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Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« on: April 21, 2021, 10:22:53 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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at
Phoenix Suns (42-16) at Boston Celtics (31-27)
Thursday, April 22, 2021
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #59, Home Game #30
TV: NBCSB,BSAZ, NBA-LP
Radio: WROR, KTAR
TD Garden




Probable Starters

PG Kemba Walker ........... SG: Marcus Smart

C:Tristan Thompson

SF: Jayson Tatum............. PF: Grant Williams

Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Tremont Waters
Tacko Fall
Luke Kornet
Carsen Edwards
Aaron Nesmith
Romeo Langford
Semi Ojeleye
Jabari Parker

Injuries
Evan Fournier (health and safety protocols) out
Robert Williams III (knee) out
Jaylen Brown (shoulder) doubtful
Kemba Walker (illness) probable
Jayson Tatum (ankle) questionable
Marcus Smart (illness) available

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters

PG: Chris Paul......... SG: Devin Booker

C: Deandre Ayton

SF: Mikal Bridges ........... PF: Jae Crowder

Suns Reserves

Ty-Shon Alexander
Jevon Carter
Torrey Craig
Langston Galloway
Cam Johnson
Frank Kaminsky
E'Twaun Moore
Cameron Payne
Dario Saric
Jalen Smith

Injuries

Abdel Nader  (knee) out

Head Coach

Monty Williams

Game Notes

The Celtics host the Phoenix Suns for the second and final regular season meeting this season.  The Celtics lost 100-91 to the Suns in Phoenix on February 7.  Back on February 7 when they played, both teams had the same record at 12-9.  The Celtics and Suns tied the series last season 1-1 with each team winning on the road. 

The Suns are playing in the 3rd game of a 5 game road trip.  They are playing on the second night of back to back games, having beat the 76ers on Wednesday night in a game that went down to the buzzer.   The Suns are 10-3 when playing on the second night of back to back games.  The Celtics are playing on the first night of back to back games, with a game in Brooklyn on Friday.

After tying the Hawks for 4th place, the Celtics have slipped back to 6th place after losing just one game.  As of Wednesday, they are 1 game behind Atlanta (4th) and half a game behind New York (5th).  They are 1 game ahead of Miami (7th) and 2.5 games ahead of Charlotte (8th).  Atlanta, New York and Miami are all playing Wednesday night.   The Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games and 18-11 at home.  They are 13-12 against western teams. 

The Suns are 2nd in the West and also in the league.  They are just 1 game behind the first place Utah Jazz.  They are 2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and 4 games ahead of the 4th place Denver Nuggets.  They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and 19-7 on the road.  They are 17-6 against Eastern Conference teams. 

The Suns have been healthy for most of the season.  The have had to use just 5 different starting lineups this season.  They are 25-9 with this current lineup.  The Celtics, on the other hand, have had to use 25 different starting lineups this season.  Their preferred lineup with Walker, Smart, Brown, Tatum and Williams have played just 7 games together and they are 6-1 in those games. 

The Celtics have a lengthy injury list once again for this game.  Evan Fournier will miss his 9th straight game due to health and safety protocols.  He is out of quarantine but still not ready to return to the lineup.  Kemba Walker missed Monday's game and also missed Wednesday's practice.  He is listed as probable for this game, however.  Marcus Smart, who also missed Monday's game practiced on Wednesday and will be available for this game. 

Jaylen Brown injured his shoulder some time during Monday's game vs the Bulls.  He is listed as doubtful with bursitis in his shoulder.  Robert Williams will miss his fourth straight game with knee soreness.  He did some work at practice on Wednesday but isn't ready to return.  Finally, Jayson Tatum is listed as questionable with an ankle impingement, although after practice he said that he plans to play in this one.

I'm guessing that Jaylen Brown likely won't play since he is listed as doubtful.  I'm also guessing that Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker will play in this game.  In the past, when Jaylen missed a game, Grant Williams filled in at power forward while Jayson moved to small forward and I've included this in the lineup for this game.  Although, Brad never seems to do what you expect him to.   For the Suns, only Abdel Nader (knee) is on the injury list. 

Key Matchups
vs
Marcus Smart vs Devin Booker
Booker can put up points in bunches as evidenced by the 70 point game he had against the Celtics in 2017. In the February game vs the Celtics, he had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists.  He is averaging 25.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.  He is shooting 48.3% from the field and 34.7% from three.  Marcus needs to limit his scoring to have a chance in this game. 

vs
Kemba Walker vs Chris Paul
This should be a fun matchup between two very good point guards. Chris Paul is averaging 15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 1.5 steals.  He is shooting 48.4% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc.   Kemba has been playing well recently but he missed the last game with an illness so hopefully he continues to play well in this one.    He is going to need to keep playing well for the Celtics to win against a tough Suns team with Chris Paul at the point. 

Honorable Mention
Tristan Thompson vs Deandre Ayton
Ayton is averaging 15.2 points, 10.8 rebounds,  and 1.1 blocks per game.  He is shooting 62.5% from the field but just 20% from beyond the arc. He has taken 20 threes on the season and made just 4 of them.   The Celtics need to particularly keep him out of the paint and off the boards. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always a key to winning.  The Celtics are 13th with a defensive rating of 111.6 but the Suns are 5th with a defensive rating of 108.7.  The Celtics need to make defense a priority if they want to win this game.  You won't win many games without defense.  The players on the floor have to all commit to playing tough individual and team defense.   

