Author Topic: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21  (Read 25107 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« on: October 29, 2021, 10:32:57 PM »

Online FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11832
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
  at 
Boston Celtics (2-3) at Washington Wizards (4-1) 
Regular Season Game #6, Road Game #4
Saturday, October 30, 2021
5:00 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, NBCSWA, NBA-LP
Radio: WROR, WTEM
Capital One Arena



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard

vs
Dennis Schroder vs Spencer Dinwiddie

Shooting Guard
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Bradley Beal

Small Forward

vs
Jayson Tatum  vs  Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Power Forward [/b]
vs
Al Horford vs  Kyle Kuzma

Center

vs
Robert Williams III  vs  Montrezl Harrell


Celtics Reserves
Bruno Fernando
Juancho Hernangomez
Enes Kanter
Jabari Parker
Payton Pritchard
Josh Richardson
Grant Williams

Injuries
Marcus Smart (illness)  out
Romeo Langford (calf) questionable
Aaron Nesmith  (illness) questionable

Two-Way Players
Sam Hauser
Brodric Thomas

Head Coach

Ime Udoka




Wizards Reserves
Deni Avdija
Davis Bertans
Aaron Holiday
Corey Kispert
Isaiah Todd
Raul Neto

Injuries
Thomas Bryant (knee) out
Anthony Gill (calf) out
Rui Hachimura (conditioning) out
Cassius Winston (hamstring) out
Daniel Gafford (quad) doubtful

Two-Way Players
Joel Ayayi
Cassius Winston

Head Coach
Wes Unseld, Jr

Game Notes
For the second time in four days, the Celtics will face off against the Washington Wizards.  The Wizards came out on top on Wednesday at the TD Garden as the Celtics could not match the Wizards effort.  The Wizards went on to beat the Atlanta Hawks  122-111 on Thursday without Gafford or Dinwiddie.  The Celtics have not played since Wednesday's loss to the Wizards at home. 

This is the second of four games this season.  These two teams will meet once more in Washington on January 23 and again in Boston on April 3.  Four of the Celtics' next five games are on the road.  That may be a good thing because the Celtics are winless at home but 2-1 on the road.   Much has been said by coach, players and fans about the Celtics lack of effort in Wednesday's game.  Hopefully we will see more energy and a better effort in this one. 

Marcus Smart did not travel with the team to Washington and will miss this game due to illness.  He has been battling migraines and an intestinal illness for at least the past week. I am guessing that Dennis Schroder will get the start in his place.  Aaron Nesmith also is fighting an illness but traveled with the team and is questionable for this game.  Romeo Langford has missed the last 3 games and with a calf injury and is listed as questionable for this game.

The Wizards will also be shorthanded for this game.  Rui Hachimura remains out for conditioning after missing training camp due to a personal matter.  Thomas Bryant will likely be out until at least December after tearing his ACL last season.  Cassius Winston is out with a hamstring injury.   Anthony Gill is out with a calf injury.  Daniel Gafford injured his quad in Wednesday's game against the Celtics and is doubtful for this game.  Montrezl Harrell started at center in his place on Thursday and played very well so I imagine that he will once again get the start.

Key Matchups
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Bradley Beal
This is a key matchup for both teams.  Jaylen Brown has been experiencing after effects of the covid that kept him out of most of training camp.  He has been very inconsistent so far, scoring 46 points in one game and then 9 in the next game.  He scored 30 in one game and then 13 in the next.  The Celtics need him to be more consistent and hopefully as the effects of the covid wear off, he will be.   Bradley Beal is having problems of his own.  He is averaging 21.5 points per game but is shooting 35.9% from the field and just 17.2% from beyond the arc.  He is also turning the ball over almost 4 times per game. 

Center
vs
Robert Williams III  vs  Montrezl Harrell
Harrell started for Daniel Gafford on Thursday and finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.  I'm guessing that he will once again get the start in this game.  He had 25 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's game against the Celtics and was able to get pretty much whatever he wanted inside.  Robert needs to find a way to slow him down in this game. 

