Spurs (11-4) at Celtics (4-9) Game #14 11/30/14

[FLCeltsFan]

at 
San Antonio Spurs (11-4) at Boston Celtics (4-9)
Sunday, November 30, 2014
1:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #14 Home Game #9
TV: CSN-NE, FSSW, NBA-LP 751(DTV)/751(Xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WOAI 1200 AM
TD Garden



Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Jared Sullinger
C:  Tyler Zeller 

Celtics Reserves
Phil Pressey
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
James Young
Gerald Wallace

Injuries
Vitor Faverani (knee) out
Marcus Smart (ankle) out




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: Tony Parker
SG:  Danny Green
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Boris Diaw

Spurs Reserves
Kyle Anderson
Jeff Ayres
Aaron Baynes
Marco Belinelli
Matt Bonner
Austin Daye
Manu Ginobili
Cory Joseph

Injuries
Patty Mills (shoulder) out
Tiago Splitter (calf)  out

Game Notes
The Celtics host the Champion Spurs for their only visit to Boston this season.  They will meet again in San Antonio on March 20.   This is the Celtics second 1:00 PM ET start in a row.  The Spurs come into this game having won their last 6 games while the Celtics have lost their last 3 games and 6 of their last 7.   The Celtics are 2-6 at home while the Spurs are 5-3 on the road.

Brad Stevens has been hinting that lineup changes may be in store for the Celtics and at the end of practice on Saturday,  Tyler Zeller was practicing with the starters while Kelly Olynyk was with the reserves.  Olynyk has been struggling in recent games and Zeller has been playing very well.  Stevens may not make the change for this game, but I've put Zeller in the starting lineup for this one as it seems likely. 

Marcus Smart went through a full practice on Saturday, but they didn't scrimmage and there were no contact drills and so it's likely that Smart will miss this game.  For the Spurs, Patty Mills and Tiago Splitter are both listed as out.  Jared Sullinger sported glasses during Saturday's practice after taking a hit to his eye in the Bulls game.  He is expected to play in this one though. 

The Celtics have come close to winning most of the games that they have lost.  In several of them they have been ahead in the 4th quarter only to fall behind at the end.  This will not be an easy game as the Spurs are among the best in the league and haven't changed much from the team that won the championship in June.  It will take a monumental team effort for 48 minutes on the Celtics part to get a win in this one. 

Key Matchups
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Tim Duncan
Duncan my be one of the elder statesmen of the league, but age hasn't slowed him much, if any.  He is averaging 14.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.  He will be a tough matchup for Sully on both ends of the court. 

vs
Rajon Rondo vs Tony Parker
Parker is averaging 17.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.  He is also shooting 52% from the field.  Although the scoring is spread out across the Spurs roster, slowing Parker will slow the Spurs offense and so we may see Avery Bradley guarding him if  Rondo can't get the job done.

Keys to the Game
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics tend to have periods in the game where they can't make shots, let up on defense and turn the ball over.  They especially seem to struggle down the stretch at the end of games.   They have to find a way to be more consistent and play strong for all 48 minutes.

Rebound - Much of rebounding is effort and desire. The Celtics need to do both if they hope to beat a tough Spurs team and they will need to crash the boards to prevent second chance and fast break points from the Spurs.  The Spurs are 8th in the league in rebounding with 43.5 per game.  The Celtics are 12th with 42.6 per game.  They need to put out that little bit of extra effort to win the battle of the boards.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be aggressive in going after loose balls, taking the ball to the hoop and playing in your face defense. When they get lazy and allow teams to beat them to loose balls and rebounds and when they settle for jumpers and don't go to the basket, they are very beatable. They have to be the more aggressive team from the opening tip to the final buzzer.  The Spurs are 5th in the league, holding teams to just 30% from beyond the arc.  If the Celtics aren't hitting from long range they should take the ball inside. 

Run, Run, Run - The Celtics have to run in order to get easy opportunities before the defenses set up, especially against a good defensive team like the Spurs.  The Spurs are 2nd in the league, holding opponents to just 92.7 points per game.  The Celtics need to run on every possession and hope to wear the Spurs down.

Defense - Defense is the key to winning every game.  The Celtics have got to clamp down on defense as a team.  Every player must commit to playing tough defense.  In spite of a good start to the year defensively, the Celtics are now 28th in the league allowing 107.3 points per game.  The Celtics have got to match the Spurs defensive intensity if they want a chance at winning this game. 

X-Factors
Home Game and Underestimation
The Celtics are playing at home and should get a boost from the home crowd as well as the comfort factor of being at home.   The Spurs may underestimate the Celtics if they look at their record and that may give the Celtics a chance to win the game. 

[Chris22]

So Zeller is starting?

[FLCeltsFan]

So Zeller is starting?

I don't know if he is starting or not.   Stevens talked about making changes in the starting lineup.  Olynyk has been struggling and yesterday Zeller practiced with the starters.  So I put 2 and 2 together and took a guess that he is starting.   Could just be Stevens trying to throw Pop off track.   We won't know for sure until Stevens releases the starters for today's game.

And TP for being the first to post in the thread. 

[Chris22]

I like Zeller starting, but the Spurs are so good, I don't know that it will make much difference.

But the Celtics have undervalued the center position for years.

[PickNRoll]

If I told you that Boris Diaw was the starting CENTER on a championship contender, would you believe me? 

[MBunge]

I would be happy to see Zeller starting, if only to end KO's status as whipping boy.  He's had a rough start to the season but I doubt KO is the major reason for this team's struggles.

Mike

[Fafnir]

If I told you that Boris Diaw was the starting CENTER on a championship contender, would you believe me?

No, mostly because Tim Duncan plays center.

[Chris22]

If I told you that Boris Diaw was the starting CENTER on a championship contender, would you believe me?

Duncan played plenty of minutes.

And the year before, Pop took Duncan out in the last two minutes of game 6 and the Spurs lost because they were outrebounded. And then went on to lose the Finals. All because Pop thought he didn't need to play one of the greatest centers of all time in the final two minutes with his team ahead. I yelled at the tv when Pop took him out....no, no, no, no, nooooo....

[Celtics18]

I would be happy to see Zeller starting, if only to end KO's status as whipping boy.  He's had a rough start to the season but I doubt KO is the major reason for this team's struggles.

Mike

I don't know that I'd say "he's had a rough start to the season."  I'd say, he's had a mixed start to the season, with some very good play in some games and some fairly bad play in others.

All in all, taking the good with the bad, he's still top three in his class in production, along with Giannis and Dieng. 

[hwangjini_1]

another game to watch. another thread to post in.

thanks flc and as usual you deserve a tp.

gooooo celtics!!!!!

[FLCeltsFan]

It's official that Zeller is starting.  It's a temporary move according to Coach Stevens.  But he will be starting today because of the matchup with Tim Duncan. 

[PickNRoll]

It's official that Zeller is starting.  It's a temporary move according to Coach Stevens.  But he will be starting today because of the matchup with Tim Duncan.

That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  How are you supposed to build an identity if you adjust your starting lineup according to matchups?

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Zeller in the post.

[danglertx]

I really have a feeling we shock the world today!

[Rondohara]

Tough one. I won't be too sad if we lose this on the last minute depending of the circumstances.
But hey, let's get that W!
Let's go Celtics.