The Celtics are looking for their 4th straight win as they take on the Wizards in Washington. This is the 2nd of 3 games between these two teams this season. The Celtics beat the Wizards 122-102 in Washington in their 2nd game of the season. They will play each other for the 3rd and final time in Boston on April 6. The Celtics swept the series 4-0 last season. The Celtics are 203-120 overall all time and they are 83-74 in Washington.
The Celtics last played on Tuesday, while the Wizards last played on Monday, so both teams should be well rested. Although, the Celtics spent Thursday at the White House being honored as the 2024 NBA Champions so they may be a bit hung over from that ceremony. The Celtics have won their last 3 games while the Wizards have lost their last 9 games. The Wizards are 1-4 at home while the Celtics are 7-1 on the road.
In the off season, the Wizards added 3 first round picks from this year’s draft: 2nd pick Alex Sarr, 14th pick Carlton “Bub” Carrington, and 24th pick Kyshawn George. They also added Key veterans Jonas Valenciunas, former Celtic Malcolm Brogdon, Saddiq Bey, and Anthony Gill. They also traded Deni Avdija and lost Tyus Jones to free agency. The Celtics, as we know, are basically the same team as last year’s championship team.
After this Emirates Cup game, the Celtics will host the Minnesota Timberwolves and and the LA Clippers before playing at Chicago and at Cleveland. They then have a 5 game home stand against Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis and Chicago. They then visit Chicago and Orlando before another 4 game home stand where they host Philadelphia, Indiana twice, and Toronto.
After playing at New York on Monday, the Wizards play this game at home against the Celtics, the Wizards will travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers and then return home for games against Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers. They then play at Milwaukee and Cleveland before a 4 game home stand against Dallas, Denver, Memphis and Charlotte.
For the Celtics, only Kristaps Porzingis is out as he completes his rehab from off season ankle surgery. He has practiced with the Maine Celtics and is nearing a return but will miss this game. For the Wizards, Saddiq Bey and Tristan Vukcevicis are both out with a knee injury. Bilal Coulibaly is probable after missing Monday’s game with a head injury, but going through a full practice on Thursday. Marvin Bagley III is questionable with a groin injury.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Nehemiah Queta
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Wizards Starters
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Wizards Reserves
Patrick Baldwin, Jr
Malcolm Brogdon
Johnny Davis
Kyshawn George
Anthony Gill
Richaun Holmes
Corey Kispert
Jonas Valanciunas
2-Way Players
Jared Butler
Justin Champagnie
Tristan Vukcevic
Injuries/Out
Saddiq Bey (knee) out
Tristan Vukcevic (knee) out
Marvin Bagley III (groin) questionable
Head Coach
Brian Keefe
Key Matchups
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Derrick White vs Jordan Poole
Poole is averaging 21.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He is shooting 45.8% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, Poole finished with 26 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 block and 4 steals while shooting 44.3% from the field and 38.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to stay with him on the perimeter as he is a threat to hit his 3’s. He is also a threat to steal the ball if the Celtics get sloppy.
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Jayson Tatum vs Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma is averaging 17.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He is shooting 40.9% from the field and 29.1% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, Kuzma finished with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal. He shot 37.5% from the field but didn’t hit a 3.
Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Bilal Coulibaly
Coulibaly is averaging 14.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 57.1% from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, Coulibaly finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field but not hitting a 3.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics won their championship last season with tough, physical defense. To repeat, they will need to once again make defense a priority. The Celtics are 13th with a defensive rating of 111.9 while the Wizards are 30th with a defensive rating of 120.3. The Celtics were first in the league on defense last season and they need to get back to playing that tough lock down defense every game, all game again this season. The Celtics especially need to defend the paint because they are 27th, allowing 53.6 points in the paint per game.
Rebound – The Celtics are 10th with 42.7 rebounds per game while the Wizards are 25th with 41.7 rebounds per game. Again, the Celtics were 2nd last season with 46.7 rebounds per game and basically the same roster. It’s important for the Celtics to rebound to give themselves extra possessions and to limit their opponents’ possessions. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and when the Celtics give extra effort and hustle on the boards, it usually translates into the rest of their game. Each player needs to commit to crashing the boards and going after every rebound on both ends of the court.
Maximum Effort for 48 Minutes – The Celtics losses this season can be traced back to a lack of effort. Also, it seems that they either start off slowly and end up in a hole that they need to dig themselves out of or they jump out to a lead only to let up in the second half and allow their opponent to get back into the game and make it close. The Celtics have to get back to playing hard on both ends of the court for the full 48 minutes with no let up.
3 Point Shooting – The Celtics lead the league in 3 pointers attempted with 50.5 per game. They are 8th in the league, shooting 37.9% on 3 pointers. The Celtics are tough to beat when they are hitting their 3’s but struggle to score when the 3’s aren’t falling. They have to move the ball and find the open man to get the best shots possible. Also, if the 3’s aren’t falling in this game they need to abandon that strategy and take the ball inside.
X-Factors
On the Road and Focus – The Celtics are playing on the road after celebrating their championship at the White House on Thursday. They have to overcome the distractions that come with playing on the road like travel, staying in hotels, missing family, an unfamiliar building and a hostile crowd. They also have to shake off the excitement of the White House visit and they have to stay focused and not allow those distractions to take away from playing the game the right way.
Officiating -Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. Some favor the home team. Some favor the road team. Some just make bad, head scratching calls. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game.
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