The Celtics close out their 6 game road trip with a stop in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. This is the second, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics lost 127-121 in Boston on December 7. The Celtics are 37-20 all time against the Grizzlies and they are 18-10 in games played on the road. The Celtics were 2-0 last season against the Grizzlies.
This will be a slightly different team than the one that the Celtics played in December. The Grizzlies made a 3 team trade at the deadline. They sent former Celtic Marcus Smart to the Washington Wizards and Jake LaRavia to Sacramento in exchange for Marvin Bagley III and several picks. They also had 5 players on the injury list for that game.
The biggest change for the team came just this week. The Grizzlies fired head coach Taylor Jenkins after 6 years with the team. It is a very odd move with just 3 weeks left until the playoffs and the Grizzlies sitting in 5th place. They also fired assistant coaches Noah LaRoche and Patrick St. Andrews. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo was promoted to interim head coach. The Grizzlies lost their first game under his leadership on Saturday.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 4.5 games behind 1st place Cleveland. They are 8.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 12 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 31-7 on the road and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 20-8 against Western Conference opponents and they have won their last 8 games.
The Grizzlies are 5th in the West, 18 games behind first place Oklahoma City. They are 1 game behind the 4th place Lakers and 2.5 games behind t3rd place Denver. They are 1.5 games ahead of 6th place Golden State and 2 ahead of both 7th place Minnesota and the 8th place Lakers. They are 25-12 at home and 4-6 in their last 10 games. They are 18-9 against Eastern Conference teams and have lost their last 2 games.
The Celtics are playing in the final game of a 6 game Western road trip. They have won the first 5 games on the trip and are looking for the first 6-0 road trip in Celtics history. 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 Grizzlies just finished a 5 game road trip where they beat Utah and lost to Sacramento, Portland, Oklahoma City and the Clippers. They are playing in the second of a 3 game home stand. They lost to the Lakers on Saturday and will play the Warriors to finish the home stand. They then play at Miami, Detroit, and Charlotte before one game at home against Minnesota. They finish the year with a game at Denver and then one at home against Dallas.
Payton Pritchard missed Saturday’s game with with left hip flexor tightness but is expected to be back for this game. Al Horford missed Saturday’s game due to a toe sprain and is also expected to return for this game. Jaylen Brown played Saturday but has been dealing with right knee posterior impingement and is questionable for this game. If Jaylen can’t play, Sam Hauser may get the start in his place. Luke Kornet was a late addition with an illness and is questionable. For Memphis, only Brandon Clarke (knee) and Zyon Pullin (knee) are out.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics ReservesAl HorfordNeemias QuetaBaylor ScheiermanJordan WalshLuke KornetTorrey CraigSam HauserPayton PritchardXavier Tillman
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonMiles Norris
Injuries/OutJaylen Brown (knee) questionable Luke Kornet (illness) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Grizzlies Starters
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Grizzlies Reserves Santi AldamaMarvin Bagley III Jay HuffGG Jackson II Luke KennardJohn KoncharScotty Pippen, JrLaMar StevensVince Williams, Jr
Two-Way Players Zyon PullinYuki KawamuraCam Spencer
Injuries/Out Brandon Clarke (knee) out Zyon Pullin (knee) out
Head CoachTuomas Iisalo (interim)
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Ja Morant
Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Ja MorantMorant is averaging 22.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 44.7% from the field and 28.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game, Morant finished with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals while shooting 55% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc. Morant is very athletic and quick and so he can give the Celtics problems. They need to stay with him on defense to try to slow him down.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Jaren Jackson, Jr
Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Jaren Jackson, Jr.Jackson is averaging 22.4 points, 5.6 rebounds 2.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 49.5% from the field and 37.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game, Jackson finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 blocks and 3 assists while shooting 57.8% from the field and 75% from beyond the arc. Jackson is playing very well this season and is a real threat to score. He is also a former Defensive Player of the Year, and will make it difficult for whoever he is guarding to score.
Honorable mention Derrick White vs Desmond Bane Bane is averaging 18.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 48.4% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc. In the first game, he finished with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals while shooting 41.7% from the field and 40.1% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 5th with a defensive rating of 110.3. The Grizzlies are 12th with a defensive rating of 112.6. The Grizzlies are 2nd in scoring with 122.2 points per game while the Celtics are 8th with 116.9 points per game. The Celtics are 1st in 3 point attempts with 48.3 and 8th in 3 point percentage at 37.0%. The Grizzlies are 14th with 37.5 three point attempts per game and 10th in 3 point percentage at 36.8%. The Celtics have to guard the perimeter and also guard the paint since the Grizzlies are 2nd averaging 56.5 points in the paint. In their first meeting, the Celtics allowed the Grizzlies to shoot 50% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc. They have to defend better in this one if they want to win it.
Rebound – The Celtics can’t score if they don’t have the ball and to get the ball, they have to grab rebounds. The Celtics are 11th in the league, grabbing 44.9 rebounds per game while the Grizzlies are 2nd with 47.2 rebounds per game. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and the Celtics need to put out more effort than the Grizzlies in order to beat them to rebounds.
Play Hard for 48 Minutes – The difference in the Celtics wins and losses in this year has been the amount of effort they give on both ends of the court. The Grizzlies beat them in their first meeting by playing harder. The Celtics must be more aggressive in going for loose balls, rebounds, in going to the basket and on defense. They have to commit to giving full effort from the opening tip until the final buzzer. Hopefully they have learned from their losses and won’t slack off on effort for even a minute in this game. They need to take charge of the game from the opening tip until the final buzzer. The Celtics must be the tougher team both physically and mentally.
Move the Ball – The Celtics are tough to beat when they keep the ball moving and find the open man but when one player over dribbles and lapses into hero ball, they falter. The Celtics are 40-2 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 13-16 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. Keep the ball moving and don’t lapse into hero ball, whether in the first quarter or the 4th quarter. Hero ball rarely works.
X-Factors On the Road and Fatigue – The Celtics are on the road for the 6th straight game away from TD Garden. They need to get past the distractions of travel and being away from their homes and families and they have to keep from being rattled by the hostile crowd. They have to concentrate on playing the right way and ignore all the distractions. The final game of a road trip is always the toughest and the Celtics need to be mentally tough to get a win in this one.
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Some officials call the game tight and call every little bit of contact. Others let them play and allow both teams to be physical. Some refs call it one sided for one team while others call it even. Some refs give the home team the benefit of the calls while others favor the road team or favor neither. The Celtics have to concentrate on playing their game and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away from their focus on playing.
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