The Celtics look to get back on track as they host the Phoenix Suns. This is the 2nd and final game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 132-102 on their recent road trip. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. The Celtics are 78-60 overall all time and 43-24 in games played in Boston.
The Suns kept their core of stars together from last season with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen all returning from last year’s team. They fired head coach Frank Vogel and hired Mike Budenholzer to replace him. They signed Ryan Dunn to a rookie contract and signed free agents Oso Ighodaro, Mason Plumlee, Monte Mooris and Tyus Jones. At the trade deadlinet they traded Josh Okogie to Charlotte for Nick Richards and waived EJ Liddell and Nassir Little. They also traded Jusuf Nurkic to Charlotte for Cody Martin and Vasa Micic.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 5 games behind 1st place Cleveland. They are 8 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 11 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 24-13 at home and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 21-8 against Western Conference teams. They are coming off a loss in their last game after winning their previous 9 games.
The Suns have fallen to 11th in the West, 29 games behind first place Oklahoma City. They are 1 game behind 10th place Sacramento and 2.5 games behind 9th place Dallas. They are 2 games ahead of 12th place Portland. The Suns are 12-26 on the road and they are 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 14-14 against Eastern Conference teams and have lost their last 4 games.
The Celtics just completed the first 6-0 road trip in Celtics history. The lost their first game back at home 124-103 to the Heat. After this game against Phoenix at home they will head back on the road for back to back games at New York and at Orlando. They will finish the season with 2 games against the Charlotte Hornets at home.
The Suns are playing in the 2nd game of a 3 game road trip. They lost to Milwaukee in the first game and have had 2 days off. They will close out the road trip in New York on Sunday. They finish the season with games at home against Golden State, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio before a final game at Sacramento.
Kristaps Porzingis missed Wednesday’s game due to return-from-illness reconditioning. Al Horford also sat out Wednesday to rest his sprained toe. Jrue Holiday was also out on Wednesday due to shoulder soreness. All 3 are currently off the injury report. Jaylen Brown played Wednesday but is questionable with knee soreness that has been hampering him for several games now.
For the Phoenix Suns, Bradley Beal has been out with a hamstring injury since March 16. He is returning for this game and I’m going to guess that he will return to the starting lineup. However, they may opt to ease him in off the bench. The Suns get one star back and lose another as Kevin Durant will be out for this game with a sprained ankle.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jordan Walsh
Luke Kornet
Torrey Craig
Sam Hauser
Al Horford
Xavier Tillman, Sr
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Miles Norris
Injuries/Out
Jaylen Brown (knee) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Suns Starters
Suns Reserves
Bol Bol
Oso Ighodaro
Tyus Jones
Damion Lee
Cody Martin
Vasa Micic
Monte Morris
Royce O’Neale
Mason Plumlee
Two Way Players
Collin Gillespie
Jalen Bridges
TyTy Washington, Jr
Injuries/Out
Kevin Durant (ankle) out
Head Coach
Mike Budenholzer
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
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Devin Booker
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Devin Booker
Booker is averaging 25.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He is shooting 45.6% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 30.8% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc. Booker can put up a lot of points in a hurry as he showed in his 70 point game at the TD Garden in 2017.
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Derrick White
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
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Bradley Beal
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Bradley Beal
Beal is averaging 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 50.5% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. Beal missed the first game against the Celtics in Phoenix. I’m expecting him to move back into the starting lineup, but it’s possible he comes off the bench.
Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Grayson Allen
I’m guessing that Allen will start in place of Durant. He is averaging 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He is shooting 44.6% from the field and 43.1% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he came off the bench and finished with just 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal while not hitting a field goal. He is a good 3 point shooter and so the Celtics need to defend him on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 110.6 (5th) and the Suns have a defensive rating of 117.5 (27th). The Suns take 37.7 threes per game shoot 38.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics allowed the Heat to shoot 51.8% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the arc. They need to do much better on defense in this game. The Suns are a good shooting team and the Celtics will need to up their defense if they want to beat them.
Rebound – The Celtics need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Suns from racking up fast break points. They also have to crash the boards on the defensive end to prevent the Suns from getting tip ins and second chance points. The Celtics are 10th with 45.0 rebounds per game while the Suns are 25th with 42.6 rebounds per game. Rebounding is all about effort and the Celtics are going to have to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to be aggressive on defense, driving to the basket, rebounding, diving for loose balls and just playing harder in general. They need to get off to a strong start and play hard right up until the final buzzer. They can’t let the Suns outwork them for any period of time because even the best team in the league can lose to the worst if they don’t play with effort.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to move the ball in order to find the best shot on each possession. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. They are at their best when they pass the ball and keep it moving. ISO ball is not usually winning ball. The Celtics are 41-2 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 13-17 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. Against the Heat, they had just 24 assists to 28 for the Heat. They need to keep the ball moving and find the open man.
X-Factors
Home Game – The Celtics are at home where they should get a boost from the home crowd. They need to focus on the game and gain motivation from having the fans behind them. The Suns are playing in the 2nd game of a 3 game road trip and should be dealing with distractions from travel, staying in a hotel, and playing in a hostile arena as well as fatigue from traveling. The Celtics need to protect home court and come out ready to play hard.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating always has the possibility to be an x-factor in every game. 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. Some refs favor the home team and some call for both teams evenly. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not allow the officiating to take away from their focus.
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