Celtics (11-8) at Spurs (16-4) Game #20 12/5/15

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (11-8) at San Antonio Spurs (16-4)
Saturday, December 5,2015
8:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #20 Road Game #10
TV: CSN-NE, FSSW, League Pass 760(DTV), 757(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, WOAI 1200 AM
AT&T Center



Probable Celtics Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Isaiah Thomas / Avery Bradley / Jae Crowder / Amir Johnson / Jared Sullinger

Celtics Reserves
Evan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Terry Rozier
James Young
Kelly Olynyk
Jordan Mickey
Tyler Zeller

Injuries
Marcus Smart (leg) out

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters
PG SG SF  PF C
PG: Tony Parker
SG:  Danny Green
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Tim Duncan

Spurs Reserves
Patty Mills
Matt Bonner
Manu Ginobili
Boris Diaw
Kyle Anderson
David West
Rasual Butler
Ray McCallum
Boban Marjanovic
Jonathon Simmons

Head Coach
Gregg Popovich

Injuries
None

Game Notes
The Celtics continue their road trip against one of the hottest teams in the league, the San Antonio Spurs.  The Spurs are 10-0 at home and have won their last 19 at the AT&T Center dating back to last season.   They are 8-2 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 and 5-4 on the road. 

The Celtics are coming off a 2 impressive wins over Miami and Sacramento after a disappointing loss to Orlando to begin the trip.  The Spurs are 1-0 against the Celtics this season after winning 95-87 in Boston.   In that game, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker passed the Celtics big 3 of Bird, McHale and Parish for the most regular season wins as a trio with 541. 

The Spurs are very tough to beat and even more so in their own building.  The Celtics will need to play their best if they hope to get a win in this game. 

  vs   
Jae Crowder vs Kawhi Leonard
Leonard had become a star for the Spurs.  He leads the team in both points (21.7ppg) and also adds 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.  In the Spurs win over Memphis on Thursday,  Leonard hit 7-9 from beyond the arc to score 27 points.  He is shooting 51.3% from the field and 50.0% from beyond the arc.  Jae's defense will be tested as he tries to slow down the Spurs top player.

  vs 
Amir Johnson/Jared Sullinger vs LaMarcus Aldridge/Tim Duncan
The Spurs have a tough front court with two tough veterans playing very well It doesn't get easier as Sully goes from DeMarcus Cousins to Tim Duncan who is averaging 10.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1/6 blocks.    Amir Johnson will have his hands full with LaMarcus Aldridge who is averaging 14.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.   In the first game against the Celtics, Aldridge had his coming out party as a Spur with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Honorable Mention
Evan Turner vs Manu Ginobili 
Turner has been playing very well off the bench for the Celtics and has made a difference for the Celtics in their wins on this trip.   He will be facing one of the best sixth men in the league in Manu Ginobili.  Evan will need to use his quickness to get the best of this matchup.

Keys to the Game
Rebound - The Celtics were out-rebounded 51-45 in their last game against the Spurs.  They can't score if they don't have the ball, and they will struggle when constantly giving up second and third chance points.  The Celtics are averaging 43.9 rebounds per game while the Spurs are averaging 46.4 rebounds per game.  The Celtics need to put extra effort on the boards if they hope to win this game. 

Move the Ball Carefully -  The Celtics play best when they move the ball and find the open man.  In their win over the Kings, they had 34 assists on 40 made baskets.  They are tied with the Spurs for 3rd in the league with 24.8 assists per game.  The Celtics need to continue to keep the ball moving but they also need to make careful passes and not turn the ball over.  The Celtics average 16.1 turnovers per game compared to 14.3 for the Spurs. 


Defense -  Both of these teams pride themselves in playing tough defense.  However, the Spurs are on a whole different level when it comes to defense.  The Spurs lead the league in allowing opponents to score just 88.5 points per game.  In San Antonio, they are even stingier allowing only 83.7 points per game. The Celtics are 7th in the league allowing 97.5 ppg.   The Spurs have some scorers on their team and so the Celtics must lock down on defense both inside and on the perimeter if they want to get a win.

Make some Baskets - In some games, it seems like the Celtics just can't throw the ball in the ocean.  In other games they can't seem to miss.  In their last two games on this road trip, the Celtics have averaged 109.5 points on 47.5% shooting.   The Celtics are 7-1 when shooting at least 44% from the field.  They have to focus and not allow the Spurs defense to take them out of their game.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to go after loose balls, rebounds and also be more aggressive defensively. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket and also in moving the ball. They also have to be aggressive in running on every possession and running back on defense.  Their best hope to beat this dominant team is to go at them aggressively. 

X-Factors
Road Game and Fatigue - One of the toughest arenas to win in is the AT&T Center where the Spurs are 10-0 this season.  The Celtics have to block out all distractions and play their game.  Also, on the 4th game of a 5 game road trip, with a detour to Mexico City, the Celtics may be getting fatigued.  Hopefully their depth will help overcome that fatigue.

