
After 2 games against the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi, the Celtics return to the TD Garden to face the division rival Philadelphia 76ers. While the Celtics stood pat in the off season, bringing back their same core, the 76ers reworked their roster in the off season in hopes of catching up with the Celtics and hoping to finally be able to get out of the second round in the playoffs.
Gone are Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Nicolas Batum, De'Anthony Melton, Robert Covington, Paul Reed, Cameron Payne, and Mo Bamba. Additions to their roster include Paul George, Caleb Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain, and Adem Bona. They are hoping that Paul George will form a big 3 with Maxey and Embiid to challenge the Celtics for the title.
As with any preseason game, it is difficult to say who will definitely start for both teams. I'm going to guess that the Celtics will stick with the same five that started against the Nuggets. Although, Joe Mazzulla has said that Al Horford will play in at least 1 or 2 of the remaining preseason games. But, since Luke Kornet has fit well as the starting center, Horford may come off the bench if he plays.
The 76ers started Tyrese Maxey, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre, Caleb Martin and Andre Drummond in their first game and replaced Gordon with Paul George for their second game. They are playing back to back games having lost to the Timberwolves 121-111 in Iowa on Friday night and so I doubt they will play him in back to back games.
I've listed the starters from their first game but their starters all played between 23 and 26 minutes on Friday so we may not see them at all in this game. Either way, I doubt we will see Paul George or Joel Embiid, even if the others play. It's hard to guess who will start if the starters from Friday all sit.
The Celtics were 3-1 against the 76ers last season. They will play 4 times this season beginning with a Christmas Day clash. They will also face each other on February 2, February 20, and March 6. The Celtics are 270-197 overall all time against the 76ers and they are 157-56 in games played in Boston.
The Celtics returned from Abu Dhabi with no new injuries. Kristaps Porzingis remains out for the Celtics as he rehabs from offseason surgery on his ankle. Joel Embiid did not play in either of Philly's games so far and is questionable for this one as they try to start the season with him healthy. Paul George did not play in their first game but did play on Friday and so is questionable for this game since they are playing back to back.
Key Matchups
vs Jrue Holiday vs Tyrese Maxey
Maxey started both games for the 76ers so far and may or may not start this game since he played 26 minutes on Friday. In 12 minutes against the Breakers, he finished with 15 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists while shooting 71% from the field and 80% from beyond the arc. On Friday, Maxey finished with 21 points, 2 assists and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 57% from beyond the arc.
vs Luke Kornet vs Andre Drummond
Drummond started both games for the 76ers and will likely start this game, unless Embiid plays or unless Drummond sits because he played 24 minutes on Friday. Luke Kornet started both games for the Celtics and will likely start this game also. Against the Breakers, Drummond finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 71% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. On Friday, he finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.
Honorable Mention
Xavier Tillman vs Guershon Yabusele
Former Celtics, Guershon Yabusele wasted no time in making the most of his second chance in the NBA. In the first game against the Breakers, he was first off the bench and finished with 15 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal while shooting 100% from the field and 100% from beyond the arc. If Drummond sits, Yabusele may be the starting center.
Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense will always be key to winning every game, whether Summer League, preseason, regular season or playoffs. The Celtics won a championship last season because they made defense a priority. They have to make defense their priority for every possession of every game.
Rebound - Rebounding is second to defense as a key to winning. It takes effort to get rebounds and the Celtics must go all out in their effort to beat the Sixers on the boards. The Celtics need to keep the 76ers from getting extra points around the basket as they had 20 2nd chance points vs the Breakers. The Celtics also need to give themselves extra possessions by rebounding on the offensive end. If the Celtics want to win this one, it is crucial that they go all out to crash the boards.
3 Point Shooting - The Celtics relied on shooting threes last season. They were first in the league, taking 43.5 three pointers per game. They were also 1st in the league, making 16.5 threes a game. Over their 2 games against the Nuggets, the Celtics attempted a whopping 54 threes per game and made 35% of them. When the Celtics are making their 3's they are hard to beat, but when they struggle to make 3's, the game gets really ugly.
Chemistry - The Celtics are returning basically the same team that won the championship last season. The 76ers, on the other hand, lost 8 players from last season and replaced them with 8 new players. It may take them awhile to build chemistry with all the new faces, while the Celtics should be able to pick up where they left off last season.
X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics return to the Garden for the first time since they won the Championship there last season. The Garden should be rocking and the Celtics should draw motivation from their fans.
It’s the Preseason - Player development, building chemistry, and player evaluation are the most important thing for coaches in the preseason. We will probably see more of the rookies in this game as well as the players on camp contracts as coaches evaluate the players on the bubble for playing time and try to preserve their starters for the regular season.
Officiating - I know that I say this every game, but the officiating can always be an x-factor even in the preseason. Every crew calls the game differently whether they call every little ticky tack foul or they let a lot of contact go and let the teams play. The refs are in their preseason also, so it’s hard to know how they will call this one. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let the calls affect their focus or their play.
