|
|
Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 4, 2016 22:36:00 GMT -5
 at  Boston Celtics (12-8) at Houston Rockets (13-7)
Monday, December 5, 2016
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]21, Road Game [HASH]12
TV: NBA-TV, CSN-NE, ROOT
Radio: WZLX 107.5, 790 AM KBME
Toyota Center Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard vs  Isaiah Thomas vs Patrick Beverley Shooting Guard vs  Avery Bradley vs James Harden
Small Forward  vs  Jae Crowder vs Trevor Ariza
Power Forward  vs  Al Horford vs Ryan Anderson
Center  vs  Amir Johnson vs Clint Capela   Reserves Celtics ReservesJaylen Brown Gerald Green Terry Rozier James Young Jonas Jerebko Tyler Zeller Marcus Smart Kelly Olynyk
InjuriesNone
D-LeagueDemetrius Jackson Jordan Mickey Head CoachBrad Stevens  ReservesEric Gordon Corey Brewer Bobby Brown Sam Dekker Tyler Ennis Montrezl Harnell KJ McDaniels Nene Injuries Nene (knee) game time decision Trevor Ariza (back) game time decision D-League Chinanu Onuaku Kyle Wiltjer
Head CoachMike D'Antoni
Game Notes The Celtics continue their 3 game road trip with their only stop in Houston to take on the Rockets. Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Celtics are 7-4 on the road while the Rockets are 4-2 at home. These two teams were tied 1-1 last season with each team winning on the road. The Rockets are hot right now, returning home from a 4-1 road trip which began with back to back wins in Sacramento and Portland followed by a loss to the Jazz and finishing with back to back wins over the Warriors and Nuggets. The Celtics have won 8 of their last 10 and are beginning a stretch in which 8 out of 10 games will be played on the road. The Celtics are reporting no injuries but DeMetrius Jackson and Jordan Mickey have been assigned to the Maine Red Claws. Nene sat out Friday's win over the Nuggets and will be a game time decision for this game. Trevor Ariza sat out Sunday's practice with a sore back and is also a game time decision for this game. Chinanu Onuaku and Kyle Wiltjer are both assigned to the Rockets' D-League affiliate.
Key Matchups  vs  Avery Bradley vs James Harden James Harden is averaging 28.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 11.8 assists and 1.3 steals. It will be up to Avery Bradley to slow Harden down. Harden is also not known for playing great defense and so the Celtics may be able to take advantage of that if Bradley, Smart and Thomas can get hot.  vs  Marcus Smart vs Eric Gordon This will be a battle of 6th men. Eric Gordon is averaging 16.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists off the bench. He is also shooting 40% from beyond the arc. Smart will need to slow him down while adding some offense of his own for the Celtics. Honorable Mention Al Horford vs Ryan Anderson Anderson is averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and is also shooting 43% from beyond the arc. Horford will need to stick with him on defense, especially on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always a key to every game. Defense wins games. The Rockets are 2nd in the league in scoring at 111.4 ppg. The Celtics are 14th and averaging 105.0 ppg. The Celtics defense has slipped this season and they need to get back to making defense a priority. The Celtics need to play tough team defense and limit the Rockets' scoring if they expect to get a win in this game. Rebound - In order to score, the Celtics need the ball and to get the ball, they will need to crash the boards as a team. They can't allow the Rockets to own the boards, which will limit the Celtics fast breaks as well as their second chance points. When the Celtics put out extra effort on the boards, it usually carries over into the rest of their game. Limit Turnovers - The Celtics are averaging just 12.4 turnovers per game while the Rockets are averaging 16.2 turnovers per game. But the Celtics seem to go through stages in games where they seem to lose focus and turn the ball over time and again. The Rockets will make them pay for each turnover and so they have to take care of the ball. Energy and Aggressiveness - The Celtics seem to lack the energy and aggressiveness that they showed for much of last season. They have to come out and play hard from start to finish with no let up. They have to be aggressive and they have to play like the team that wants it more.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics are playing the 2nd of a 3 game road trip. They have to focus on the task at hand and not allow the distractions of the road and a hostile crowd to take them out of the game. The Celtics have played well on the road and hopefully that will continue. Officiating - Officiating, especially on the road, is always an x-factor. Will they call it evenly or favor the home team? Will they let them play or call every ticky tack foul? Will they give Harden preferential treatment as a star? All of these factors can shift a game for one team or the other. |
|
|
|
Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 5, 2016 22:28:59 GMT -5
Wow, should have won that one.
