Author Topic: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18  (Read 35209 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« on: December 24, 2018, 04:16:09 PM »

Online FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11831
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
  at 
Philadelphia 76ers (22-12)  at  Boston Celtics (19-13)
Regular Season Game #33, Home Game #16
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
5:30 PM ET
TV:  TNT
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.5 The Fanatic
TD Garden



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
  vs 
Kyrie Irving vs Ben Simmons

Shooting Guard

vs
Marcus Smart vs JJ Redick

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Jimmy Butler

Poward Forward
vs
Marcus Morris vs Mike Muscala

Center
vs
Al Horford vs Joel Embiid

Celtics Reserves

Semi Ojeleye
Terry Rozier
Daniel Theis
Brad Wanamaker
Robert Williams
Guerschon Yabusele
Gordon Hayward
Jaylen Brown

Injuries
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Jabari Bird (personal) out
Aron Baynes (hand) out

Two Way Players
PJ Dozier

Head Coach
Brad Stevens



Sixers Reserves
Landry Shamet
Amir Johnson
TJ McConnell
Furkan Korkmaz
Jonah Bolden

Injuries

Wilson Chandler (quad contusion) day to day
Zhaire Smith (foot)  out
Justin Patton (foot) out
Markelle Fultz (shoulder) out

Two Way Players

Demetrius Jackson
Shake Milton

Coach

Brett Brown

Game Notes
The Celtics host just the 2nd Christmas Day game in their storied history.  The first was last season when they hosted, and lost to, the Washington Wizards.  The Celtics always played on the road on Christmas because Red Auerbach never wanted to make all of the Garden personnel work on Christmas. 

This is the second meeting of these two teams this season.  They met at the Garden in the season opener where the Celtics won 105-87, giving Celtics fans visions of dominating the league for the entire season.  Things haven't exactly worked out that way but with their big win on Friday, hopes are again trending up.  These two teams will meet twice more in Philadelphia on February 12 and again on March 20.   

The Sixers are in 4th place in the East, 2.5 games behind Toronto, who they beat on Saturday.  The Celtics are in 5th place, 2 games behind the Sixers.  This game is important for both teams positioning in the standings.  The Sixers have won their last 2 games while the Celtics are looking for their second straight win. 

These are definitely not the same two teams that met in October.   The Celtics have have the same players but have changed their starting lineup and will be missing Aron Baynes, who is out with a hand injury.  The Sixers, however, no longer have Robert Covington and Dario Saric, who started in their first game.  Markelle Fultz, who also started that game is likely out  for most, if not all of the season with a shoulder injury. 

They do have Jimmy Butler, who has given their offense a boost and also is a defensive presence.  Wilson Chandler, who normally starts at power forward, is listed as day to day with a quad contusion.  Justin Patton (foot) and Zhaire Smith (foot) are listed as out.  They had called up their two way players, former Celtic, Demetrius Jackson, and Shake Milton, for their win over the Raptors on Saturday night and they may or may not be active for this game. 

Key Matchups
  vs 
Kyrie Irving vs Ben Simmons
Simmons is averaging 15.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.4 steals.  The 6'10"Simmons will have a distinct height advantage on pretty much any point guard, including Kyrie Irving.    Kyrie should have an advantage on the offensive end and in ball handling.  If the Celtics can keep him outside it should help to slow him down since Simmons hasn't attempted a 3 pointer this season.

vs
Al Horford vs Joel Embiid
Embiid is a tough cover for any of the Celtics who are matched up against him.  He is averaging 26.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game and is the Sixers best player.  This is where the Celtics will miss Aron Baynes, who matches up with Embiid fairly well.  We will likely get to see how Daniel Theis and Robert Williams match up against hm as well.   Again,  the Celtics need to keep Embiid away from the basket where he is less effective, although he is shooting 31% from three.  They especially need to keep him from running the lane for open dunks. 

Honorable Mention
Jason Tatum vs Jimmy Butler
Butler is averaging 19.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.0 steals.  This may end up being the most important matchup as Tatum needs to keep Butler from having a big game.  He is capable of taking over a game if not guarded well.  He also doesn't shade away from taking the big shot either as the Celtics have found out in the past.  If Butler is blanketing Tatum with defense,  he needs to not force things and depend on his teammates to take up the slack. 

Keys to the Game
Defense -  Defense wins Championships.  The Celtics are third in the league with a defensive rating of 103.5 while the Sixers are 12th with a defensive rating of 107.6.  The Celtics definitely stepped up their defense after their recent team meetings and they need to continue to put out the extra effort on this end if they want to win this one. 

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be the more aggressive team and go after all the loose balls, and aggressively go after rebounds, and be aggressive on defense. They also have to be aggressive in taking the ball into the paint.  The Celtics need to be the hardest working and toughest team on the court.  We know that the Sixers will be aggressive and play hard and the Celtics need to match or better their effort.

Rebound - The Celtics need to crash the boards as they can't score if they don't have the ball.  Much of rebounding is effort and intensity and the Celtics showed both against the Hornets.  They have been inconsistent in this area this season though.  It is very important for the Celtics to continue to put out the extra effort on the boards if they want to beat the Sixers. 

