It definitely will be a tough task as the Suns are tied with the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the league. This is the second and final game between these two teams this season. The Suns won the first game on December 10 in Phoenix. These two teams tied the series last season with each team winning on their home court. The Celtics are 10th in the East and have lost 3 straight games. They are at home and have won just 3 of their last 10 games. They are against Western Conference teams.
The Suns are tied for first in the West and won their last game, snapping a two game losing streak. They are on the road and in their last 10 games. They are against Eastern Conference teams. The Celtics are all time against the Suns and they are all time in games played in Boston.
Phoenix are playing the first game of a 3 game road trip. The Celtics are playing the 2nd game of a 4 game home stand, having lost the first game in the home stand to the Clippers on Wednesday. Both teams last played at home on Wednesday.
Both teams are dealing with injuries, as have pretty much all teams in recent games. The Celtics get Marcus Smart back from a 2 game absence with a hand laceration. The Suns have 3 players out in the health and safety protocols and one other a game time decision due to the protocols. Frank Kaminsky has been out since November 21 with a stress reaction in his knee.
Abdel Nader has missed 18 games with a knee injury but was also placed in health and safety protocols on Thursday. Dario Saric has been out for the season with a torn ACL. Romeo Langford vs Devin Booker Booker is averaging Of course, that 70 point game he had against the Celtics helped a lot.
He is averaging He is shooting The Celtics have to play good defense on him or he may put up another 70 point game. Marcus Smart vs Chris Paul Chris Paul is playing very well for the Suns and is one of the reasons they have been so successful over the past two seasons.
He runs the Suns offense and the Celtics need to keep him from getting open shots and also they need to keep him from easily setting up his teammates. Jaylen had a tough game against the Clippers on Wednesday and the Celtics need him to bounce back and play well against this tough Suns team.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics have slid back to 9th with a defensive rating of The Suns are 3rd with a defensive rating of The Celtics have gone away from the defensive game plan that helped them to get on track and win games earlier.
The Suns are 3rd, averaging The Celtics must make defense a priority if they want to win this game. Rebound - The Celtics need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Suns from racking up fast break points.
Jalen Smith scored 19 and Chris Paul finished with 14 points and eight assists. The Suns remained without starters Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder , who missed their third straight game because of health and safety protocols.
Coach Monty Williams was also on the protocol list for the third game in a row. The Suns , who entered with the top record in the NBA, lost for the third time in four games. Kevin Young, who is coaching Phoenix while Williams remains out, said the Suns weren't physical enough to keep the Celtics from rolling early. They were the more physical team in the first. Boston was coming off a dreadful shooting performance, making just 4 of 42 3-pointers against the Clippers.
Boston closed out the first quarter on an run and outscored Phoenix in the second period, taking a lead into halftime. The Suns were 3 for 15 on 3-pointers in first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Paul and Ish Wainright early in the fourth only got Phoenix back within 15, still down Williams punctuated his first career triple-double with five blocks, swatting away three shots in the second half as the Suns tried to generate some offense inside.
The Celtics held a moment of silence before the game in memory of Sam Jones, a Hall of Famer who died Thursday at age Celtics: Smart returned after missing two games with a cut on his hand. Boston used only three reserves in the first half, and the trio of Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and Payton Pritchard combined for 32 points.
Langford finished with 16 points and Pritchard scored 11 in the game.
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