at 
Boston Celtics (15-13) at Charlotte Hornets  (15-12)
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #29 Road Game #14
TV: CSN-NE, FSSE, NBA-LP 750(DTV)/751(XFinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFNZ 610 AM
Time Warner Cable Arena



Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Isaiah Thomas.....Avery Bradley....Jae Crowder....David Lee....Kelly Olynyk

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

Injuries
Marcus Smart (leg) out
Amir Johnson (plantar fasciitis) questionable
Jared Sullinger (back) questionable

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Kemba Walker....Nicolas Batum....PJ Hairston....Marvin Williams....Cody Zeller

Hornets Reserves
Troy Daniels
Tyler Hansbrough
Aaron Harrison
Spencer Hawes
Frank Kaminsky
Jeremy Lamb
Jeremy Lin
Brian Roberts

Injuries
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder) out
Al Jefferson (suspended)  out

Head Coach
Steve Clifford

Game Notes
The Celtics visit the Charlotte Hornets for the second of 3 games this season. The Celtics won their first meeting in Charlotte on December 12.  Both teams were playing in back to back games, with the Celtics coming off a tough double overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors.  They will meet one more time in Boston on April 11. 

The Celtics are looking for their fourth straight victory over the Hornets.  Both teams have struggled since their first meeting.  The Celtics lost 3 in a row after their win over the Hornets before getting the win on Monday vs the Wolves.  After losing to the Celtics, the Hornets lost 3 of 4 also. 

Both teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games.  The Celtics are 7-6 on the road while the Hornets are 11-4 at home, with one of those 4 losses to the Celtics.   The Celtics are looking for their second straight win after beating the Wolves on Monday.  The Hornets are looking to get back on track after a road loss to the Rockets on Monday.

Amir Johnson (plantar fasciitis) and Jared Sullinger (back) both missed Monday's game against the Wolves and are listed as questionable for this game.  If they can't go,  David Lee and Kelly Olynyk will probably get the start once again.  Marcus Smart traveled with the team to Charlotte but will once again be out with the leg injury that has sidelined him since November 20. 

Former Celtic, Al Jefferson will miss the 5th game of his 5 game suspension for drug use in this game.  He missed the first game between these two teams as the first game of his suspension.   He is expected to return to the Hornets for Saturday's game vs the Grizzlies.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will also be out with a shoulder injury.

Key Matchups
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Kemba Walker
 Walker is averaging 18.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per game and is playing as well as just about any point guard in the league.   The Celtics may slide Avery Bradley over to defend Walker who may give Isaiah problems.   In their first meeting Walker scored 16 points on 5-15 shooting to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. 

vs
Avery Bradley vs Nicolas Batum
Batum has also been playing very well and is averaging 16.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals a game.   He scored 21 points on 9-21 shooting with 8 rebounds and 2 assists in the first game between these two teams.   If Avery guards Walker then Jae Crowder may shift to cover Batum. 

Honorable Mention
Tyler Zeller vs Cody Zeller
It's not every day that brothers square off in the NBA.  Although Cody is starting and Tyler will probably come off the bench,  it's worth watching the matchup between these two.  Tyler has been getting more minutes recently and has also been making the most of them. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always a key to getting a win. The Celtics have to get stops, especially down the stretch. The Hornets average 102.4 points per game and they allow just 99.1 points per game. The Celtics will need to work hard on defense if they want to get the win.  They have to play as a team and trust each other on defense and have each others' backs.

Rebound - The Celtics can't run and they can't score if they don't have the ball. They must crash the boards as a team and put out the extra effort it takes to get the rebounds. Charlotte surrenders the fewest offensive rebounds per game at 8.5 per game. Much of rebounding is effort  and the Celtics must put out more effort than the Hornets on the boards if they want to win this game. 

Be Aggressive - When the Celtics are aggressive going after loose balls, crashing the boards, defending and taking the ball hard to the hoop, they are very tough to beat. They have to be the more aggressive team and they have to be the team that plays harder. 

Move the Ball - The Celtics must move the ball and find the open man. They struggle to score when the ball stops moving. In the 3 losses before the win over the Wolves, the Celtics had 18,17, and 19 assists.  In the win on Monday, they had 34 assists on 46 made baskets in the win on Monday.  It's not a coincidence that they win when their assist total is higher. 

Limit Turnovers - At the same time, they have to limit turnovers. They give away way too many points by making careless passes and by losing focus.   The Celtics have to take care of the ball and limit their turnovers to keep the Hornets from getting fast break and easy points. 

X-Factors
Revenge Factor -  The Hornets will still have a fresh memory of their home loss to the Celtics earlier this month.  Their desire to avenge that loss will give them extra motivation and the Celtics need to be ready for it. 

Officiating -  The officiating is always an x-factor in every game.  Will the refs let them play or will they call every little bit of contact.  Will they call it evenly or will they favor one team or the other.  The Celtics need to adapt to the way the game is called and not let the refs take them out of the game.