It may not be very pretty basketball if the end of the bench players once again get a lot of playing time. We may see limited minutes for the starters and also some creative lineups as both coaches look to evaluate the camp players as Mazzulla did on Wednesday against the Raptors. ![]() Preseason - It’s still the preseason and both teams are still working on lineups and chemistry and conditioning. If the Celtics can take care of the ball and limit turnovers, they have a good chance to get a win in this game. They have to work to limit those turnovers. The Celtics turned the ball over 23 times on Sunday and they have to do much better in this game. Take Care of the Ball - In the preseason, we often see teams commit a lot of turnovers due to trying to work out the kinks and getting used to playing with each other. The Hornets will likely be looking to avenge their loss to the Celtics on Sunday and the Celtics need to be ready for their best effort in this one. They can’t allow the Hornets to play harder than them. The Celtics must be more aggressive on the boards, on defense, on going for loose balls and they have to be aggressive in going to the basket. The Celtics have a lot of talent, but talent without effort won’t win games. The Celtics averaged 50.5 rebounds in the first two games while the Hornets averaged 46 rebounds in their first two games.īe Aggressive - The Celtics have to work hard right from the tip and vow that teams will not out-work them. The Celtics must beat the Hornets to rebounds to give themselves extra possessions and to keep the Hornets from getting the same. The Celtics need to crash the boards as a team and fight for every rebound. Rebound - Second to defense is rebounding. They need to continue that emphasis on defense in this game. The Celtics rotation players have picked up where they left off last season, playing tough defense in the first two games. The Hornets were 28th in points allowed on drives in the paint last season but Steve Clifford has vowed to turn that around this season. The Celtics were first in defense last season and they have the players to be an elite defensive team this season as well. Hopefully he will get back on track in this game.ĭefense - Defense is always a key to winning games. Tatum has started off a bit slowly in the first games so far, going 10-27 (37%) from the field and 2-15 (13%) from beyond the arc in the two games so far. Last season, Washington averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. With the Celtics playing small, Tatum will likely be matched up with Washington at power forward. Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart will do his best to slow Ball down in this one. He shot 42.9% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Xavier Sneed was signed on Thursday to an Exhibit 10 contract and may or may not be available for this game.įormer Rookie of the Year, LaMelo Ball, played very well last season. Gordon Hayward was a late scratch for Sunday’s game with a knee injury and missed Wednesday’s game and is doubtful for this game. Dennis Smith missed Wednesday’s game for personal reasons and is expected to miss this game also. He is expected to play in this game, probably around 10-12 minutes.įor the Hornets, Cody Martin will likely be out due to left knee tendinitis. Blake Griffin was not signed in time for the first game and did not play in the second game. Luke Kornet missed the first two games and is questionable for this game. ![]() They will also be without Danilo Galinari, who tore his ACL while playing for the Italian National team. The Celtics will once again be without Robert Williams, who is recovering from recent surgery to clean up some damage in his knee. Gary Washburn of the Globe tweeted that all the first unit guys were on the court working out well after the shoot around ended and he didn’t expect any of them to play in this game, so who knows who will be starting. Both coaches likely know what they have in their starters and may want to give their camp invites some extra playing time. I was guessingthat both teams would go with the same starters and limit their minutes. Charlotte won 43 games last season and finished 10th in the East while the Celtics won 51 games and finished 2nd in the East. These two teams have met 116 times in the regular season with Boston leading the series 71-45. The Celtics then lost on Wednesday to the Raptors while the Hornets lost 122-97 to the Pacers on Wednesday. The Celtics won their first game 134-93 over these same Hornets in Boston. This is the second preseason game for both of these teams. Boston Celtics (1-1) at Charlotte Hornets (0-2)
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