Preview: Celtics Look for Revenge vs. Hornets After 21-Point Blowout on Sunday
AP Photo | Chris Carlson
Boston suffered a devastating loss at the hands of the Thunder last night, losing 119-114. The C’s have now lost three straight and are looking for revenge tonight vs. the Charlotte Hornets.
HOW TO WATCH
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Channel(s): NBC Sports Boston
PLAYER STATS
Not much has changed in terms of stats since the last time these two squads faced off this past Sunday. Terry Rozier still leads the team in scoring and has been on a tear lately, putting up 20+ in six of his last seven games. Miles Bridges has also been on fire, scoring 15+ in nine of his last eleven games. Devonte’ Graham and PJ Washington round out the team’s top scorers as of late. All four of those guys scored 20 or more in their beatdown of the C’s on Sunday.
Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker did not play yesterday, so it was Jaylen Brown who led in the scoring column. He put up 39 points to go along with 11 rebounds and four steals against the Thunder. Payton Pritchard has also been playing well, putting up 15.2 points a night over the last five games. This was topped off by a career-high 28 point night vs. the Thunder yesterday.
RECENT GAMES
The Hornets will also be playing on night two of a back-to-back. They fell to the Milwaukee Bucks last night, losing 114-104. They are now 30-31 on the season, good for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte has now lost seven of their last ten games.
With their loss to the Thunder last night, Boston has now lost three in a row. They have won six of their last ten games and sit at 32-30 on the season. They are tied with the Miami Heat for sixth in the Eastern Conference, and only 1.5 games ahead of the eighth-seeded Hornets.
INJURIES
Charlotte is still dealing with the same injuries as this past Sunday. Gordon Hayward, Malik Monk, LaMelo Ball, and Nate Darling are all listed as out. However, Ball is making significant progress towards a return, and James Borrego said he could participate in live practices very soon.
Kemba Walker is the only Celtic who is officially out for tonight’s game as of now. Jayson Tatum missed the matchup vs. Oklahoma City last night, but Stevens said the team was hopeful he would be available for tonight’s game. Robert Williams is questionable at the moment as he recovers from a lingering knee issue. Jaylen Brown’s availability could also be in question, as he appeared to injure his wrist in last night’s game.
KEYS TO THE GAME
This past Sunday, the Hornets put up 39 assists. This was the most against the Celtics since 1996. If the C’s want any chance tonight the defensive intensity has to be at an all-time high. Just because Charlotte is missing some guys doesn’t mean that this is an easy win. Expect them to play with just as much energy tonight.
Boston had 13 turnovers against the Hornets and a lot of them were completely unforced. The lazy passes and not getting back on defense have to stop. That kind of attitude won’t win basketball games. Jaylen Brown said it best in his postgame interview last night - “we [the Celtics] don’t have a team that can not show up and win games.”
Finally, the Hornets were killer from behind the three-point line on Sunday. This goes along with the point of defensive intensity, but hitting rotations has to be a top priority. There were too many times where guys were getting clean looks. The issue continued vs. the Thunder last night, as Boston continuously left Ty Jerome open from range. No easy threes tonight.
PREGAME SHOW
Make sure to tune in to our live pregame show, “The Banner Town Build Up.” We are live 30 minutes before every Celtics game @GuyBostonSports on YouTube and Facebook. See you there at 7:00 p.m. (EST) tonight!