Honorable Mention

Dennis Schroder vs Spencer Dinwiddie
I'm guessing that Schroder will get the start in place of Marcus Smart.  He will be tasked with trying to slow down Dinwiddie who is averaging 19.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists.  He is shooting 44.4% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.  He put up 22 points against the Celtics on Wednesday and was held out on Thursday for rest so he should be nice and fresh for this game. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always the key to winning.  In spite of saying that they would make defense their identity, the Celtics have been rather mediocre on defense so far.  They have a defensive rating of 110.6 which is 22nd in the league.  The Wizards are 13th with a defensive rating of 104.7.   The Celtics should be much better on defense than they are.  It will take a lot more effort and dedication to defense on each player's part to play the type of winning defense they need to. 

Rebounding - Rebounding is also always a key to winning.  Much of rebounding is effort and focus and the Celtics had neither in their first game against the Wizards, who out-rebounded the Celtics 47-37.   Way too many times there were no Celtics in the paint for the rebounds.   The Celtics opponents get 27.6 of their own misses, which is 26th in the league.  The Celtics must put out more effort to crash the boards and when they do, it usually filters down to the rest of their game as well. 

Focus and Effort - Much has been said by Ime Udoka, the players, the fans, and the media about the Celtics lack of effort in their two home games.  The players all said they know they have to play harder and have more focus.  Ime Udoka told them if they didn't have more effort and focus in the game than they did in shoot around they would get beat.  He was right.  The Celtics must play with increased focus and effort if they expect to beat the Wizards, who are playing hard and winning. 

Be Aggressive - Along with putting in more effort and having better focus, the team has to be the more aggressive team.  They have to be more aggressive in going to the basket, in defending, in going for loose balls and just be more aggressive in general.  Too many times in the last game we saw the Celtics standing around while Wizards ran for a rebound or for a loose ball.  The Celtics have to be the more aggressive team and they can't let the Wizards play harder than them. 

Teamwork - The Celtics need to play as a team on both ends of the court.  They need to move the ball and find the best shot on each possession.  They have to trust each other to make the right play.  They also have to play as a team on defense, not missing defensive assignments and backing each other up on defense. When the Celtics have fewer than 20 assists, they usually lose.  They have to work as a team and play together on both offense and defense. 

X-Factors
On the Road
- The Celtics are on the road for this game and for four of their next five games.  Young players usually play better at home but the Celtics have lost their only two home games so far.  The Celtics need to keep their focus and not allow the distractions of playing on the road and in a hostile arena bother them. 

Officiating - We have seen some questionable calls as always.  The refs have also been calling the game a bit differently than players are used to.  Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Trae Young,  and James Harden have all complained about not getting to the line.  The officials are not calling the fouls where the offensive player in any way initiates the fouls and it's going to take time for players who are used to getting those calls to adjust.  Jayson Tatum needs to adjust and not expect the calls and not lose focus in the game over calls he thinks he should get. 

Short Handed - Both teams are missing key players.  The Wizards beat the Hawks on Thursday on the second night of back to back games and even more short handed than they are in this one.  The Celtics will definitely miss Marcus Smart in this one but everyone needs to up their game, especially on the defensive end where Marcus' absence will be felt the most. 
« Last Edit: October 29, 2021, 11:04:46 PM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2021, 10:33:53 PM »

Offline Ogaju

  • Bill Sharman
  • *******************
  • Posts: 19479
  • Tommy Points: 1871
1st GO CELTICS….TP TO FLCF FOR ANOTHER GREAT GAME THREAD.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CELTICS!!! BEAT the wizards.

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2021, 10:35:13 PM »

Online FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11832
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
TP to Ogaju for being the first to post in the game thread!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!!

Beat the Wizards!!!! 

