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Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« on: January 26, 2021, 09:47:32 PM »

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Boston Celtics (10-6) at San Antonio Spurs (9-8)
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
8:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #17 Road Game #10
TV:  NBCSB, FSSW-SA, NBA League Pass
Radio: WBZ-FM, WOAI/KXTN
AT&T Center




Probable Celtics Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG:  Kemba Walker
SG:  Marcus Smart
SF:  Jaylen Brown
PF:  Jayson Tatum
C:   Daniel Theis

Reserves
Tremont Waters
Semi Ojeleye
Javonte Green
Tristan Thompson
Grant Williams
Robert Williams III
Tacko Fall
Carsen Edwards
Aaron Nesmith
Jeff Teague

Injuries
Romeo Langford (wrist) out
Payton Pritchard (knee) out

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters
PG SG SF  PF C
PG:  Lonnie Walker IV
SG:  DeJounte Murray
SF:  DeMar DeRozan
PF:   Keldon Johnson
C:    LaMarcus Aldridge

Reserves

Keita Bates-Diop
Drew Eubanks
Rudy Gay
Tre Jones
Trey Lyles 
Patty Mills
Jakob Poeltl
Luka Samanic
Devin Vassell
Quinndary Weatherspoon

Injuries
Derrick White (toe) out

Head Coach
Gregg Popovich

Game Notes
The Celtics traveled to San Antonio on Tuesday as they prepared to face the Spurs for their only meeting on the schedule so far.   The Spurs had their game on Monday against the Grizzlies cancelled supposedly because neither team had enough players due to contact tracing, even though the Spurs had just one player on the injury list. 

That game was cancelled less than an hour before tip off with both teams already on the court shooting around.  The Spurs still have just one player on the injured list and there has been no new information on which players are affected by the contact tracing and so at this time we are just hoping that the game goes on as planned.

The Celtics are 2nd in the East, just one game behind the Philadelphia 76ers.  They are 5-4 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games.  The Spurs are 9th in the West, but have the same record as Memphis (6th), Phoenix (7th) and Golden State (8th).  but lack the tie breakers to move ahead of any of the other 3 teams.  They are 3-5 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. 

The Spurs last played on Sunday when they beat the Wizards 121-101, which snapped a 2 game losing streak.   The Celtics also last played on Monday when they beat the Bulls 119-103, giving them a 2 game win streak after having lost the previous 3 games. 

The Celtics have quite a few young players on their team, but the Spurs have the youngest roster in franchise history since Popovich took over as coach.  Their average age is 25.5 with 9 players under 25.  The Celtics and Spurs split the series 1-1 last season with each team winning on the road.

If this game is played, the Celtics are hoping to have Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the court at the same time for the first time this season.  I'm going to also guess that Daniel Theis will win the starting center spot since he has been playing so well.   Only Romeo Langford (wrist) and Payton Pritchard (knee) are still out.  For the Spurs, only Derrick White (toe) is listed as out.  However, we don't know what players were out for Monday's game for contact tracing that put them below 8 active players. 

Key Matchups
vs
Jaylen Brown vs DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is leading the Spurs with 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.1 steals.  He is shooting 46% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc.  Brown has been the Celtics most consistent player this season on both ends of the court and should be a good match up for DeRozan. 

vs
Jayson Tatum vs Keldon Johnson
Jayson Tatum returned to the court in the Celtics last game after missing 5 games due to covid and played like he had never been gone.  Johnson is averaging 14.2 points and is leading the Spurs with 7.3 rebounds per game.  He is shooting 46% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. 

Honorable Mention
Daniel Theis vs LaMarcus Aldridge
Aldridge is averaging 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists.  He is shooting 46% from the field and although he is shooting just 30% from beyond the arc, he hit 4 threes in a game on January 22, so you can't slack off of him on the perimeter.  I put Daniel Theis in the starting lineup because he has been the Celtics best center recently, but it could very well be Tristan Thompson who gets the start here.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense wins games and so the Celtics need to continue to make defense a priority.  The Celtics are 13th with a defensive rating of 109.1 while the Spurs are 8th with a defensive rating of 108.6   Since they are very close on offense with the Celtics averaging 112.6 points per game and the Spurs averaging 111.4 points per game, defense will likely decide the winner of this game.

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 46.1 rebounds per game.  Rebounding takes effort and when the Celtics put forth the extra effort on the boards, that tends to spread to other areas of the game as well.   

Move the Ball Carefully
- The Celtics need to move the ball to find the open man. The Celtics can't lapse into hero ball and over dribbling.  But, they have to make good passes and take care of the ball as they don't want to turn the ball over.  The Spurs turn the over at a historic low 10.18 turnovers per game and the Celtics can't get sloppy with the ball. 

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. 

Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to start off strong and then play hard throughout the game until the final buzzer.  They can't let up if they get ahead and they can't afford to start off slow and get behind.  They will need consistent effort from start to finish from both the starters and the reserves if they want to beat the Spurs.

