Celtics (4-8) at Spurs (9-1) Game #13 11/20

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (4-8) at San Antonio Spurs (9-1)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
8:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #13 Road Game #8
TV: CSN-NE, FSSW, League Pass 764(DTV), 759(xfinity)
Radio: WOAI, WBZ, 98.5 The Sports Hub 
AT&T Center



PG SG SF PF C
Probable Starters
PG: Jordan Crawford
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Brandon Bass
C:  Vitor Faverani

Celtics Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Kris Humphries
Kelly Olynyk
Phil Pressey
Courtney Lee
Keith Bogans
Gerald Wallace
Jared Sullinger

Injuries
Rajon Rondo (ACL)out




PG SG SF PF C
PG:  Tony Parker
SG:  Danny Green
SF:  Kawhi Leonard
PF:  Tim Duncan
C:   Tiago Splitter

Spurs Reserves
Manu Ginobili
Marco Belinelli
Jeff Ayres
Boris Diaw
Patrick Mills
Cory Joseph
Aron Baynes
Nando DeColo

Injuries
Matt Bonner  (calf) questionable

Game Notes
The Celtics won't have much time to think about last night's loss to the Houston Rockets as they have to move right back into the fight with a game against the West leading Spurs. 

The Spurs 9-1 record may be a bit misleading in that all 9 victories were against teams with sub .500 records. They should be well rested for this game as they have had off since Friday, while the Celtics are playing in back to back games and the 3rd game on a tough road trip.

The Spurs are seeking an eighth straight win while the Celtics are looking to end a 4 game losing streak.  The Spurs are 4-0 at home and the Celtics are 2-3 on the road.  The Spurs swept the series last season and have won 3 straight against the Celtics.

I went with the same starting lineup as the Houston game, but after the poor start that the Celtics had against the Rockets,  I wouldn't be surprised to see a shake up in the starting lineup, even if just at center. 

Key Matchups
  vs 
Jordan Crawford vs Tony Parker
Tony Parker is a scoring point guard who is going to give Jordan Crawford a tough time.  I expect to see Avery Bradley guarding Parker if he gets hot in this game.  At the same time, Parker's defense will make things difficult for Crawford. 

  vs 
Brandon Bass vs Tim Duncan
Brandon will have his hands full in this matchup. Duncan may have lost a step, but he still brings a lot to the table, especially defensively. He is great at getting position for rebounds and tip ins and Bass and the other Celtics bigs need to concentrate on keeping him away from the basket.

Keys to the Game
Get the Offense on Track- The Celtics shot a season worst 32.3 percent against the Rockets.  They missed many open shots and quite a few around the basket.  Now they face a Spurs team that ranks third in the league in defense,  giving up just 89.3 points a game.  The Celtics have got to find a way to make their shots. 

Start Strong and Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics stayed with the Rockets in the final 3 quarters, but unfortunately, the damage was already done by a sluggish start and they were never able to recover.  They have to find some consistency where they can start strong and play well for 4 quarters. 

Rebound - Much of rebounding is effort and desire.  The Celtics need to do both if they hope to beat a tough Spurs team and they will need to crash the boards to prevent second chance and fast break points from the Spurs. 

Be Aggressive - During the 4 game win streak, the Celtics were aggressive in going after loose balls, taking the ball to the hoop and playing in your face defense.  When they get lazy and allow teams to beat them to loose balls and rebounds and when they settle for jumpers and don't go to the basket, they are very beatable. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket and not settling for jumpers.  They must be aggressive from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Run, Run, Run - The Celtics are not a half court team and they look terrible when they try to play that way.  They have to run in order to get easy opportunities before the defenses set up.  Too often in this losing streak they have settled for walking the ball up the court and playing a half court game.  They need to run on every possession. 

X-Factors
Fatigue and Mental Focus
The Celtics have had a very tough stretch this month and have to be tired. Can they shake off the fatigue and continue to play hard?  Can they keep their mental focus and not let the losing streak get in their heads? 

[TwinTower14]

Another rough night coming up....this roster is starting to settle in and be one of the least talented rosters in the league like I figured...

[beklog]

Bold prediction: Celtics never had 5 losing streak this season, we're going to win tonight!!

[Who]

Very pessimistic about the C's chances heading into this one.

Looking forward to seeing the Spurs though. I haven't gotten a chance to watch them yet this season. They play such beautiful basketball.

[Kuberski33]

Look for SA to come out flat, so first half may be somewhat competitive.  2nd half won't be.  Spurs by 20+.

[SHAQATTACK]

Naw ......Celtics may end up playing it close ....... But that's the BEST that this game will produce for Celtics. Maybe a close game for 3 quarters . 

The Spur are a contender with. Veteran  Closer 's .......talent that can and WILL take over the game in the fourth and finish off the Celtics .


Celtics lose by 10 .

Not Stevens fault......he has junk role players.


Think about it.       Duncan and Parker   Vs.   Crawford and Fav ......

Come on Danny ?............your team sucks ........for 70 million this is all you can put on the floor ?

[Q_FBE]

If the Celtics win tonight then the Pigs will fly. I have a flight today. OINK OINK!!!! Soooouuuuueeeeiiii!!!!

[PhoSita]

This game is going to be like watching a full grown mountain lion toying with a squirrel.

[PhoSita]

Very pessimistic about the C's chances heading into this one.

Looking forward to seeing the Spurs though. I haven't gotten a chance to watch them yet this season. They play such beautiful basketball.

Agreed.  The interesting thing about this three game stretch -- Houston, San Antonio, Indiana -- is that the Celtics face three elite teams whose offensive gameplan and method of roster construction should mirror what the Celtics hope to put together and execute over the next few years. 

These teams provide the blueprint.

[cltc5]

Should be a tanktastic game   

[Birdman]

Going to be one ugly game

[Birdman]

need to play Humphries more

[D.o.s.]

Bold Predictions.

Jeff Green has one of his "oh yeah, I can kinda play basketball" games and reels off a 30-1-6, while successfully avoiding driving to the Left.

Tim Duncan gives us a classic That's Not A Foul! Wide-eyed glare after going over the back on Jared Sullinger.

Brandon Bass quietly finishes with 20 points and 4 rebounds.

Comcast Sportsnet gets another headshot of Rajon Rondo's eyes bugging out of his head while looking at the stat sheet.
(Seriously, did no one else see that last night? Hilarious.)


Avery Bradley's No-Assist streak is broken, and he finishes 18-3-1 on 55% shooting.

Celtics Blog collectively falls for the sweet shot and smart playmaking of Patty Mills and my Patty Mills bandwagon (founding date, summer Olympics 2012) gets more full and we're able to throw better parties as a result.

Manu Ginobli gets called for traveling after a Euro Step to the hoop.

[furball]

New Starting line up tonight.  Bass and Faverani are out and Sully and Kelly are in.  According to A. Sherrod Blakely

[letsgoblue86]

123-94 Spurs.  Sorry guys