Timberwolves (11-16) at Celtics (14-13) Game #28 12/21/15

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Minnesota Timberwolves (11-16) at Boston Celtics (14-13)
Monday, December 21, 2015
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #28, Home Game #15
TV:  CSNNE, FSNorth, NBA-TV
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, WCCO-AM
TD Garden



Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Isaiah Thomas ...Avery Bradley...Jae Crowder...Jared Sullinger...Amir Johnson

Celtics Reserves
Evan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk

Head Coach
Brad Stevens

Injuries
Marcus Smart (leg) out
Amir Johnson (plantar fasciitis) questionable




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Ricky Rubio...Andrew Wiggins...Tayshaun Prince... Kevin Garnett... Karl-Anthony Towns

Wolves Reserves
Nemanja Bjelica
Gorgui Dieng
Tyus Jones
Zach Lavine
Kevin Martin
Andre Miller
Shabazz Muhammad
Adreian Payne
Damjun Rudez

Injuries
Nikola Pekovic (Achilles)  out

Head Coach
Sam Mitchell

Game Notes
The Celtics look to break their 3 game losing streak as they host Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves.  KG is playing his two former teams back to back.  On Sunday, the Wolves beat the Nets and they come into Boston on a two game win streak. 

The Wolves are 3-7 in their last 10 and 7-6 on the road.  The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 and 7-7 at home.  The series between these teams last season was 1-1 with each team winning on their home court.  Minnesota has lost 9 straight in Boston. 

After the Celtics lost 3 straight games, Brad Stevens hinted that he might switch up the lineups and the rotation.  Depending on what he saw in Saturday and Sunday's practices, we may see a different starting lineup or a different rotation off the bench.  Tyler Zeller gave the Celtics a boost off the bench against Detroit and may see more minutes.  David Lee has been a train wreck pretty much for the most part in his minutes.  Even if he doesn't want to, Stevens may be forced to make a change if Amir Johnson can't play. 

Johnson missed Saturday and Sunday's practices with plantar fasciitis.  He's reportedly been dealing with it for a couple of weeks.    He was wearing a protective boot on Sunday and it is unclear whether he will play in this game.  With Amir's availability up in the air, the Celtics have recalled Jordan Mickey from the Red Claws.   Marcus Smart is once again expected to miss this game.  For the Wolves, Nikola Pekovic will be out with an Achilles injury.

It was just before the Celtics hosted the Timberwolves last season on December 19 that the Celtics traded Rajon Rondo and Jae Crowder became a Celtic.  The Wolves had also made a trade on the same day and so there was a lot of uncertainty on both sides going into their game at the Garden last season. 

Key Matchups
vs
Avery Bradley vs Andrew Wiggins
Andrew Wiggins is playing very well and averaging 21.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists.  Avery needs to play well on both ends of the court if the Celtics hope to break out of their slump. 

  vs  PF
Jared Sullinger vs Karl Anthony Towns 
Towns has been taken under KG's wing and could be this season's Rookie of the Year.  He is averaging 15.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.04 blocks.   Sully will have his hands full trying to slow down the Wolves 7' center. 

Honorable Mention
Evan Turner vs Kevin Martin
This is a matchup of key reserves.  Martin is capable of putting up a lot of points in a short time and the Celtics will need to defend him well, especially on the perimeter.  They also need Turner to play well and give the Celtics a boost off the bench. 

Player to Watch

Kevin Garnett is back with the team that drafted him and where he became a star.  However, after 6 very special years with the Celtics,  he will always be a Celtic.  Although he is now a Timberwolf,  he still loves Boston and Celtics fans.    He should get a very warm welcome from the crowd and knowing KG, will play very well against his old team.


Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics must defend. The offense feeds off of the defense and if the Celtics can't get stops they struggle on the other end as well.  Their identity this season has been their tough and gritty defense, but they have let it slip over the past 3 games.  They need to focus on defense once again.  Defense wins games!!

