The Celtics continue their final long road trip of the season with a stop in Portland to take on the Trailblazers. This is the second, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 128-118 in Boston on March 5. Payton Pritchard scored 43 points and Derrick White scored 41 points in that win for Boston.
The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. They are 76-49 overall, all time against the Trailblazers. They are 35-27 all time in games played on the road against the Trailblazers. This is the first of back to back games for the Celtics. They are 9-2 on the first night of back to back games, and they are 5-1 when the first game is on the road. They have just one more back to back set remaining this season.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 5 games behind 1st place Cleveland, who lost their last 4 games. They are 7.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 10.5 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 27-7 on the road and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 16-8 against Western Conference opponents. They have won their last 4 games.
The Trail Blazers are 12th in the West, 26.5 games behind first place Oklahoma City. They are 2 games behind 10th place Phoenix and 11th place Dallas, and a spot in the play-in tournament. They are 1 game ahead of 13th place San Antonio. They are 20-16 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 15-9 against Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 4 games.
The Celtics are playing in the 2nd game of a 6 game Western road trip. They won the first game in Utah 121-99 on Friday. The trip will continue through Sacramento, Phoenix, 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 Trailblazers are playing in the 6th game of a 7 game home stand. The lost the first game to New York and then won the next 4 games over Toronto, Washington, Memphis and Denver. They will close out the home stand against Cleveland on Tuesday. They then go on a 5 game road trip through Sacramento, New York, Atlanta, Toronto, and Chicago. They play one game at home against San Antonio before one game on the road at Utah and end the season with two at home against the Warriors and Lakers.
Jaylen Brown has missed the last 2 games due to a bone bruise with posterior impingement in his right knee. He is listed as out for this game also and will be re-evaluated on Monday. I just finished the game thread when the Celtics posted a new injury report. Kristaps Porzingis is questionable for reconditioning after his illness. Jayson Tatum is questionable due to knee tendinitis. Jrue Holiday is questionable with shoulder soreness. All 3 will be a game time decision. I’m guessing that Al will start and KP will sit out. I’m not sure about the other two but I’m guessing that they will play. Xavier Tillman will miss his eighth straight game with a left knee sprain.
The Trail Blazers have 5 players on the injury list at this time. DeAndre Ayton is out with a left calf strain. Former Celtic Robert Williams III will miss the remainder of the season after a procedure on his knee. Jerami Grant missed the last 6 games and is questionable for this game. Jabari Walker has missed 4 games due to a concussion and is questionable for this game. Anfernee Simons missed Friday’s game with an illness and is questionable for this game. If Simons can’t play, Scoot Henderson will likely get the start. Donovan Clingan is also questionable due to an illness. Duop Reath may start in his place if he can’t start.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics ReservesPayton PritchardNeemias QuetaBaylor ScheiermanJordan WalshXavier TillmanLuke KornetTorrey Craig
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonMiles Norris
Injuries/OutJaylen Brown (knee) outXavier Tillman (knee) out Jayson Tatum (knee) questionable Kristaps Porzingis (conditioning) questionable Jrue Holiday (shoulder) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Trail Blazers Starters
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Trail Blazers ReservesDelano BantonScoot HendersonKris MurrayDuop ReathRyan RupertMatisse ThybulleJabari Walker
Two-Way PlayersSidy CissokoBryce McGowensJustin Minaya
Injuries/Out DeAndre Ayton (calf) outRobert Williams III (knee) out Jerami Grant (knee) questionable Jabari Walker (concussion) questionable Anfernee Simons (illness) questionable Donovan Clingan (illness) questionable
Head Coach Chauncey Billups
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Anfernee Simons
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Anfernee SimonsSimons is averaging 19.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He is shooting 43.1% from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, Simons finished with 30 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 57.1% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc. He is one of their better 3 point shooters and so the Celtics need to be sure to stay with him on the perimeter. If Simons is out due to illness, Scoot Henderson may get the start.
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Derrick White
Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Shaedon Sharpe
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Derrick White vs Shaedon SharpeSharpe is averaging 17.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting 44.9% from the field and 30.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 61.1% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to do a better job of defending him on the perimeter in this game.
Honorable Mention Sam Hauser vs Deni Avdija Avdija is averaging 15.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He is shooting 47.4% from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks while shooting 50% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Once again, I’m guessing that Hauser will start in place of Jaylen Brown, but that’s just my guess.
Keys to the GameDefense – I know I say it every game, but defense is the key to winning every game and will be the key to winning another championship. The Blazers average 110.9 points and the Celtics average 116.5 points per game. The Celtics are 5th in the league with a defensive rating of 110.2 while the Blazers are 15th with a defensive rating of 114.0. The Celtics need to keep making tough defense their priority and identity. They must make defense their identity consistently in every minute of every game, especially as they get closer to the playoffs.
Rebound – As Pat Riley once stated, “No rebounds, no rings.” The Celtics are 10th with 44.9 rebounds per game while the Trail Blazers are 14th with 44.5 rebounds per game. The Celtics must make an extra effort to grab rebounds in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to keep the Blazers from scoring second chance points, as the Trail Blazers are 4th with 16.3 second chance points per game. The Celtics must be the team that works harder on the boards if they want to win this one. Much of rebounding is effort and desire and the Celtics need both to out-rebound the Blazers.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to be the team that works harder and wants the win more. They have to dive for loose balls, go for every rebound and just hustle on every play on both ends of the court. They have to be aggressive in getting to the basket as well and not settle for outside shots, especially if they aren’t falling. Whether it’s the starters or reserves, they need to go all out with maximum effort. The Blazers are fighting to make it to the play in and are on a 4 game win streak. They are going to play hard and try to win and the Celtics need to play harder.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to keep moving the ball to find the open man and make it much harder to guard them. However, they have to be careful with their passes and not turn the ball over as the Trail Blazers average 17.5 points per game off turnovers. The Celtics also need to be careful when they dribble the ball and not drive into a crowd and turn the ball over.
X-Factors On the Road – The Celtics are on the road and have to deal with travel, a hostile crowd, and an unfamiliar court along with a time change. They have to block out all the distractions that playing on the road brings and concentrate on playing Celtics basketball. The Moda Center has a great atmosphere for the home team and the Celtics will need to work hard to beat them there. With travel and jet lag, fatigue may become a factor in this one.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating really is always 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 not so much and sometimes they just make a bunch of head scratching calls. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let themselves get frustrated by the officiating.
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