The Celtics continue their 6 game road trip with a stop in Phoenix to take on the Suns. This is the first of 2 games between them this season. They will face off a second time in Boston on April 4. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. The Celtics are 77-60 overall, all time against the Suns. They are 32-36 all time in games played in Phoenix.
The Suns kept their core of stars together from last season with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and 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. They signed free agents Oso Ighodaro, Mason Plumlee, Monte Mooris and Tyus Jones. They traded Josh Okogie to Charlotte for Nick Richards and waived EJ Liddell and Nassir Little. Finally, at the trade deadline, they traded Jusuf Nurkic to Charlotte for Cody Martin and Vasa Micic.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 4.5 games behind 1st place Cleveland. They are 8 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 10.5 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 29-7 on the road and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 18-8 against Western Conference opponents. They have won their last 6 games.
The Suns are 10th in the West, 24.5 games behind first place Oklahoma City. They are half a game behind 9th place Sacramento and 5.5 games behind 8th place Minnesota. They are tied with Dallas, who are in 11th place, due to Phoenix owning the tie breaker. The Suns are 23-13 at home and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 14-12 against Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 4 games.
The Celtics are playing in the 4th game of a 6 game Western road trip. They won the first game in Utah 121-99 on Friday and the second game 129-116 in Portland on Sunday. They then won the 3rd game 113-95 in Sacramento on Monday. The trip will continue through San Antonio and Memphis. After this trip, the Celtics will play 2 at home against Miami and Phoenix. Then it’s back on the road for 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 final game of a 5 game home stand. They won the first 4 games against Toronto, Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee. After this game, they will play at Minnesota and then home against Houston. They then head out on the road to face Milwaukee, Boston and New York. They finish the season with games at home against Golden State, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio before a final game at Sacramento.
At this time, there are 2 players on the Celtics injury report. Jayson Tatum left Monday’s game with an ankle injury. He was originally listed as doubtful and I can see them sitting him just out of caution, if nothing else. However the latest update has him upgraded to questionable. Sam Hauser and Al Horford are both off the injury list. Xavier Tillman remains out with a knee injury. For the Suns, only Bradley Beal is out with a hamstring injury.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics ReservesPayton PritchardNeemias QuetaBaylor ScheiermanJordan WalshLuke KornetTorrey Craig
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonMiles Norris
Injuries/OutXavier Tillman (knee) out Jayson Tatum (ankle) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Suns Starters
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Suns Reserves Grayson AllenBol Bol Oso IghodaroTyus Jones Damion Lee Cody MartinVasa MicicMonte MorrisRoyce O’Neale Mason Plumlee
Two Way PlayersCollin GillespieJalen BridgesTyTy Washington, Jr
Injuries/OutBradley Beal (hamstring) out
Head CoachMike Budenholzer
Key Matchups
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Al Horford
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
Kevin Durant
Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images
Al Horford vs Kevin Durant Durant remains one of the best players in the league and is tough to cover and also is still a good defender. He is averaging 26.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. He is shooting 52.8% from the field and 42.6% from beyond the arc. He is dangerous to score no matter where he is on the court and so the Celtics need to defend him well. While a Tatum vs Durant matchup would have been fun to watch, I’m thinking that Tatum will sit this one out.
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Derrick White
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Devin Booker
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Devin Booker Booker is averaging 25.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He is shooting 45.7% from the field and 34.6% 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.
Honorable MentionPayton Pritchard vs Grayson Allen This is a matchup of sharpshooters off the bench. Allen is averaging 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He is shooting 44.7% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc. Pritchard is averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He is shooting 46.8% from the field and 42.7% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense – Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 110.3 (5th) and the Suns have a defensive rating of 116.4 (26th). The Suns take 37.6 threes per game shoot 38.4% from beyond the arc. The Suns are a good shooting team and the Celtics will need to up their defense if they want to beat the Suns at home.
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 12th with 44.8 rebounds per game while the Suns are 24th with 43.0 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 38-2 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 13-16 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. They need to keep the ball moving and find the open man.
X-FactorsRoad Fatigue – The Celtics are playing in the 4th game of a 6 game road trip. This is their 3rd game in 4 nights and their 4th game in 6 nights and they have played short handed in each of those games. They have had a lot of travel and had to sleep in hotels and play in hostile arenas. They may be gettng somewhat road weary. They have also changed time zones and may have a bit of jet lag. Can they find another gear and get a win in a game against another tough team?
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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