Play the Right Way
-  The Celtics need to move the ball and play as a team on both ends of the court.  They have to make the extra pass and find the open man and not lapse into hero ball.  They have to play tough team defense and trust each other on both ends of the court.  They have to attack the basket if their 3's aren't falling.  Most of all, they have to play with extra effort and focus.

X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are at home and will get a boost from the home crowd.  Hopefully the crowd can rattle the young Sixers as well.  The Sixers are fairly dominant at home with a 16-3 record but they have not been as dominant on the road with just 6 wins in 15 games away from home.  The Garden should be loud and give the Celtics that extra push they need to get the win.

Officiating
- The Sixers' 692 free throws and 893 attempt lead the Eastern Conference.  They are just 18th in points in the paint with 18.4 per game and so they are often drawing fouls on jumpers.  The Celtics have to be careful not to put the Sixers on the line.  Hopefully the officials will call it fair and not give Philly an unfair advantage on the line. 

Lessons Learned -  The Celtics had team meetings on Friday and Saturday and came out of those meetings to dominate a Hornets team that had beaten them earlier in the season.  Will the Celtics remember the lessons of teamwork and extra effort that they discussed in the meeting or will they forget them this quickly? 

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2018, 04:20:22 PM »

Offline GreenFaith1819

  • NCE
  • Reggie Lewis
  • ***************
  • Posts: 15402
  • Tommy Points: 2785
LET"S GOOOOOOOOO BOS!

Give Embiid and Co. a big GREEN lump of coal tomorrow!


Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2018, 04:22:28 PM »

Online FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11831
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
TP to GreenFaith1819  for being the first to post in the game thread!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!

And a very Merry Christmas to all my Celtics family!!!

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #3 on: December 24, 2018, 05:38:13 PM »

Offline apc

  • Antoine Walker
  • ****
  • Posts: 4310
  • Tommy Points: 437
It’s going to be tough without Baynes. Our bench got to step up.

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #4 on: December 24, 2018, 06:07:10 PM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8593
  • Tommy Points: 1389
Sceond
The Tarstradamus Group, LLC

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2018, 06:53:37 PM »

Offline rondofan1255

  • Antoine Walker
  • ****
  • Posts: 4383
  • Tommy Points: 527
merrychristmas eve

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2018, 07:21:14 PM »

Offline BringToughnessBack

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8088
  • Tommy Points: 941
Go Celtics. Santa guaranteed a win. TP for game thread!

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2018, 07:48:43 PM »

Offline hodgy03038

  • NCE
  • Ray Allen
  • ***
  • Posts: 3701
  • Tommy Points: 440
  • Marcus Smart #1 Fan
Go Celts! We need this. It will be tough without Baynes because he plays Embid so well. Embid will dominate Al & company. Let's hope we can outscore them or make Simmons take the last shot.

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #8 on: December 24, 2018, 08:55:03 PM »

Online A Future of Stevens

  • Jim Loscutoff
  • **
  • Posts: 2524
  • Tommy Points: 486
Hopefully the Cs use this as an opportunity to remind the world that this is going to be our conference. Dominant game I reckon.
#JKJB

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2018, 08:58:56 PM »

Offline gouki88

  • NCE
  • Red Auerbach
  • *******************************
  • Posts: 31552
  • Tommy Points: 3141
  • 2019 & 2021 CS Historical Draft Champion
Go C’s!
'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: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2018, 09:07:40 PM »

Online hwangjini_1

  • Kevin Garnett
  • *****************
  • Posts: 17835
  • Tommy Points: 2661
  • bammokja
another game thread, another celtics win!

thanks flc for the thread. though the celtic lego dude does look at bit odd with only a stump coming out of his head.  :(

but, head-stumps or not, goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo celtics!!!  ;D
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
- Vandana Shiva

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #11 on: December 24, 2018, 09:36:51 PM »

Offline Ogaju

  • Bill Sharman
  • *******************
  • Posts: 19479
  • Tommy Points: 1871
Go Celtics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make it two in a row for FlCf's!!!! TP to FlCf for the game thread!!!

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #12 on: December 25, 2018, 12:48:36 AM »

Offline hpantazo

  • Kevin McHale
  • ************************
  • Posts: 24882
  • Tommy Points: 2700
Our first crack at the Jimmy Butler era Sixers. I'm so glad we look like we righted the ship after the last game It should be interesting!

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #13 on: December 25, 2018, 08:05:42 AM »

Offline LilRip

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6857
  • Tommy Points: 391
I’m ready to destroy the Sixers! Happy holidays everyone! Let’s bring this one home!
- LilRip

Re: Sixers (22-12) at Celtics (19-13) Game #33 12/25/18
« Reply #14 on: December 25, 2018, 09:15:53 AM »

Offline slamtheking

  • NCE
  • Red Auerbach
  • *******************************
  • Posts: 31869
  • Tommy Points: 10047
TP FL - great thread as always