Preview: Celtics Continue Homestand as DeRozan, Spurs Visit TD Garden
AP Photo | SOURCE: Eric Gay
The Celtics were able to come away with the 120-111 win in their last game vs the Charlotte Hornets. They will now continue their homestand as the San Antonio Spurs come to town.
HOW TO WATCH
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Channel(s): NBC Sports Boston
PLAYER STATS
DeMar DeRozan has been having a great season for the Spurs, with some even believing he was snubbed from the All-Star game. He’s averaging 21.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on the year. San Antonio’s young core also make up a bulk of their scoring, with Dejounte Murray (15.7), Keldon Johnson (12.9), and Lonnie Walker (10.8) all averaging ten or more. Veterans Patty Mills (11.4) and Rudy Gay (11.2) round out the double-digit scorers for the Spurs.
Jaylen Brown has been averaged 32.3 points throughout his last three games. He and Jayson Tatum (26.8 in the last five games) have been great for Boston lately. Rookie Payton Pritchard has also been tearing it up recently, scoring 14.0 points a night on roughly 47-44-92 shooting splits over the last five games. Aaron Nesmith has also been progressing and has shot 46.2% from behind the arc in that same stretch.
RECENT GAMES
San Antonio has won three of their last four games but is only 6-4 in their last ten. They sit at 31-30 on the season which is good for ninth in the Western Conference. They have had some impressive wins lately including one over the red-hot Wizards, and a 111-85 clubbing of the Phoenix Suns.
The C’s managed to get back in the win column in their last game, putting them at 33-30 on the year. They are tied with the Heat for sixth in the Eastern Conference but are only one game out of the five seed. Boston is 6-4 in their last ten and hoping to build up some more momentum tonight.
INJURIES
Derrick White is the most important piece missing for the Spurs. He was averaging over 15 points a night before his injury but is now projected to miss the rest of the season with an ankle sprain. Trey Lyles (ankle) is the only other piece that is questionable tonight, as he missed San Antonio’s last game vs the Heat on Wednesday.
Brad Stevens said that Kemba Walker would likely miss tonight’s game in his pregame press conference before the game vs Charlotte on Tuesday night. Walker ran off the court in the team’s loss to OKC and it came out afterward that he had a strained oblique. He is listed as doubtful and is the only player on the team’s injury report.
KEYS TO THE GAME
The Spurs are dead last in the NBA in three-point attempts per game. However, this does not mean that the Celtics can slack off on their rotations. Guys like Mills, Gay, and rookie Devin Vassell are all having killer season’s from behind the arc. While there is a little bit more room for error, the Celtics still have to keep up the defensive energy on the perimeter.
That being said, protecting the mid-range will be more important than ever in this one. The Spurs take a league-high 19.6 two-point pull-ups a night. That’s almost two more a night than the team in second. Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams are going to have to leave the paint to help defend those shots, meaning everyone else is going to have to watch out for cutters.
Lastly, the Celtics need to remain aggressive in this one. They started the game vs Charlotte on Tuesday by getting to the paint on nearly every possession and it worked out well. San Antonio is 23rd in the league in terms of allowing points in the paint. If Boston is able to attack early and often it should bode well for them once again.
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 @GuyBostonSports on YouTube and Facebook. See you there at 7:00 p.m. (EST) tonight!