Rebound - The Celtics must get rebounds to prevent second chance points and fast breaks for the Wolves. Rebounding takes effort and desire and the Celtics have got to show both and crash the boards as a team. 

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds and in taking the ball to the basket. They also have to be aggressive on defense. When they are aggressive in going to the hoop good things happen. The Celtics have to play like they are the team that wants it more.

Set the Pace- The Celtics must run from the beginning of the game until the final buzzer. Running will allow them to get easy baskets as they get down the court before the defenses set up.  They have to run and they have to move the ball.   They had just 10 fast break points against the Hawks and they did too much walking the ball up the court and too much dribbling around. 

Play As a Team - The Celtics have been successful when they move the ball and play unselfishly, making the extra pass to get the best shot.   They have had 18, 17 and 19 assists in the three losses in their current streak.  They need to get back to playing as a team and increase their assist numbers once again. 

X-Factors
The KG Factor -  KG loves Boston, but when he's on the court,  they will be the enemy for the night.  He will do his best to get a win over them and his teammates are going to give their best to help him do so. 

Officiating -  Officiating is always an x-factor. Will they let them play or will they call every ticky tack foul?  It's usually to the Celtics' benefit if they let both teams play.  Will they call it fair or will they favor one team over the other? One never knows what any given crew will do.

[GetLucky]

TP FLC!

Go Celtics!!

[trickybilly]

Should really get the win here. Some interesting matchups..

[apc]

And play Gino no matter what the result is!

[FLCeltsFan]

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

And a TP to apc because they absolutely should play Gino no matter what!! 

[Ilikesports17]

Wow. No Amir or Sully.

Is Mickey active? could see some minutes tonight.

[jpotter33]

Greaaattttt, Sully with back spasms, too. Not good considering his previous back issues.

[jpotter33]

Who starts now? Olynyk and Lee or Zeller?

[jr_3421]

I think Zeller and kelly are gunna start. I would love to see Mickey get some run this game.

[apc]

Wow. No Amir or Sully.

Is Mickey active? could see some minutes tonight.

Sad those guys are injured, but i will be happy if Mickey get significant minutes.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I think Zeller and kelly are gunna start. I would love to see Mickey get some run this game.

Aint this about a bench! This is the first time we were going to get a chance to see Sullynyk and big boy goes down! Whyyyyyyyyyy???

I hope Mickey is ready. He better play harder than any player and try not to make many mistakes. This is how AB got his shot!

Thinking about it, I doubt Mickey plays unless there is a blowout, there are just too many bigs, CBS will probably just extend minutes. We still have KO, Z, Lee and Reb available. I bet CBS would even use Jae as a 4 over playing Mickey. A team only needs 4 players for 2 spots...

[max215]

I think Zeller and kelly are gunna start. I would love to see Mickey get some run this game.

Aint this about a bench! This is the first time we were going to get a chance to see Sullynyk and big boy goes down! Whyyyyyyyyyy???

I hope Mickey is ready. He better play harder than any player and try not to make many mistakes. This is how AB got his shot!

Thinking about it, I doubt Mickey plays unless there is a blowout, there are just too many bigs, CBS will probably just extend minutes. We still have KO, Z, Lee and Reb available. I bet CBS would even use Jae as a 4 over playing Mickey. A team only needs 4 players for 2 spots...

Problem is that 2 and a half of those players are utterly useless.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Is Mickey even active? He was designated to Maine last week I believe. Hope he gets some burn so we can see where he's at.

[PhoSita]

Stevens should start Jerebko and KO, give the younger guys plenty of run off the bench.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Am I the only one who would think about putting Jae on Wiggins and AB on Prince? I'm trying to picture it, but I can't. Jae is a bruiser like Butler and I know Wiggins when HAM on him in the past, maybe I'd just see if AB's quickness can do better on him and switch to Jae if it doesn't go well. I honestly don't remember what happened last season.