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The Celtics close out the season by hosting the Washington Wizards. This is the 4th and final game between these two teams this season. The Celtics are 3-0 against the Wizards so far. They won 126-107 at Washington on 10/30, 133-129 at Boston on 2/9 and 130-104 at Washington on 3/17. The Celtics went 2-1 against Washington last season. Boston is 201-120 overall all time and 106-44 all time in Boston.
The Celtics are first in the East. They are 14 games ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee, 15 games ahead of 3rd place new York, 15 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 17 games ahead of 5th place Orlando, 17 games ahead of 6th place Indiana and 17 games ahead of 7th place Philadelphia. They are 36-4 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 40-11 against Eastern Conference teams and they are coming off a win in their last game.
The Wizards are 14th in the East. They are 48 games behind 1st place Boston and 4 games behind 13th place Charlotte. They are just 1 game ahead of 15th place Detroit. The Wizards are 8-32 on the road and 2-8 in their last 10 games. Their 2 wins were over the Bulls and the Bucks. They are 11-40 against Eastern Conference opponents. They have lost their last 5 games.
Once again, the Celtics have nothing to play for. They are locked into first place in the league and will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The only team in the league with more losses than the Wizards is the Pistons. The Pistons are just 1 game ahead of the Wizards in the race for the 1st pick in the draft. The Wizards will likely rather lose this game than win it.
The top 6 players for the Celtics sat out Friday’s game with various injuries and all 6 are once again expected to miss this game. Derrick White (ankle), Al Horford (toe), Jayson Tatum (rest), Kristaps Porzingis (rest) Jrue Holiday (knee) and Jaylen Brown (rest) are all listed as out for this game. I’ve listed the same starters as they started on Friday, although Joe may start a completely different lineup or he may even start the Maine Celtics.
The Wizards also have a long list of players on the injury list. Marvin Bagley III (knee), Bilal Coulibaly (wrist), Tyus Jones (back), Kyle Kuzma (ankle), and Landry Shamet (calf) are all listed as out for this game. Tristan Vucevic (ankle), Anthony Gill (knee), Richaun Holmes, and Jordan Poole (illness) are all listed as questionable and will be a game time decision. I’ve listed the starting lineup from their last game as well. If Jordan Poole is able to play, I expect him to return to the starting lineup.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics ReservesOshae BrissettXavier TillmanJordan WalshNeemias Queta
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew Peterson
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (rest) out Al Horford (toe) outDerrick White (ankle) outKristaps Porzingis (rest) out Jaylen Brown (rest) out Jrue Holiday (ankle) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Wizards Starters
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Wizards Reserves Jared ButlerEugene Omoruyi
Two Way Players Jared ButlerJustin Champagnie
Injuries/Out Marvin Bagley III (knee) out Bilal Coulibaly (wrist) outAnthony Gill (knee) questionableRichaun Holmes (toe) questionable Tyus Jones (back) out Kyle Kuzma (ankle) out Jordan Poole (illness) questionable Landry Shamet (calf) out Tristan Vucevic (ankle) questionable
Head Coach Brian Keefe (interim)
Key Matchups
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Jaden Springer vs Deni AvdijaAvdija is averaging 14.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He is shooting 50.9% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc. In 3 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steal per game while shooting 52% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc.
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Payton Pritchard vs Corey KispertKispert is averaging 13.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He is shooting 48.8% from the field and 38.7% from beyond the arc. In 3 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1 steal per game while shooting 52% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc.
Honorable MentionLuke Kornet vs Tristan VucevicVucevic is averaging 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He is shooting 43.3% from the field and 27.8% from beyond the arc. He did not play in any of the 3 games against the Celtics this season. Vucevic is questionable for this game so he may be out and another player will start here.
Keys to the GameDefense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics need to defend the paint without letting up on their perimeter defense. The Wizards are 3rd in the league, averaging 54.7 points in the paint per game. The Celtics need to make defense their priority and their identity in order to win every game and to win a championship. The Celtics are 2nd with a defensive rating of 110.5 while the Wizards are 38th with a defensive rating of 118.8.The Celtics need to continue to make defense a priority and their identity.
Rebound – It’s important for teams 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. The Celtics are 2nd in the league with 46.3 rebounds per game while the Wizards are 29th in the league with 41.1 rebounds per game. Each player needs to commit to crashing the boards and going after every rebound on both ends of the court.
Next Man Up – Once again, the 5 starters and Al Horford will all be out this game and so the stay ready group needs to be ready to step up once again in their place. Some of them will need to start and others will need to come in and play extra minutes because of the Celtics being short handed. They all need to play hard and to stay focused on both ends of the court.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team. They have to be more aggressive in going after loose balls, in grabbing rebounds, in defending, and in going to the basket. They need to hustle and be aggressive for 48 minutes every game. They can win a lot of games by playing harder than their opponents and they can lose a lot of games by allowing their opponents to be the team that plays harder.
X-Factors Home Game – The Celtics are once again at home. They should get a boost from the home crowd and from being in familiar surroundings. The Celtics need to have a sense of urgency at home to protect home court and not expect to win because the Wizards have not been good this season. After all, these Wizards recently beat the Bucks. Also the Wizards will have to deal with travel, staying in a hotel, and a hostile crowd and hopefully that will give the Celtics an advantage.
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 as we have seen many times. And sometimes, as in the Bucks game, they don’t blow the whistle at all. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the refs call the game and not let bad calls and no calls take them out of the game or affect their focus.
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