The Celtics play their final game of the season as they host the Charlotte Hornets for the second straight game. The Celtics are 3-0 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. They won 130-94 on Friday in Boston.
The Celtics are 80-46 overall, all time against the Charlotte Hornets. They are 42-20 in games played in Boston. The Hornets are 1-9 in their last 10 games against the Celtics and they have lost their last 5 against them. The Hornets have lost their last 8 road games this season. 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 standings are locked in and the Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 4 games behind 1st place Cleveland. They are 10 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 11 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. Their 1st round opponent will be the winner of the play in game between Orlando and Atlanta. They are 27-13 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 38-13 against Eastern Conference teams. They are coming off a win in their last game.
The Hornets finished 14th in the East, 45 games behind first place Cleveland. They are 5 games behind 13th place Philadelphia and 2 games ahead of 15th place Washington. They finished with the 3rd worst record, behind only Washington and Utah. They are 7-33 on the road and 1-9 in their last 10 games. They are 10-41 against Eastern Conference opponents. They have lost their last 6 games.
The Celtics have ruled out Jaylen Brown (knee), Jayson Tatum (ankle), Kristaps Porzingis (rest), Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Derrick White (neck) and Al Horford (knee) for this game. I’ve listed the same starting lineup that started against the Magic, thinking that Coach Joe would want to give them a chance to redeem themselves from that loss. Although, I would start JD Davison at the point as he just signed a regular contract and also Payton Pritchard has not played well as a starter.
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. Also, Nick Smith, Jr suffered a groin injury during the Hornets’ loss to the Celtics on Friday and is questionable for this game.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Payton Pritchard
SG: Sam Hauser
SF: Baylor Scheierman
PF: Torrey Craig
C: Luke Kornet
Celtics Reserves
Neemias Queta
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman, Sr
JD Davison
2 Way Players
Drew Peterson
Miles Norris
Injuries/Out
Jaylen Brown (knee) out
Derrick White (neck) out
Al Horford (knee) out
Jrue Holiday (shoulder) out
Jayson Tatum (rest) out
Kristaps Porzingis (rest) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Hornets Starters
PG: KJ Simpson
SG: Nick Smith,Jr
SF: Josh Okogie
PF: DaQuan Jeffries
C: Mark Williams
Hornets Reserves
Tidjane Salaun
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) out
Grant Williams (knee) out
Josh Green (shoulder) out
Tre Mann (back) out
Brandon Miller (wrist) out
Moussa Diabate (illness) questionable
Nick Smith, Jr (groin) questionable
Head Coach
Charles Lee
Key Matchups
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Luke Kornet
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
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Mark Williams
Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
Luke Kornet 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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Payton Pritchard
Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
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KJ Simpson
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images
Payton Pritchard vs KJ Simpson
Simpson is averaging 6.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game. He is shooting 47.8% from the field and 45.6% from beyond the arc. On Friday, he finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal while shooting 31.3% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him well on the perimeter.
Honorable Mention
JD Davison vs Seth Curry
Curry is averaging 6.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He is shooting 47.8% from the field and 45.6% from beyond the arc. On Friday, Curry finished with 17 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal while shooting 75% from the field and 71.4% from beyond the arc. Curry now holds the highest 3 point percentage for the season and so the Celtics need to guard him on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game
No Injuries – The Celtics starters, along with Al Horford are all sitting out this game and so they are safe from injury. The Celtics who will be playing are also important to the Celtics rotation in the playoffs. They don’t want an injury to Kornet, Pritchard, Hauser or any of the players who are going to be in this game. 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 110.2. The Hornets are 24th in the league with a defensive rating of 115.9. The Hornets are 29th in scoring at 105.3 points per game while the Celtics are 8th, scoring 116.6 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 Celtics are 7th with 45.3 rebounds per game and the Hornets are 10th with 45.1 rebounds per game. The Hornets are 3rd with 16.3 second chance points per game and the Celtics need to limit those by putting more effort into grabbing rebounds.
Next Man Up – The Celtics top 6 players are once again out for this game. The last time that the top 6 players sat out was the 20 point loss to the Magic. That game was on the second night of back to back games after an overtime game the night before and they didn’t get into Orlando until 4:30 am. This will be a chance for this group to step up and show that they can get a win without the starters.
X-Factors
Home to End the Season – The Celtics are at home for their last game 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 have been in Boston since Friday. They will have to face a hostile crowd and an unfamiliar arena and the fatigue of travel and staying in hotels.
Shorthanded Matinee Game – The Celtics will be playing without their top 6 players but then the Hornets are playing without their top 5 or 6 players also. Can the Celtics reserves step up in this game as they failed to do so against the Magic? Also, it is an afternoon game. Sometimes teams play worse in matinee games because it throws their normal routines off.
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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