Boston Celtics (4-1) at Charlotte Hornets (2-2) Game #6 11/24

boar’s head The Celtics head to Charlotte for back-to-back games against the Hornets. The Celtics are coming off their first loss of the season to the Indiana Pacers, the Celtics Eastern Conference Finals opponent. Charlotte is 2-2 on the season, beating Houston and Toronto and losing to Atlanta and Miami.

This is the first meeting between these two teams this season. They meet again on Saturday in back to back games, also in Charlotte. They close the series in Boston on April 11 and 13. The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season, won their only game in Boston and won one and lost one in Charlotte. The Celtics are 77-46 all-time against the Hornets and 36-26 in games played in Charlotte.

The Celtics stood pat for most of the offseason, bringing back their entire core of players and losing only Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They added Baylor Scheierman, who was the 30th pick in the draft and 2nd round signing, Anton Watson to a 2-way contract. They’ve also added a few chips on their shoulder after a few Olympic snubs.

The Charlotte Hornets’ new ownership has been busy in the offseason hiring a new head coach, general manager and team president. Former Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee is the new Hornets head coach. The team drafted French forward Tidjane Sala?n 6th and KJ Simpson 42nd. They also signed center Taj Gibson and guard Seth Curry as free agents.

For the Celtics, Al Horford will be out for this game on rest purposes in the first half of a back-to-back. I guess Luke Kornet will start in his place. They will also be without Kristaps Porzingis again, who is still rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery. The Hornets will be without DaQuan Jeffries, who is out with a hand injury, and Mark Williams, who is out with a foot injury. Neither has played yet this season. Brandon Miller is questionable with a glute injury.

Probable Celtics starters

PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Luke Kornet

Celtic’s reserves
Payton Pritchard
Sam Hauser
Nehemiah Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh

2 way players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Al Horford (rest) out

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely Hornets Starters

PG: LaMelo Ball
SG: Seth Curry
SF: Josh Green
PF: Miles Bridges
C: Nick Richards

Hornet’s reserves
Grant Williams
Nick Smith, Jr
Cody Martin
Vasa Micic
Three Men
Tidjane Salon
Taj Gibson

2 way players
Moussa Diabate
KJ Simpson
Jared Rhoden

Injuries/Out
DaQuan Jeffries (hand) out
Mark Williams (foot) out
Brandon Miller (glute) questionable

Head coach
Charles Lee

Key matchups

Jrue Holiday vs LaMelo Ball
Ball has played very well this season, averaging 28.5 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. match. He shoots 42.7% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. He will be hard to slow down, but if anyone can, it’s the Celtics defensive backcourt.

Payton Pritchard vs Tre Mann
This is a matchup of key subs off the bench who both shoot the 3 very well. Mann is averaging 20.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. game while shooting 44.6% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. Pritchard is averaging 16.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. game while shooting 45.6% from the field and 46.9% from beyond the arc.

Honorable mention
Jayson Tatum vs Miles Bridges
Tatum is coming off a game where he scored 37 points, but shot just 40% from the field and 27.8% from beyond the arc on 18 attempts. The Celtics need him to be more effective in this one. Bridges is averaging 15 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1 block per game. He is shooting 39.6% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.

Keys to the game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. It was a lack of defense that dug a 23-point hole against the Pacers, and it was good defense that got them back into the game and forced overtime. The Celtics are 11th with a defensive rating of 111.5. The Hornets are 29th with a defensive rating of 118.7. The Hornets are number 4 with 118.5 points per game. match. The Celtics are 1st in 3-point attempts at 42.4 and 2nd in 3-point percentage at 40.7%. The Hornets are 4th with 44 three point attempts per game and 5th in 3 point percentage at 39.2%. The Celtics must especially guard the Hornets on the perimeter.

Rebound – Rebounding is important to give the Celtics extra possessions and to limit possessions for their opponents. The Celtics are averaging 43 rebounds per game. game (18th), while the Hornets average 48.3 rebounds (3rd). Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics will have to put in an extra effort to beat the Hornets for rebounds. The Hornets are in 1st place with 22.8 second chance points per game, and the Celtics need to limit them by putting more effort into grabbing rebounds.

Maximum effort for 48 minutes – The Celtics’ effort in the first 3 quarters against the Pacers left a lot to be desired, landing them in a 23 point hole. They finally found some energy and effort in the 4th quarter and battled back to force overtime. Celtic’s efforts in their previous 2 games were good at times and not so good at other times. The Celtics need to give maximum effort on the boards and on defense, and they need to give that effort for the entire game and not just 1 or 2 quarters.

Bench game – The Hornets have 3 players off the bench who shoot over 40% from the perimeter. Tre Mann (20.5 points, 42.9% from three), Cody Martin (11.5 points, 42.1% from three) and Grant Williams (10.3 points, 47.4% from three) Celtics reserves must come into the game and play hard on the defensive end to limit their 3 point shooting. They also need to produce on the offensive end.

The X-Factors
On the Road – The Celtics are playing in their 4th road game this season. The Celtics face the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd, and they can’t allow those distractions to take away from their focus on the game. On the other hand, they have the motivation of having lost their last game due to poor play on their part to offset the upsets of playing on the road.

Coaching – Charles Lee helped lead the Celtics to their 18th championship as an assistant coach. He now leads the Charlotte Hornets as their head coach. I’m sure these two coaches share some coaching philosophies, including the strategy of shooting a lot of 3s. Which coach comes out best in this one?

Official – Officiating is always an x-factor. Each team calls the play differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact, while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team, while others call both sides equal. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the refs call the game and not allow no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.

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