The Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks for the second of a 3 game home stand. This is the second, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 119-110 in Dallas on January 22. The Celtics were 2-0 against the Mavsss last season. They are 46-39 overall all time and 26-16 in games played in Boston.
The Mavericks are a better team than when the Celtics played them in Dallas. They traded away former Celtic Grant Williams, who wasn’t a good fit in Dallas and was not playing well. They brought in PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, both of whom are good fits for the team and are playing well for their new team. Washington has moved into the starting lineup for them and will try to make things tougher for the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum.
There are a couple of story lines to keep an eye on. First is the return to the Garden of Kyrie Irving. I’m sure he will get his share of boos from the Garden faithful. He famously went out of his way to stomp on the Celtics’ logo as he exited the floor after a Nets win there. Needless to say he has become a player Celtics fans love to hate. Another thing to watch is the clash between two MVP candidates in Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, assuming that Doncic plays. It’s doubtful that either will win the award, but there are still bragging rights to be had between them.
The Celtics remain 1st in the East, 8 games ahead of 2nd place Cleveland and 3rd place Milwaukee, 12 games ahead of 4th place New York, 13 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia and 6th place Orlando. The Celtics are 27-3 at home and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 13-6 against the Western Conference and have won their last 9 games.
The Mavericks are 7th in the West, half a game behind 5th place New Orleans, 1 game behind 5th place Phoenix, and 4 games behind the 4th place Clippers. They are half a game ahead of 8th place Sacramento, 2 games ahead of the 9th place Lakers, and 7.5 games ahead of 11th place Utah. They are 16-12 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 13-7 against the East and are coming off a win in their last game.
The Celtics are playing in the second of a 3 game home stand. They won the first game against Philadelphia and will close out the home stand against Golden State. They will then head out on a 5 game road trip through Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Portland and Utah. They then have one game at home against Phoenix before playing Washington on the road.
The Mavericks are playing in the 4th and final game of a 4 game road trip. They are 1-2 so far on the road trip, beating Toronto and losing to Indiana and Cleveland. They will then have a 3 game home stand, hosting Philadelphia, Indiana and Miami before heading back out on the road to visit Detroit and Chicago.
The Celtics once again have no players on the injury list. Maxi Kleber was questionable with a toe injury earlier in the day but is no longer on the injury list so is expected to play. Luka Doncic was added to the injury report with an ankle sprain that he likely tweaked during Wednesday’s game. He participated in shoot around today so that is a sign that he will likely play but his final status will be a game time decision.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Al Horford
Luke Kornet
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Jaden Springer
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Injuries/Out
None listed
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Mavericks Starters
Mavericks Reserves
Dante Exum
Daniel Gafford
Tim Hardaway, Jr
Jaden Hardy
Derrick Jones, Jr
Maxi Kleber
Markieff Morris
Dwight Powell
Oliver-Maxence Prosper
Two-Way Players
Greg Brown III
AJ Lawson
Brandon Williams
Injuries/Out
Luka Doncic (ankle) questionable
Head Coach
Jason Kidd
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
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Luka Doncic
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Luka Doncic
Doncic is averaging 34.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 49.4% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 33 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, and 2 steals. He is very tough to defend as he can shoot from pretty much anywhere on the court. If the Celtics can slow him down, it would go a long way toward getting a win. If Doncic can’t play, Tim Hardaway, Jr will likely get the start in his place.
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Derrick White
Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
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Kyrie Irving
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Kyrie Irving
Irving is averaging 25.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 49.5% from the field and 42.5% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 45% from the field and 42.9 from beyond the arc. Irving has a grudge against the Celtics for some reason as was very evident after he stomped on Lucky after a game in Boston. He will do his best to beat his former team and the Celtics need to do their best to keep him from doing so.
Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs PJ Washington
Washington was a big addition to the Mavs at the trade deadline.. He is averaging 13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He is shooting 44.6% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics this season he put up 15 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 steals. The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint and off of the boards.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the number one key to winning games. The Mavs are averaging 118.9 points per game (7th) while the Celtics average 120.7 points per game (5th). The Mavs are 21st with a defensive rating of 116.6 while the Celtics are 2nd with a defensive rating of 110.6. When the Celtics struggle on offense, they have to be able to stop the other team from scoring. The Celtics need to play tough, lock down defense for the entire game. The Mavericks have players who can put up a lot of points in a hurry if the Celtics don’t play tough team defense.
Rebound – Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics have to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards. When they work hard on the boards, it usually follows through to the rest of the game as well. The Celtics are averaging 47.1 rebounds per game (1st) while the Mavs are averaging 42.1 rebounds per game (23rd). The Celtics need to put out extra effort on the boards to keep the Mavs from getting extra possessions and second chance points and to give the same to themselves.
Don’t Get Complacent – The Celtics have been cruising along lately, winning 9 straight games. They also beat the Mavericks in Dallas and so it might be easy for them to become complacent and expect to win without having to play their hardest. But, they can’t relax because every team is capable of beating them if they relax and allow the other team to play harder. This is especially true if Doncic is out for this game because the Celtics have played down to opponents missing key players in the past.
Be Aggressive and Play Hard – The Mavericks win a lot of games by playing harder then their opponents. The Celtics must be aggressive on defense, in going for rebounds, in driving to the basket, in diving for loose balls, and in every aspect of the game. They have to play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer with no let up. They have to be the team that plays harder because if they let up, the Mavericks will have the advantage. They especially need to play harder in the 3rd quarter as in some games, they tend to let up in that quarter.
X-Factors
Home Game vs Road Fatigue – The Celtics are at home and they should get motivation from playing in front of their fans. The Celtics have had 2 days off while the Mavericks have had just 1 day off since their last game. The Mavs are playing in the final game of a 4 game road trip and that is often a very tough game for teams as they are road weary and looking forward to getting home again.
Officiating – The officiating can always be an x-factor. Every crew calls the game a little differently and teams need to adjust to how the game is being called. Will they call the game tight or will they let them play? The Celtics can’t let the officiating take away their focus and they have to adjust to the way the game is being called. They have to focus on the game and not on the referees and the calls. Recently we have seen several games lost on bad calls at the end of games. The Celtics need to play hard and build a lead and not allow the refs to take the game away on a bad call at the end.
