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Memphis Grizzlies (15-8) at Boston Celtics (19-4)
Saturday, December 7, 2024
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #24, Home Game #13
TV: NBCSB, FDSN SE, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN 92.9 FM
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Jrue Holiday vs Ja Morant
Shooting Guard 
vs
Derrick White vs Desmond Bane
Small Forward 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Jaylen Wells
Power Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Jaren Jackson, Jr.
Center 
vs
Kristaps Porzingis vs Brandon Clarke
Celtics ReservesLuke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
2 Way PlayersJD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/OutAl Horford (toe) questionable
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Grizzlies Reserves Santi Aldama
Jay Huff
John Konchar
Jake LaRavia
Scotty Pippen, Jr
Two-Way Players Colin Castleton
Yuki Kawamura
Cam Spencer
Injuries/Out Zach Edey (ankle) out
GG Jackson II (foot) out
Luke Kennard (illness) out
Vince Williams, Jr (ankle) out
Marcus Smart (ankle) questionable
Game Notes The Celtics host the Memphis Grizzlies for the first of 2 games between them this season. They will play again in Memphis on March 31. The Celtics were 2-0 last season against the Grizzlies. They are 37-19 overall all time against the Grizzlies and they are 19-9 all time in games played in Boston. This is the second of back to back games for the Celtics. They are 4-0 so far on the second night of back to back games.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 1 game behind the first place Cavaliers. They are 10-2 at home and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 2-1 against Western Conference teams. They have won their last 3 games. The Grizzlies are 4th in the West, 2.5 games out of first place. They are 4-5 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 8-3 against Eastern Conference teams and are looking for their 2nd straight win.
Marcus Smart spent 9 years with the Celtics and became the heart and soul of the team. He was included in the trade that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, which broke my heart and that of many other Celtics fans. It was thought that he was going to a contender in the West, but last season they had injuries and setbacks the whole season. Smart was out when they played in Boston last season. Hopefully he will be able to play in this one.
Key players were out all season and they rarely had an injury list below 7 players. Bane played 42 games, Clarke played 6 games, Smart played 20 games and Morant played 9 games last season. This year, they have been healthier and their being 4th in the West reflects that. They didn't make many changes in the off season, expecting that getting players back from injury would be enough to put them in contender status.
The Celtics are playing in the 4th game of a 5 game home stand. The Celtics beat the Heat, the Pistons and the Bucks in the first 3 games and will host Detroit coming up following this one. The Detroit game was added, along with a game at Washington on the 15th after the Celtics failed to advance in the Emirates Cup tournament. After the Wizards, the Celtics will face the Bulls in a home and home series before playing at Orlando.
The Grizzlies are playing in the first of 2 consecutive road games. The 2nd game will be back to back at Washington on Sunday. They will then play at home vs Brooklyn and on the road vs the Lakers. Then, it's back home against the Warriors and back on the road at Atlanta followed by 2 games at home against the Lakers and Raptors before a 5 game road trip through New Orleans, OKC, Phoenix, Sacramento and Golden State.
Since the Celtics are playing back to back, Al Horford will likely sit this one out since he played on Friday against the Bucks. Porzingis sat out Friday's game and may be questionable for this game. At this time, no one else is on the injury list but others may be added. The Grizzlies have 4 players out and a 5th player questionable. Zach Edey (ankle), GG Jackson (foot), Luke Kennard (illness) and Vince Williams, Jr (ankle) are all out for this game. Former Celtic Marcus Smart (ankle) is questionable.
Key Matchups vs
Jrue Holiday vs Ja Morant
Morant is averaging 20.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game. He is shooting 44.8% from the field and 26.3% from beyond the arc. Morant is very athletic and quick and so he can give the Celtics problems. They need to stay with him on defense to try to slow him down.
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Jaren Jackson, Jr.
Jackson is averaging 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He is shooting 51.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Jackson is playing very well this season and is a real threat to score. He is also a very good defender and will make it difficult for whoever he is guarding to score.
Honorable mention Derrick White vs Desmond Bane
Bane is averaging 14.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He is shooting 43.5% from the field and 31.9% from beyond the arc. Bane is a good rebounder and so White needs to step up and challenge him on the boards.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics have slipped to 10th with a defensive rating of 110.5. The Grizzlies are 7th with a defensive rating of 108.6. The Grizzlies are 2nd in scoring with 121.1 points per game while the Celtics are 3rd with 120.5 points per game. The Celtics are 1st in 3 point attempts with 50.1 and 8th in 3 point percentage at 37.6%. The Grizzlies are 14th with 37.3 three point attempts per game and 17th in 3 point percentage at 34.8%. The Celtics have to especially do a better job of guarding the paint since the Grizzlies are 5th averaging 58.6 points in the paint. The Celtics defense has been up and down this season. They must play lock down defense for 48 minutes against the Grizzlies.
Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball and to get the ball, they have to grab rebounds. The Celtics are 14th in the league, grabbing 43.9 rebounds per game while the Grizzlies are 3rd, with 47.5 rebounds per game. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and the Celtics need to put out more effort than the Grizzlies in order to beat them to rebounds.
Play Hard for 48 Minutes - The difference in the Celtics wins and losses in this year has been the amount of effort they give on both ends of the court. The Celtics must be more aggressive in going for loose balls, rebounds, in going to the basket and on defense. They have to commit to giving full effort from the opening tip until the final buzzer. Hopefully they have learned from their losses and won't slack off on effort for even a minute in this game. They need to take charge of the game from the opening tip until the final buzzer. The Celtics must be the tougher team both physically and mentally.
Move the Ball - The Celtics are tough to beat when they keep the ball moving and find the open man but when one player over dribbles and lapses into hero ball, they falter. At the end of the Cavs game, in two consecutive crucial possessions, Jayson Tatum dribbled the entire shot clock without one pass and missed contested layups on both possessions. He needs to continue to do what makes the Celtics successful and keep the ball moving. Everyone knew that he wasn't going to pass the ball and so instead of an open shot, he dribbled into a crowd of Cavaliers. Keep the ball moving and don't lapse into hero ball, whether in the first quarter or the 4th quarter. Hero ball rarely works
X-Factors Home Game and Fatigue - The Celtics are home for their 4th straight game. They need to get motivation from the crowd and play their best to protect home court. The Grizzlies have to overcome the distractions of playing on the road including travel fatigue, staying in hotels, playing in front of hostile fans and in an unfamiliar arena and the Celtics need to take advantage of that. The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games and fatigue could be a factor down the stretch.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. Some officials call the game tight and call every little bit of contact. Others let them play and allow both teams to be physical. Some refs call it one sided for one team while others call it even. The Celtics have to concentrate on playing their game and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away from their focus on playing the right way.
Topic: Grizzlies (15-8) at Celtics (19-4) Game #24 12/7/24 (Read 20740 times)