Charlotte Hornets (19-61) at Boston Celtics (59-21)
Friday, April 11, 2025
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #81 Home Game #40
TV: NBCSB, FDSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 92.7 WFNZ-FM
TD Garden
The Celtics are down to their final 2 games of the season. They have the same opponent for both games. They host the Charlotte Hornets for the 3rd of 4 games between these two teams. They will meet for the 4th, and final, time on Sunday for the final game of the season.
The Celtics are 2-0 against the Hornets so far this season. The Celtics won the first game between these two teams 124-109 on November 1st at Charlotte and they won the second game 113-103 on November 2nd. The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season, winning one in Boston and one in Charlotte and losing 1 in overtime in Charlotte.
The Celtics are 79-46 overall, all time against the Charlotte Hornets. They are 41-20 in games played in Boston. The Hornets are 1-9 in their last 10 games against the Celtics and they have lost their last 4 against them. The Hornets have lost their last 7 road games this season.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 4 games behind 1st place Cleveland. They are 9 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 10 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 26-13 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 37-13 against Eastern Conference teams. They are coming off a loss in their last game.
The key here is that the Knicks are just 1 game ahead of Indiana for the 3rd seed. The Knicks have games against the Cavs at home and the Nets in Brooklyn. The Pacers have games against the Magic at home and the Cavs in Cleveland. The 3rd and 4th seeds determine who the Celtics will face in the second round. If the Pacers move into the 3rd seed, then the Celtics will likely face them in the second round and they are a much tougher opponent than the Knicks.
The Hornets are 14th in the East, 44.5 games behind first place Cleveland. They are 5 games behind 13th place Philadelphia and 2 games ahead of 15th place Washington. They are 7-32 on the road and 1-9 in their last 10 games. They are 10-40 against Eastern Conference opponents. They have lost their last 5 games.
The Charlotte Hornets’ new ownership has been busy in the off season, hiring a new head coach, general manager and team president. Former Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee is the new Hornets head coach. The team drafted French forward Tidjane Salaun 6th and KJ Simpson 42nd. They also signed center Taj Gibson and guard Seth Curry as free agents.
At the trade deadline, they also made some more moves. They traded center Mark Williams to the Lakers but that trade was voided. they then traded Nick Richards to Phoenix for Josh Okogie and 3 second round picks. They also traded Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic to the Suns for Jusuf Nurkic.
Against the Magic, Jaylen Brown (knee), Jayson Tatum (ankle), Kristaps Porzingis (reconditioning from illness), Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Derrick White (ankle) and Al Horford (knee) were all out. Tatum, Porzingis, Holiday, White, and Horford have all been cleared to play in this game. Jaylen Brown has been ruled out for this game. His absence in this game means he won’t be eligible for post season awards. I’m guessing that Sam Hauser will start in place of Jaylen Brown.
The Hornets have 6 players listed as out. Miles Bridges (hip), LaMelo Ball (ankle), former Celtic Grant Williams (torn ACL), Josh Green (shoulder), Tre Mann (back), and Brandon Miller (wrist) are all expected to miss this game. In addition they also have Moussa Diabate listed as questionable due to an illness.
Probable Celtics Starters
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Sam Hauser
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Jordan Walsh
Torrey Craig
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Al Horford
Baylor Scheierman
Luke Kornet
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Miles Norris
Injuries/Out
Jaylen Brown (knee) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Hornets Starters
PG: KJ Simpson
SG: Nick Smith,Jr
SF: DaQuan Jeffries
PF: Tidjane Salaun
C: Mark Williams
Hornets Reserves
Josh Okogie
Seth Curry
Jaylen Sims
Taj Gibson
Jusuf Nurkic
2 Way Players
Damion Baugh
KJ Simpson
Wendell Moore, Jr
Injuries/Out
Miles Bridges (hip) out
LaMelo Ball (ankle)
Grant Williams (knee) out
Josh Green (shoulder) out
Tre Mann (back) out
Brandon Miller (wrist) out
Moussa Diabate (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Charles Lee
Key Matchups
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Kristaps Porzingis
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
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Mark Williams
Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
Kristaps Porzingis vs Mark Williams
Williams is averaging 15.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. he is shooting 60.9% from the field and no 3 pointers. This is his first game against the Celtics this season. He has been playing very well for the Hornets and I’m sure they are glad that the trade that would have sent him to the Lakers was voided.
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Derrick White
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
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Nick Smith, Jr
Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Nick Smith, JrSmith is averaging 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He is shooting 39% from the field and 33.9% from beyond the arc. In the first games against the Celtics, he averaged 4 points and 1 rebound while shooting 40% from the field and no 3 pointers.
Honorable Mention
Luke Kornet vs Jusuf Nurkic
Nurkic is averaging 8.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. he is shooting 47.9% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc. This will be his first game against the Celtics this season. This should be a fun matchup between backup centers.
Keys to the Game
No Injuries – I’m assuming that we will have 4 starters in the game and Al Horford as well. They may only play limited minutes, but they will be out there playing, and so the biggest key for this game is for everyone to stay healthy. If they win or lose, they need to stay away from injury.
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 5th the league with a defensive rating of 110.4. The Hornets are 24th in the league with a defensive rating of 115.7. The Hornets are 28th in scoring at 105.5 points per game while the Celtics are 8th, scoring 116.4 points per game. Defense becomes even more important in the playoffs and so the Celtics need to get into playoff mode and play lock down defense.
Rebound – Rebounding is important to give the Celtics extra possessions and to limit possessions for their opponents. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics need to give extra effort to beat the Hornets to rebounds. The Hornets are 4th with 16.3 second chance points per game and the Celtics need to limit those by putting more effort into grabbing rebounds.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to keep the ball moving in order to get open shots. When they stop the ball movement and go into hero-ball mode, they are not near as effective on offense. They need to keep the ball moving but they also need to stay focused and not turn the ball over. They turned the ball over 15 times on Wednesday and they can’t have that many turnovers if they want to win.
X-Factors
Home to End the Season – The Celtics are at home for their last 2 games to end the season and should get a boost from their fans and playing on their home court. The Hornets are on the road and will be for both of the final two games against the Celtics. They will have to face a hostile crowd and an unfamiliar arena and the fatigue of travel and staying in hotels.
Coaching – Charles Lee helped to lead the Celtics to their 18th championship as an assistant coach. He is now leading the Charlotte Hornets as their head coach. I am sure these two coaches share some coaching philosophies. I’m sure Charles Lee would love to beat his former team. Joe Mazzulla won their first 2 meetings. Which coach will come out on top in this one?
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.
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