Boston Celtics vs. Phoenix Suns preview, injury report, and info - December 10, 2021
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The Boston Celtics continue their west coast road trip tonight, taking on the Phoenix Suns. Boston will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak against a Suns team that has been battling for the one seed in the Western Conference all season. The C’s are 1-3 so far on their current road trip.
Boston Celtics vs. Phoenix Suns preview, injury report, and info
How to Watch
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Time: 10:30 p.m. (EST)
Channel(s): ESPN
Boston Celtics Breakdown
In a strange turn of events, the Celtics’ defense is what’s been letting them down as of late. They have allowed at least 114 points in each of their last four games, including the last game against a Paul George-less LA Clippers team. They allowed rookie Brandon Boston Jr. to score a career-high 27 points, including 18 in the second quarter alone. They got blown out in the first half, made a miraculous comeback in the second, and then ultimately fell short. It was a great reflection of how the season has been going for the C’s so far.
Their offense looked awful last game, too. The only reason they were able to mount a comeback was because of an uptick in energy on the defensive end. Boston got a bunch of stops and was able to score points in transition that way, but their half-court offense was terrible. Every time they were forced to make plays in a half-court setting, the offense seemed to stall to a halt. No one was moving and there was very little energy.
On top of that, the C’s were committing a boatload of turnovers. They ended with 22 turnovers on the night. It was the second-most they have committed all season and the most since their home opener against the Toronto Raptors. With George out, the Clippers took full advantage of this and were able to get out to a huge lead by halftime. And while the C’s made a huge comeback, it wasn’t enough in the end.
Phoenix Suns Breakdown
The Suns have been one of the hottest teams in basketball this season. After starting the year 1-3, Phoenix has gone 19-1 since then. They are currently tied for the top spot in the West with the Golden State Warriors. Those two teams have faced each other twice, with each squad taking home one victory.
Devin Booker, who got off to a very slow start this season, has been on fire. He’s averaging 23.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from deep. His scoring has led the way for the Suns, as Chris Paul continues to take care of the ball movement. Paul, now 36 years old, is averaging over 10.1 assists per game. The last time he put up double-digit assist numbers was during the 2015-16 season.
The rest of the team has been taking care of business as well. DeAndre Ayton is one of two number one overall picks since 2008 to not receive a rookie contract extension - the other was Anthony Bennett. He has responded to that by putting up 16.3 points and 11.1 rebounds a game while shooting 61.2 percent from the field. Mikal Bridges, JaVale McGee, and Cameron Johnson have also been playing particularly well for Phoenix.
Injury Report
Jaylen Brown (hamstring) and Bruno Fernando (back spasms) are the only players out for tonight’s contest. Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder is now listed as questionable after twisting his ankle against the LA Clippers a couple of days ago. The team is continuing to work Brown back from his hamstring injury. They don’t want him to return until he is feeling 100 percent healthy.
Phoenix has some pretty big injuries going into tonight’s game. First and foremost, Booker will be out due to a hamstring issue. Other than Booker, Frank Kaminsky, Abdel Nader (knee), and Dario Saric (ACL) are all out as well.
Keys to the Game
With Booker sidelined, the Celtics need to make sure they don’t take their foot off the gas. George wasn’t playing for the Clippers the other night, and the C’s still managed to lose that game. If Boston sees Booker on the injury report and decides to take it easy, that will only lead to bad things. The Suns are a very well-rounded team with a lot of players who can do damage. The Celtics have to play to their fullest potential and not take anything for granted.
They also have to limit their turnovers tonight. The Suns are top-ten in the NBA when it comes to scoring points off of turnovers, so if the C’s commit as many as they did last game, they’ll be in for a long night. One of the biggest issues against LA was that they were making some risky passes. In the end, most of them were picked off by the Clippers. Boston needs to take care of the ball tonight and keep those risky passes to a minimum. They can’t make this game any harder than it’s already going to be.
Lastly, the defense needs to be going 100 percent all the time. In their last game, the Celtics’ didn’t look like themselves on the defensive end until the third quarter. That will not fly against a team like Phoenix. Paul is one of the smartest players in the NBA. If the Celtics aren’t going at him with all of their energy, he will find players open for easy baskets. The C’s need to hit their rotations and not get caught going for silly steals. This has to be a very smart defensive game from them.
Pregame Show
Make sure to tune in to our live pregame show, “The Banner Town Build Up.” We are live 30 minutes before every Celtics game at @GuyBostonSports on YouTube and Facebook. See you there at 9:30 p.m. (EST) tonight!