X-Factors

Road Game - The Celtics are playing on the road once again. Travel and staying in hotels can be a distraction and can also take a toll on players.  Also the situation with covid and a possible postponement can be a distraction.  The Celtics have to put all of those distractions aside and concentrate on playing their game. 

Coaching - Gregg Popovich is considered by many to be the best coach in the league.  Brad Stevens is considered to be one of the best young coaches in the league and the heir apparent to Popovich's crown.  Matchups and coaching strategy should come into play in this game. Will master or pupil come out on top? 

Officiating - Officiating is always an X-Factor.  Every crew officiates differently and teams need to adjust to the way the game is called. With no fans, pretty much the only home court advantage teams get these days is in the form of home refs.   Hopefully we get fair officiating and they let them play. 

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2021, 09:52:09 PM »

Offline Csfan1984

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Here we go

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2021, 09:52:38 PM »

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TP to Csfan1984   for being the first to post in the game thread!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!! 

Beat the Spurs!!!   

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2021, 10:09:03 PM »

Offline CaNdyMaN1369

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Lets Go Celtics!!!                     :D                        Beat the Spurs!!!

TP...             FLCF...

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2021, 10:10:54 PM »

Online liam

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Go Celtics!!!                   

TP FLCF

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2021, 10:50:02 PM »

Offline slamtheking

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TP FL.  hope we actually have this game

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2021, 10:58:22 PM »

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Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2021, 12:11:25 AM »

Offline BackDoorCut

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We are painstakingly close to a full line up in what seems like forever!

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2021, 12:37:53 AM »

Offline Ogaju

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GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CELTICS!!! TP FLCF FOR ANOTHER  GREAT THREAD!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CELTICS BEAT THE spurs.

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #9 on: January 27, 2021, 12:57:39 AM »

Offline Somebody

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Let's go Celtics!
Jaylen Brown for All-NBA

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2021, 03:57:12 AM »

Offline RodyTur10

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Let's also give our appreciation to Gregg Popovich, who's 71, and has lost his Parker/Ginobili/Duncan dynasty and Leonard afterwards. Nonetheless he has a roster that's on the turning point of a full rebuild (with DeRozan, Aldridge, Gay, Mills on expiring contracts), but surprisingly has that team in the playoff battle in the tough West. That dedication to basketball and ability to adapt to the changing league and his roster is quite remarkable.

I hope Theis indeed gets the start over Thompson, as I don't expect Thompson and Theis both to start (which forces Smart to be the 6th man again). Considering the players available (Pritchard and Langford out) that may be a better balanced move, but I think Smart is going to be a fulltime-starter from now on. It does bring up the question what Thompson's role on this team is going to be as we have a promising young center in Robert Williams who needs lots of minutes as well.

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2021, 04:29:33 AM »

Offline j804

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I don’t care who’s on that Spurs team it feels like they always have kicked our butt the last handful of years
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Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2021, 08:40:28 AM »

Offline td450

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Let's also give our appreciation to Gregg Popovich, who's 71, and has lost his Parker/Ginobili/Duncan dynasty and Leonard afterwards. Nonetheless he has a roster that's on the turning point of a full rebuild (with DeRozan, Aldridge, Gay, Mills on expiring contracts), but surprisingly has that team in the playoff battle in the tough West. That dedication to basketball and ability to adapt to the changing league and his roster is quite remarkable.

I hope Theis indeed gets the start over Thompson, as I don't expect Thompson and Theis both to start (which forces Smart to be the 6th man again). Considering the players available (Pritchard and Langford out) that may be a better balanced move, but I think Smart is going to be a fulltime-starter from now on. It does bring up the question what Thompson's role on this team is going to be as we have a promising young center in Robert Williams who needs lots of minutes as well.

The center system is a bit of a trap for the C's.

Theis and Thompson can both play our switchable defensive scheme but Robert Williams struggles with it. After struggling at the start with a different role, Theis appears to have proven he is a significantly better player than Thompson, who has been disappointing.

When we got him, some posters warned that Thompson could be unmotivated for stretches. He also can turn it on, especially in the playoffs, and having a second center to plug in is important.

The problem is what to do with Williams. Despite his defensive issues, he's pretty dynamic and the team needs to give him the space to improve. He will probably outplay Thompson.

So what happens if Thompson can't win consistent minutes? We brought him in for certain matchups and physicality in the playoffs, but it may not be possible to bury him on the bench in favor of Theis/Williams, then expect that he will wake up and deliver come playoff time.

Theis and Williams deserve the minutes more, and splitting 48 minutes 3 ways isn't a good idea. None of them are workable power forwards for any serious minutes. Thompson may end up as a stranded asset on this team.

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2021, 08:42:15 AM »

Offline cltc5

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Lets gooo

Re: Celtics (10-6) at Spurs (9-8) Game #17 1/27/21
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2021, 09:27:27 AM »

Offline Surferdad

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I know Theis has played well lately, but personally I would start Tristan vs. LaMarcus.