Midway by means of the season, the Boston Celtics have the look of a contender, maybe they’re even the workforce to beat. Of their second season beneath head coach Joe Mazulla, their 31-9 document leads each conferences. That win/loss quantity features a 19-0 document at dwelling, a Celtics franchise document to start out a season. Their high 6-7 guys, led by All Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are pretty much as good as anybody’s, resulting in high 3 placements in each Offensive Ranking and Defensive score. Very similar to it’s been the previous couple of seasons for Boston, the substances are there for a late June run on the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The Spurs, in the meantime, are nonetheless in seek for some consistency. They’ve performed noticeably higher because the calendar modified, even choosing up a few wins towards fellow backside feeders within the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets, however success and the aforementioned consistency nonetheless eludes. The primary half no-show Monday afternoon towards the Atlanta Hawks and the livid second half near-comeback have been emblematic of their season up to now. They’ll want that second half workforce to point out up if they’ve any hope of maintaining with the Celtics throughout the confines of TD Backyard.
January 17 2023 | 6:30 PM CT
Watch: BSSW | Pay attention: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Accidents: Zach Collins, ankle (OUT), Sidy Cissoko, ankle (OUT), Charles Bassey, out for the yr
Celtics Accidents: Derrick White, ankle (each day), Jrue Vacation, elbow (each day), Kristaps Porzingis, knee (each day)
What to look at for
The Spurs want the Wemby from the 2nd half of the Atlanta sport if they’re to have a shot at profitable in Boston. Wembanyama scored all 26 of his factors in that 2nd half on a ridiculous 12/14 from the sphere, with the Spurs almost pulling off the comeback consequently. Wembanyama had 21 factors in 23 minutes towards Boston when the 2 groups met in San Antonio again on New 12 months’s Eve.
Jaylen Brown has been on a tear over his final 5 video games, scoring no less than 30 in 4 of them and dropping a 40 piece towards the Indiana Pacers. Brown sat out Boston’s Monday evening sport with a knee challenge, however was lacking from Tuesday’s harm report.
Former Spurs Derrick White is questionable for tonight’s matchup. White has had a profession yr so far within the season and had what has grow to be a typical sport for him when he confronted his former squad in San Antonio final month. With White and Jrue Vacation questionable for the sport tonight, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see who Mazulla plugs of their place to fill out his backcourt.
Al Horford is simply chugging alongside, nonetheless doing his factor. The 16-year vet has seemingly transitioned to extra of a bench function, come off the pine 18 instances this season in 33 video games performed. When he’s in although, he’s nonetheless the identical sensible defender he’s been all through his profession whereas being a key cog on offense along with his unorthodox leap shot.
That 19-0 Celtic dwelling document extends again to final yr, for a complete of 24 straight video games. The most effective dwelling document in NBA historical past is, sarcastically, the 1986 Boston Celtics. That squad, led by Larry Chicken and a storied Large 3 of their very own, went 40-1 on the previous parquet ground of the legendary Boston Backyard on their option to the championship that yr.
For the Celtics fan’s perspective, please go to Celtics Weblog.
Should you’d prefer to, you could comply with together with the sport on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or go to our Recreation Thread!
