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Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« on: February 10, 2020, 10:01:25 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Boston Celtics (37-15) at Houston Rockets (33-20)
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
9:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #53, Road Game #26
TV:  TNT, NBCSB, ATTSN-SW
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 790 KBME
Toyota Center



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Kemba Walker vs Russell Westbrook

Shooting Guard

vs
Jaylen Brown vs James Harden

Small Forward
vs  
Gordon Hayward vs Robert Covington

Power Forward
  vs 
Jayson Tatum vs Danuel House, Jr

Center
vs
Daniel Theis vs PJ Tucker

Reserves
Romeo Langford
Javonte Green
Semi Ojeleye
Brad Wanamaker
Grant Williams
Vincent Poirier
Carsen Edwards
Marcus Smart
Enes Kanter

Injuries/NWT
Robert Williams (hip) out
Jaylen Brown (ankle) probable

Two Way Players

Tremont Waters
Tacko Fall

Head Coach
Brad Stevens



Reserves
Bruno Caboclo
Tyson Chandler
Chris Clemons
Isaiah Hartenstein
Ben McLemore
Austin Rivers
Thabo Sefolosha

Injuries
Eric Gordon (leg) out

2 Way Players
Michael Frazier
William Howard

Head Coach
Mike D'Antoni

Game Notes
The Celtics continue their road trip with a stop in Houston to take on the Rockets.  This is the first of 2 meetings between these two teams this season.  Their final meeting will be in Boston on February 29.  This is Houston's final game before the All Star break.  The Celtics play once more before the break on Thursday at home against the Clippers. 

The Celtics are 3rd in the East, 1.5 games behind the 2nd place Raptors and 3 games ahead of the 4th place Miami Heat.  The Celtics are 15-10 on the road and 9-1 in their last 10 games.  They are 12-6 against Western Conference teams.  They are looking to win their 8th straight game. 

The Rockets are 5th in the West.  They are 1.5 games behind 4th place Utah and they are 1 game ahead of Oklahoma City, who the Celtics beat on Sunday.  They are 18-8 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games.  They are 12-4 against Eastern Conference teams.  They have lost their last 2 games.   

The Rockets had a 4 game win streak snapped by Utah on Sunday. They have won their last 3 games against Boston and have swept 3 of the last 6 season series.  This may be the only team in the league where the Celtics may have a height advantage.  Since trading Clint Capela, they are starting a lineup where 6'8" Robert Covington is their tallest player.  They are banking on being able to out-switch teams and beat them with speed and athleticism. 

Both teams are close to being healthy.  In spite of injuring both ankles, Jaylen Brown is listed as probable.  However,  there is a possibility that they will hold him out as a precaution and in that case Marcus Smart will probably get the start.  Robert Williams is back to full contact practice but is still out for this game.  For the Rockets, Eric Gordon (leg) is the only player listed as out. 

Key Matchups
vs
Kemba Walker vs Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is averaging 27.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.6 steals.  He is always a threat to post a triple double.  He is shooting 46.1% from the field but only 24.0% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics need to keep him from getting into the paint and make him shoot from outside. 

vs
Jaylen Brown vs James Harden
Harden is one of the toughest players in the league to guard as he is a master at drawing fouls, shooting 12 free throws a game.  He is averaging 35.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  He is shooting 43.6% from the field and 35.6% from beyond the arc.  Marcus Smart has done well in the past to limit Harden and get into his head and we will likely see him guarding Harden at times in this game especially is Brown is out or limited by his ankle injuries.   Limiting Harden is very important.  The Rockets are 16-2 when he scores 40 or more points. They are 24-6 when he scores 34 or more points and they are 8-12 when he scores fewer then 34 points. 

Honorable Mention
Gordon Hayward vs Robert Covington
Covington was traded to the Rockets in the Capela trade.  He has played 3 games with the Rockets so far and has hit 4 threes in two of them.  He is averaging 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 steals.  He is shooting 43.6% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc. 

Keys to the Game
Defense -  Defense is always a key to every game.   The Rockets are 2nd in the league in scoring at 118.2 points per game.  The Celtics are 12th, averaging 112.7 points per game.  The Rockets are 15th with a defensive rating of 110.0 while the Celtics are 3rd with a defensive rating of 105.5.  The Celtics absolutely need to play hard nose gritty team defense if they want to win this game.   
 
Rebound -  In order to score, the Celtics need the ball and to get the ball, they will need to crash the boards as a team.   Both teams average 45.6 rebounds per game.   Much of rebounding is effort and when the Celtics put out extra effort on the boards, it usually carries over into the rest of their game.

Energy and Aggressiveness - The Celtics need to play physical ball and be aggressive on both ends of the court.    They have to come out and play hard from start to finish with no let up. The Rockets play a physical brand of basketball and the Celtics must match their physicality.    They have to be aggressive and they have to play like the team that wants it more for 48 minutes.  They can't let the Rockets get a big lead in this one because they won't give it back. The Rockets are 2nd in pace at 103.9 while the Celtics are 18th at 99.78.  The Celtics need to be aggressive and match the Rockets' energy. 

Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics are most successful when they keep the ball moving and don't lapse into hero ball.  They need to feed the hot hand and they need to find the open man.  They've been doing a good job of this for the  most part and need to keep it up.  They have to be careful with their passes because the Rockets are 6th in the league with 18.2 points off turnovers per game and if the Celtics get sloppy, the Rockets will make them pay. 

X-Factors
On the Road - The Celtics are playing the second straight road game against Western Conference teams.  They have to focus on the task at hand and not allow the distractions of the road and a hostile crowd to take them out of the game. 

Officiating - The officiating is always an x-factor.  James Harden always seems to get more than his share of free throws.  The Celtics can't let star calls in his direction take away their focus.  They have to play through whatever calls go against them.  Hopefully the refs will call the game evenly and it won't be an issue but you never know. 

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2020, 10:06:04 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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FRIST!!!!!
 ;D

thanks for the thread flc. a tp as ever. today is my lucky day,  i need to go out and buy a lottery ticket now.

celtics win and win big in this one.


goooooooooooooooooooooo celtics!!!!  ;D
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Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2020, 10:06:31 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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TP to hwangjini_1   for being the first to post in the game thread!!!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!!!!!!!

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2020, 10:09:32 PM »

Offline blink

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thanks for the game thread as always FLCeltsFan.

this one is going to be tough, but we can get the W

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2020, 10:46:07 PM »

Offline Somebody

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Go Celtics!
Jaylen Brown for All-NBA

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2020, 10:55:27 PM »

Offline slamtheking

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TP for another great thread FL

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2020, 10:57:49 PM »

Offline liam

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TP for those above!

Go Celtics! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

TP FL

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2020, 11:30:42 PM »

Offline CaNdyMaN1369

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Let's Go Celtics!!!               ;D                      Beat the Rockets!!!

TP...               FLCF...

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2020, 12:03:55 AM »

Offline Ogaju

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GO  CELTICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TP FL CF

GO CELTICS

BEAT THE ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2020, 03:53:21 AM »

Offline apc

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Jaylen Brown really need to watch out for Harden pump fakes.
He tends to fall for them often .

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2020, 04:44:30 AM »

Offline RockinRyA

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Jaylen Brown really need to watch out for Harden pump fakes.
He tends to fall for them often .

I wonder what their initial assignments would be. Im thinking Jaylen checks westbrick and Tatum on Harden.

With Jaylen's tendencies, he might get into early foul trouble if hes checking harden. Harden isnt really explosive so I think Tatum and his length will be good matchup. Westbrick meanwhile can be matched up athletically by Brown and isnt as crafty as Harden.

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2020, 05:04:01 AM »

Offline gouki88

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Jaylen Brown really need to watch out for Harden pump fakes.
He tends to fall for them often .

I wonder what their initial assignments would be. Im thinking Jaylen checks westbrick and Tatum on Harden.

With Jaylen's tendencies, he might get into early foul trouble if hes checking harden. Harden isnt really explosive so I think Tatum and his length will be good matchup. Westbrick meanwhile can be matched up athletically by Brown and isnt as crafty as Harden.
I feel like Harden is wayyyyy too strong for Tatum to have a chance. Anyone we put on him will get fouls, but I think JB is the matchup
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Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2020, 05:06:10 AM »

Offline trickybilly

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Heavy does of Kanter?
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2020, 05:41:15 AM »

Offline BitterJim

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Heavy does of Kanter?

Maybe, but on the other hand he may just get run right off the floor. If he looks good in his first few minutes we probably see plenty of him, but I could also see him playing <10 minutes, with Grant getting 20+
I'm bitter.

Re: Celtics (37-15) at Rockets (33-20) Game #53 2/11/20
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2020, 05:42:12 AM »

Offline Somebody

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Jaylen Brown really need to watch out for Harden pump fakes.
He tends to fall for them often .

I wonder what their initial assignments would be. Im thinking Jaylen checks westbrick and Tatum on Harden.

With Jaylen's tendencies, he might get into early foul trouble if hes checking harden. Harden isnt really explosive so I think Tatum and his length will be good matchup. Westbrick meanwhile can be matched up athletically by Brown and isnt as crafty as Harden.
I feel like Harden is wayyyyy too strong for Tatum to have a chance. Anyone we put on him will get fouls, but I think JB is the matchup
If I were Brad I'd just start Kemba/Smart/Brown/Hayward/Tatum and have Smart guard Harden, Brown guard Westbrook, Tatum guard House, Kemba guard Covington and Hayward guard Tucker. We're going to torch this Rockets team while really limiting their offence :laugh:
Jaylen Brown for All-NBA