|
|
|
|
Post by afceltic on Dec 5, 2016 22:29:47 GMT -5
We got hosed by the refs in the last half of the 4th, but even with that we can't have our max contract player miss a layup that would have won the game at the buzzer like that. Al needs to pull his head out of his !!!GREENIAC!!! because this is getting frustrating.
|
|
|
|
Post by mev17 on Dec 5, 2016 22:30:00 GMT -5
Disappointing ... sounds like we let this one slip away after surging into the lead going into the fourth. Per the play-by-play both IT and Horford missed shots that could have won the game for us.
|
|
|
|
Post by jmost on Dec 5, 2016 22:47:23 GMT -5
Yes, but we were also fortunate that Harden committed that flagrant foul to even put us in a position to win. Tough loss, but not a bad loss.
|
|
|
|
Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 6, 2016 1:05:29 GMT -5
We did much better in the second half. Stopped Gordon from making three's (was killing us in the first half).
Basically, they became a Harden show down the stretch, and he proved why he is a great scorer.
Bradley made a three that they called a two.
I thought IT was fouled on his drive, but it wasn't called.
Horford rushed his release on his drive. I bet it's burning him up inside right now.
|
|
|
|
Post by afceltic on Dec 6, 2016 2:12:19 GMT -5
Yes, but we were also fortunate that Harden committed that flagrant foul to even put us in a position to win. Tough loss, but not a bad loss. I believe that was a "make up" call for the terrible call that took a point off of the board and for giving Harden three FT's for jumping into Smart and getting the call about a minute or so earlier in the game. But it got tiring watching Harden flop and flail his way to the FT line in the last 4 min of the game. In that 8-0 run that gave them the 102-100 lead with 3:45 left 6 of those points were Harden just blindly driving into the lane and flailing and getting the call for not trying to score, just trying to put on an act that they rewarded. Houston only made one basket during that run and it was enough to take the lead. The FT disparity was 21-2 in Houston's favor at the half and it ended up as 31-12 for the game. They made 27-31 (Harden was 18-18) and we made 11-12 when we killed them with points in the paint. I can't find the numbers, but it was bad enough to where even Houston's play by play guys were talking about how bad Houston was getting controlled in the paint scoring wise. Horrible officiating like this is why the NBA is becoming (or has become) unwatchable for a lot of people. |
|
|
|
Post by eddietours on Dec 6, 2016 10:46:27 GMT -5
i think the nba is rule by vegas odds
|
|
|
|
Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 6, 2016 13:26:25 GMT -5
Considering we played a really good playoff caliber team, on their home court, against one of the best players in the league right now, and we made a huge comeback and held a sizeable lead late in the game, and finally losing on a missed layup .......
I think we're starting to figure things out.
|
|
|
|
Post by jmost on Dec 6, 2016 16:52:41 GMT -5
That's pretty much my take on it, too, Derren.
I wish the NBA would change the rule so that whoever initiated the contact was the one called for the foul. Harden is one of those guys who creates the contact but then gets rewarded for it.
|
|
|
|
Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 6, 2016 17:43:21 GMT -5
Right. Most folks would get called for the charge -- but not Harden.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roadrunner on Dec 6, 2016 19:17:29 GMT -5
A frustrating loss. HOU is like a tier 2 team, while BOS is more like a tier 3 team.
|
|
|
|
Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 7, 2016 15:37:33 GMT -5
Boston and Houston's records are very close. The game was very close. It could have gone either way. I knew that somehow the refs would come into it because they always do with Marc Davis is the crew chief. I could list all the times he has done things to mess with the Celtics in games. He really doesn't like them. 31 free throws to 12 was very lopsided especially since the Celtics were driving and getting into the paint. I'd say don't be so hard on the Celtics for this loss. They were on the road facing a tough team with the refs calling the game fairly lopsided. They had a couple of shots to win the game and the fact that Horford even had an open layup shows we aren't that far off. But the layup didn't go and they lost a tough one. I still liked the fight that they showed throughout the game though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roadrunner on Dec 7, 2016 23:36:16 GMT -5
Watch the last offensive play of the game. There were multiple fouls committed by BOS, yet Horford missed the layup. Frankly, I think he over thought the shot, by placing the ball high off the glass so it would not be blocked. Ugh.
|
|
|
|
Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 8, 2016 0:38:35 GMT -5
Watch the last offensive play of the game. There were multiple fouls committed by BOS, yet Horford missed the layup. Frankly, I think he over thought the shot, by placing the ball high off the glass so it would not be blocked. Ugh. Time was a factor too. 8 times out of 10 he'll make that shot, but many factors came in to affect that play. |
|