Rebound
- The Celtics need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Suns from racking up fast break points.  They also have to crash the boards on the defensive end to prevent the Suns from getting tip ins and second chance points.  The Celtics are going to have to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards in this one.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be the more aggressive team in going after loose balls and rebounds, in defending, in going to the basket.  They have to be the team that plays harder and that wants to win more.  The Celtics were outworked by the more physical Bulls on Monday and they need to play harder and they have to outwork the Suns in this one if they want to get a win.

Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics have to move the ball and find the open man.  They can't lapse into hero ball as that rarely ends well.  The Suns average 27.2 assists per game, showing that they move the ball very well.  The Celtics are averaging just 23.4 assists per game but when they do share the ball and keep it moving, they usually get a win.  They also have to limit their turnovers as they have been turning it over way too much in recent games.  The Suns average 15.8 points off turnovers and if the Celtics get sloppy and careless with the ball, the Suns will make them pay.

X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are at home where they should get a boost from the home crowd (even though it's not a full crowd).  They need to focus on the game and gain motivation from having the fans behind them.  The Suns are playing in the 3rd game of a 5 game road trip and should be dealing with the distractions of travel and the fatigue of back to back games and that may give the Celtics a slight advantage. 

Injuries - As I stated above, the Suns have been very lucky this season with injuries and so haven't faced the adversity that the Celtics have with so many players out all season long.  There is a chance that the Celtics could have 5 players out key players out if Tatum and Brown can't play.  It goes without saying that if Tatum and Brown can play, the Celtics will have a better chance of winning.  Hopefully the Suns will underestimate the undermanned Celtics. 

Officiating - I know that I say this every game,  but the officiating can always be 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.  The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let bad calls or no calls take their focus off of playing the game. 
« Last Edit: April 21, 2021, 10:45:35 PM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2021, 10:26:07 PM »

Offline MattyIce

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let’s start a streak!  hopefully the suns are tired lol

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2021, 10:26:25 PM »

Kiorrik

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TP FL! <3

LET'S GOO CELTIIIICS!!!

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2021, 10:26:31 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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TP to  MattyIce  and Kiorrik for being the first to post in the game thread!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!!!

Beat the Suns!!!!!

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2021, 11:13:52 PM »

Offline gouki88

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This will be a very interesting measure of where we are
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2021, 11:18:40 PM »

Offline footey

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A lot of dudes out. I’m concerned.

But let’s go !!!!!!

Win baby!!!!

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2021, 11:39:54 PM »

Offline hpantazo

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Man, the Suns are gonna mop the floor with us with so many guys out!

The Celtics need a week off. I hope Stevens rests Tatum and Brown even if they feel like they can go.

Give Parker, Langford, Pritchard and Nesmith some run.

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2021, 12:42:44 AM »

Offline Celtics2021

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This will be a very interesting measure of where we are

Yes, can our 2nd stringers beat a top team in the West.

I hope we rest Kemba and just bring him back Friday.  Smart too, even though he’s available.  No point in him getting hurt trying to make up for so many others who are out.

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2021, 12:46:51 AM »

Offline gouki88

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This will be a very interesting measure of where we are

Yes, can our 2nd stringers beat a top team in the West.

I hope we rest Kemba and just bring him back Friday.  Smart too, even though he’s available.  No point in him getting hurt trying to make up for so many others who are out.
I had totally skimmed over the outs! Didn't realise Kemba and Brown were likely out, and that Rob's knee was still being troublesome. Maybe less interesting measure.

I agree with you, the Suns are playing at an elite level, so there's no point rushing guys back IMO because it'd likely be a loss regardless. Sit back and try and crack the Nets without Harden and maybe without Durant. Give Romeo, PP, Nesmith and Jabari some serious run.
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2021, 01:05:09 AM »

Offline rocknrollforyoursoul

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Can someone explain to me how the Suns have become so good? Is it mainly because they added Chris Paul? Plus maybe another year of growth for guys like Booker, Ayton, and Bridges? Isn't the roster largely the same as last year's, which was only mediocre?

But yeah, Boston will be missing Rob and Fournier, and likely Brown and Kemba ... there will be blood.
"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'"

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

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Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2021, 01:40:54 AM »

Offline liam

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Going to be tough. I'm going to watch just to see the young guys run it out!!!!

Go Celtics!

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2021, 02:01:03 AM »

Offline gouki88

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Can someone explain to me how the Suns have become so good? Is it mainly because they added Chris Paul? Plus maybe another year of growth for guys like Booker, Ayton, and Bridges? Isn't the roster largely the same as last year's, which was only mediocre?

But yeah, Boston will be missing Rob and Fournier, and likely Brown and Kemba ... there will be blood.
Their defence has become really really strong. Booker has been able to take a less involved role on offence because of Chris Paul, they've added other good veterans like Crowder, Craig and even Galloway. Saric and Jevon Carter have been really useful role players that give them lineup flexibility.

I'm not sure if you remember, but the Suns went undefeated in the bubble. This season has been a continuation of that, basically. Less insane play from Booker, but really good team play on both ends
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2021, 05:45:28 AM »

Offline CaNdyMaN1369

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Let's Go Celtics!!!                   :)                        Let's Beat the Suns!!!

TP...                     FLCF...

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2021, 07:13:06 AM »

Offline celts55

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The Celtics just can't catch a break. Just once this year, it would be nice to see a mostly healthy team.
 Since he doesn't play in back to back games anyway, I think I would hold Kemba out and let him rest one more day for the Nets.

Re: Suns (42-16) at Celtics (31-27) Game #59 4/22/21
« Reply #14 on: April 22, 2021, 07:42:11 AM »

Offline Silas

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Let's go Cs.  Need a tough win.
I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.   -  Mark Twain