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2021, 11:01:07 PM »

Offline slamtheking

  • NCE
  • Red Auerbach
  • *******************************
  • Posts: 31869
  • Tommy Points: 10047
TP for another great game thread FL

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2021, 11:20:56 PM »

Offline Silas

  • 2020 CelticsStrong Draft Guru
  • Danny Ainge
  • **********
  • Posts: 10690
  • Tommy Points: 1772
Ok, Cs get your act together and smother the Wiz.
I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.   -  Mark Twain

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2021, 04:14:01 AM »

Online ozgod

  • JoJo White
  • ****************
  • Posts: 16789
  • Tommy Points: 1363
TP to FL and Ogaju and everyone else who posted!

Looks like Smartacus is out due to illness (non Covid).

Nesmith is questionable due to illness too.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/10/29/marcus-smart-non-covid-illness-will-miss-wizards-game/
Any odd typos are because I suck at typing on an iPhone :D

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2021, 05:30:46 AM »

Offline Indocelts

  • Bill Walton
  • *
  • Posts: 1311
  • Tommy Points: 223
Looking forward too seeing somebody replacing Smart in the starting lineup. Honestly, I just don't think Smart should be starting at all.

Go Cs. I have a positive vibe we will win this game.

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2021, 07:13:33 AM »

Offline RodyTur10

  • Jim Loscutoff
  • **
  • Posts: 2757
  • Tommy Points: 291
  • Always offline from 9pm till 3am
The Wizards without Bryant, Hachimura and Gafford makes their front court really thin. The Celtics should win this game. Curious to see whether starting Schröder/Brown/Tatum/Horford/Williams will be an improvement. I hope it will cause I don't want another DNP for Pritchard.

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2021, 12:11:48 PM »

Offline liam

  • NCE
  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 43397
  • Tommy Points: 3150
Go Celtics! It's a chance to see the starters without Marcus. 

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2021, 03:05:11 PM »

Offline footey

  • Reggie Lewis
  • ***************
  • Posts: 15965
  • Tommy Points: 1833
Taking my daughter to the game tonight. We’ll be sitting a few rows behind our team.

GO CELTICS!!!

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2021, 03:47:27 PM »

Offline Ed Monix

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2040
  • Tommy Points: 213
  • Signature move: Punch to the jejunum
Rob Williams is out tonight with non-COVID related illness.

It’s reported that Grant Williams will start in his place.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2021, 04:22:49 PM by Ed Monix »
5' 10" former point guard

Career highlight: 1973-74 championship, Boston Celtics

Career lowlight: traded for a washing machine

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2021, 03:50:00 PM »

Offline Ed Monix

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2040
  • Tommy Points: 213
  • Signature move: Punch to the jejunum
Taking my daughter to the game tonight. We’ll be sitting a few rows behind our team.

GO CELTICS!!!

Wow, fingers crossed for the win tonight, I hope your daughter has a great night!
5' 10" former point guard

Career highlight: 1973-74 championship, Boston Celtics

Career lowlight: traded for a washing machine

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2021, 03:56:03 PM »

Online Goldstar88

  • Danny Ainge
  • **********
  • Posts: 10684
  • Tommy Points: 1416
Taking my daughter to the game tonight. We’ll be sitting a few rows behind our team.

GO CELTICS!!!

Nice man. Enjoy!
Quoting Nick from the now locked Ime thread:
Quote
At some point you have to blame the performance on the court on the players on the court. Every loss is not the coach's fault and every win isn't because of the players.

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2021, 04:08:30 PM »

Offline Silas

  • 2020 CelticsStrong Draft Guru
  • Danny Ainge
  • **********
  • Posts: 10690
  • Tommy Points: 1772
Early game -- early win! Let's go Cs.
I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.   -  Mark Twain

Re: Celtics (2-3) at Wizards (4-1) Game #6 10/30/21
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2021, 05:02:48 PM »

Offline BruceBanner18

  • NCE
  • Jaylen Brown
  • Posts: 535
  • Tommy Points: 73
I'm looking for jabari to out play his $1000 price on DK