The Celtics continue their season long 6 game road trip with a stop in San Antonio to take on the Spurs. This is the second, and final game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first meeting 116-103 in Boston on February 12. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season.
They are 46-58 overall against the Spurs all time and 22-30 in games played in San Antonio. The Spurs are playing on the first night of back to back games. They are 5-8 in the first of back to back games and they are 2-3 when the first game is at home. The Spurs have a 3 game home win streak going while the Celtics are on a 6 game road win streak.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 4.5 games behind 1st place Cleveland, who lost to the Pistons on Friday. They are 8.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 11 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 30-7 on the road and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 19-8 against Western Conference opponents and they have won their last 7 games.
The Spurs are 13th in the West, 29.5 games behind first place Oklahoma City. They are 4 games behind 10th place Dallas and tied with 12th place Portland. They are 16 games ahead of 15th place Utah. They are 19-16 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 11-15 against Eastern Conference teams and have lost their last 2 games.
The Celtics are playing in the 5th 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 and the 4th game 132-102 in Phoenix on Wednesday. The trip will finish up in 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 Spurs are playing in the first game of a 3 game home stand. They will play Golden State on Sunday in back to back games and will complete the home stand against Orlando. They play one game at Denver before playing the Cavaliers at home. They then go on a 4 game road trip through Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and Phoenix. They finish the season at home against Toronto.
Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle against the Kings on Monday and missed Wednesday’s game at Phoenix. He is expected to be back in the starting lineup for this game. Payton Pritchard has been added to the injury report with left hip flexor tightness and is out for this game. Xavier Tillman (knee) has been upgraded to available for this game. Al Horford was a late addition to the injury with the toe injury and is out for this game.
For the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama is out for the season after undergoing surgery on the deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Trade deadline addition De’Aaron Fox is also out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair tendon damage to his left pinkie finger. Charles Bassey is out with a knee injury and 2-way player Riley Minix is out with a shoulder injury.
Probable Celtics Starters
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PG: Jrue HolidaySG: Derrick WhiteSF: Jaylen BrownPF: Jayson TatumC: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics ReservesNeemias QuetaBaylor ScheiermanJordan WalshLuke KornetTorrey CraigSam Hauser
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonMiles Norris
Injuries/OutXavier Tillman (knee) availablePayton Pritchard (hip) outAl Horford (toe) outJayson Tatum (ankle) available
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Spurs Starters
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PG: Chris PaulSG: Stephon CastleSF: Devin VassellPF: Harrison BarnesC: Bismack Biyombo
Spurs ReservesMalaki BranhamJulian ChampagnieKeldon Johnson Sandro MamukelashviliJordan McLaughlinJeremy SochanBlake Wesley
2-Way Players David Duke, Jr Harrison IngramRiley Minix
Injuries/OutCharles Bassey (knee) out Riley Minix (shoulder) out De’Aaron Fox (finger) out Victor Wembanyama (shoulder) out
Head Coach Gregg PopovichMitch Johnson (interim head coach)
Key Matchups
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Jaylen Brown vs Devin VassellVassell is averaging 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 44.3% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 33.3% from the field with no 3 pointers.
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Derrick White vs Stephon CastleCastle is averaging 14.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 45.7% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 43.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
Honorable MentionJayson Tatum vs Harrison BarnesBarnes is averaging 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He is shooting 50% from the field and 41.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 38.5% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense – Defense is the most important key to winning games. The Celtics are 5th with a defensive rating of 110.2 while the Spurs are 25th with a defensive rating of 116.0. The Celtics have to defend in the paint since the Spurs average 48.3 points in the paint per game. They also need to defend the perimeter since the Spurs are 6th in the league, attempting 39.6 threes a game. The Celtics need to make defense a priority and play tough team defense in from start to finish and not let up.
Rebound – The Celtics can’t score if they don’t have the ball, and they will struggle if they give up second chance points to the Spurs. The Celtics are averaging 44.8 rebounds per game while the Spurs are averaging 44.0 rebounds per game. Rebounding takes effort and when the Celtics put out the extra effort on the boards, that tends to spread to other areas of the game as well.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics need to play hard and be the more aggressive team. They have to go after rebounds, loose balls, and 50/50 balls. They have to be aggressive on defense and in getting to the basket. They have to be the team that works harder and wants it more. The Celtics can’t let up on effort because the Spurs are a lottery team. Even the last team in the standings can beat the #1 team if they play harder and are more aggressive.
Move the Ball – 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. The Celtics are 39-2 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 13-16 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. The Spurs average 29 assists per game while the Celtics average 25.9 assists per game. They need to make an effort to keep the ball moving in this game.
X-FactorsRoad Fatigue – The Celtics are playing in the 5th game of a 6 game road trip. After playing 4th games in 6 nights, they have had 2 days off before this game. They have had a lot of travel over several time zones and had to sleep in hotels and play in hostile arenas. They may be gettng somewhat road weary. They need to dig deep and continue to be road dogs in this one.
Officiating – Officiating is always an X-Factor. Every crew officiates differently and teams need to adjust to the way the game is called. Will they call the game evenly or favor the home team? Will they call it tight or let them play? Hopefully we get fair officiating and they let them play and the Celtics focus on playing and not on the officiating.
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