at
Wizards (24-47) at Boston Celtics (48-23)
Seeding Game #8
Thursday, August 13, 2020
12:00 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, NBCSWA, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFED 1500 AM
AdventHealth Arena 
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Brad Wanamaker vs Ish Smith
Shooting Guard
vs
Romeo Langford vs Troy Brown, Jr
Small Forward 
vs
Javonte Green vs Isaac Bonga
Power Forward 
vs
Grant Williams vs Rui Hachimura
Center 
vs
Robert Williams vs Thomas Bryant
Celtics ReservesMarcus Smart
Carsen Edwards
Javonte Green
Semi Ojeleye
Vincent Poirier
Brad Wanamaker
Grant Williams
Enes Kanter
Romeo Langford
Robert Williams
Tremont Waters
Tacko Fall
Injuries/NWTJaylen Brown (rest) out
Gordon Hayward (rest) out
Marcus Smart (rest) out
Jayson Tatum (ankle) out
Daniel Theis (foot) out
Kemba Walker (knee) out
Head CoachBrad Stevens
Wizards Reserves Jerian Grant
Ian Mahinmi
Anzejs Pasecniks
Jerome Robinson
Admiral Schofield
Jarrod Uthoff
Moritz Wagner
Jonathan Williams
Injured/NWTGarrison Matthews (personal) out
Shebazz Napier (ankle) questionable
Gary Payton II (covid) NWT
Bradley Beal (shoulder) NWT
Davis Bertans (personal) NWT
John Wall (Achilles) NWT
Head Coach Scott Brooks
Game Notes The Celtics finally reach their final seeding game as they take on the Washington Wizards. The Celtics are 5-2 in seeding games and have won their last 4 games. The Wizards are 0-7 in seeding games and are looking for their first win in the bubble. This game has no bearing on the upcoming playoffs. The Celtics are locked into the 3rd seed and the Wizards are out of the playoffs in the 9th spot.
This is the third game between these two teams this season. The Celtics beat the Wizards 140-133 in Washington on November 13. The Wizards then beat the Celtics 99-94 in Boston on January 6. Both rosters are quite different for this game. Isaiah Thomas vs Marcus Smart was the starting point guard matchup when they last played in January.
Both teams will be depleted for this game. The Wizards were depleted coming into the bubble with Gary Payton II, Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, and John Wall all sitting out of the restart and not joining the team in the bubble. In addition, Garrison Matthews (personal) is out and Shebazz Napier (ankle) is questionable.
The Celtics have been mostly healthy in their games so far but will be resting all their core players in this game. Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Smart are all listed out for rest. Jayson Tatum (ankle), Daniel Theis (foot) and Kemba Walker (knee) are all listed out with injuries but nothing serious enough to keep them out if this was a playoff game.
The probable starting lineups that I've listed are just a guess on my part. I'm guessing that Brad Wanamaker will start at the point but we could see Tremont Waters get the start also. I'm guessing on the other starters also. The Wizards also have some questions as well. Ish Smith and Jerome Robinson started in the back court for their last game but Troy Brown is listed on their game notes. Also if Napier is able to play he may return to the starting lineup.
Key Matchups vs
Grant Williams vs Rui Hachimura
It's just a guess that Grant will start here but Hachimura is pretty much certain to start for the Wizards. Hachimura is averaging 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He is shooting 46.6% from the field and just 28.7% from beyond the arc. This should be a fun rookie matchup to watch.
vs
Robert Williams vs Thomas Bryant
Bryant is averaging 13.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks for the season. He is shooting 57.8% from the field and 40.2% from beyond the arc. I'm guessing that Robert will get the start but it may very well be Enes Kanter or Vincent Poirier.
Honorable Mention Brad Wanamaker vs Ish Smith
Smith is averaging 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He is shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. In their last meeting on January 6, Smith led the Wizards with 27 points so the Celtics have to stay with him because he can be a problem if he is left open.
Keys to the Game Defense - The Celtics need to make defense a priority. Defense wins games. The Wizards are averaging 114.7 points per game on the season , but just 107.2 in the bubble. The Celtics are averaging 114.0 points per game but 117.3 points over their last 10 games. The Celtics need to keep their defense strong and not let up on that end of the court even though this game doesn't mean anything in the standings. They have to stay sharp going into the playoffs.
Rebound - The Celtics are averaging 46.0 rebounds per game while the Wizards are averaging 41.8 rebounds per game. The Celtics have to put out the extra effort to grab rebounds and match or exceed the Wizards efforts on the boards if they want to get a win in this game.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team from start to finish. They need to be aggressive in going to the hoop, in crashing the boards, in fighting for loose balls and in running the court. They also have to be more aggressive on defense. They have to be the team that wants it more.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics play best when they move the ball and find the open man. When they over dribble and when players try to play hero ball, it doesn't usually end well. But, they have to be careful with their passes because the Wizards are 6th with 18.5 points off turnovers per game.
Next Man Up - Both teams are short handed and so the players that are healthy and on the court will have to step up and play harder. Granted that the Wizards are more short handed than the Celtics are, but sometimes the more short handed team is the more dangerous one. The Celtics have lost before to teams that had more than half their team on the injured list.
X-FactorsMotivation - The Wizards should be motivated to get a win so they don't leave the bubble winless. The Celtics reserves should be motivated to try to get some momentum going into the playoffs. Will the Celtics' reserves play harder to prove themselves or will the Wizards play harder to gain some measure of pride leaving the bubble?
Officiating - The officiating is always an X-Factor. Some crews call games tight and call every little thing and so the game has no flow. Some crews let teams play and allow a lot of contact. The Celtics need to adjust their game to the way the refs are calling it and not let bad calls or no calls, or even too many calls, take away their focus on playing the game.
Topic: Wizards (24-47) at Celtics (48-23) Seeding Game #8 8/13/20 (Read 8473 times)