Officiating - The officiating is always an x-factor.   Each crew officiates differently and sometimes, whether due to an agenda, personal preferences or league dictate, the way the game is officiated can affect one or both teams.  We can only hope for a fairly officated game where they let them play. 

[csfansince60s]

TP, FLCeltsfsn...another masterpiece.

Go Cs....3 in a row.

Don't like/root for the Spurs unless they're playing the Lakers or James.

Duncan still stings.

[hwangjini_1]

SECOND!!! I'M SECOND TO POST HERE!!!

hey, wait a second..... second doesnt get tps!! waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 

oh well. thanks anyway flc. another great thread and parking is provided. tp for everything.

gooooo celtics!!!

p.s. i am not too sure who this new team, the suprs, are, but i am sure the celtics can beat the bajeezus out of them. 

[csfansince60s]

Hope IT lights up Parker or at the very least makes him work hard on the defensive end. Also, we don't match up well against them in the front court, especially vs their starters.

Maybe this is a good game to start ET and have Bradley harass Parker with ET covering Green. Also, not sure Parker or Green would be real effective defensively vs ET as the point.

[FLCeltsFan]

Thank you and TP to csfansince60s for being the first to post in the game thread. 

And a TP to hwangjini_1 for catching my typo and giving me a smile while doing so  

[Monkhouse]

TP to FLCeltsFan for always putting in the work!

 

WHAT would we DO without you?!?!?

Hopefully Bradley goes en fuego once again, and IT can score 20+ points over old man Parker ^^.

[SHAQATTACK]

Wow ......play n em again .....Celtics have had a pretty step hill to climb . I be missing Smart in this one .

Major challenge .

[Clench123]

We can pull it off but it's going to be incredibly tough.  Not holding my breath but I think we'll win.

[Hemingway]

in place of tommy points can you just write my name on the board and put a bunch of stars next to it? Like more stars than the other kids?

[Who]

Love how the Spurs frontcourt rebounds the ball. Pleased to see Aldridge maintain his focus on rebounding despite not scoring as much. He has made SAS a monster on the boards.

Duncan has been playing great for them. Again .... Freak.

[BitterJim]

Love how the Spurs frontcourt rebounds the ball. Pleased to see Aldridge maintain his focus on rebounding despite not scoring as much. He has made SAS a monster on the boards.

Duncan has been playing great for them. Again .... Freak.

I used to wonder who had a better career, KG or Duncan.  The past few years have made it very clear that it's Duncan by a mile

[Monkhouse]

Love how the Spurs frontcourt rebounds the ball. Pleased to see Aldridge maintain his focus on rebounding despite not scoring as much. He has made SAS a monster on the boards.

Duncan has been playing great for them. Again .... Freak.

I used to wonder who had a better career, KG or Duncan.  The past few years have made it very clear that it's Duncan by a mile

Not to discredit KG, but if I had to take a prime KG or Duncan for a championship game, I would choose KG.

Something about KG's demeanor and attitude on the court just really pleases me.

I used to play with a big man like KG, who used to always hustle, and dive for loose balls even at the height of 6'10. That used to energize our teammates, and we would also hustle and try to keep up on defense.

Playing with that intensity seems to be contagious and rub off on some people. So I don't know. I believe basketball is a team sport, and while Duncan is the best PF of all time. I would take a prime KG to be my PF in the Finals over Duncan.

[BitterJim]

Love how the Spurs frontcourt rebounds the ball. Pleased to see Aldridge maintain his focus on rebounding despite not scoring as much. He has made SAS a monster on the boards.

Duncan has been playing great for them. Again .... Freak.

I used to wonder who had a better career, KG or Duncan.  The past few years have made it very clear that it's Duncan by a mile

Not to discredit KG, but if I had to take a prime KG or Duncan for a championship game, I would choose KG.

Something about KG's demeanor and attitude on the court just really pleases me.

I used to play with a big man like KG, who used to always hustle, and dive for loose balls even at the height of 6'10. That used to energize our teammates, and we would also hustle and try to keep up on defense.

Playing with that intensity seems to be contagious and rub off on some people. So I don't know. I believe basketball is a team sport, and while Duncan is the best PF of all time. I would take a prime KG to be my PF in the Finals over Duncan.

I'd agree about taking KG for any one game or season in their respective primes, but for their careers I'd have to go with Duncan.  He's just be so good for so long

[Vox_Populi]

Great game thread as usual. Anyway, I think Aldridge's first good game as a Spur came against the Celtics. Celtics are good at double-teaming but the Spurs move the ball too well.

That said, is it wrong I am optimistic? I wish Smart were playing, as always, but whenever Crowder and Olynyk play well offensively, I think the Celtics are very hard to beat.

[danglertx]

Game is ten minutes away and this thread isn't on the latest topics,.... well lets change that.