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Boston Celtics (7-6) at Atlanta Hawks (9-6)
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #14 Road Game #6
TV: TNT, TSN1,3
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 92.9 FM The Game
Philips ArenaProbable Starting Matchups
Point Guard vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Jeff Teague
Shooting Guard vs
Avery Bradley vs Kyle Korver
Small Forward vs
Jae Crowder vs Thabo Sefolosha
Power Forward vs
Amir Johnson vs Paul Millsap
Center vs
Jared Sullinger vs Al Horford
Celtics ReservesEvan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk
Head CoachBrad Stevens
InjuriesMarcus Smart (leg) out
Hawks Reserves Dennis Schroder
Justin Holiday
Mike Scott
Shelvin Mack
Lamar Patterson
Tim Hardaway Jr
Walter Tavares
Mike Muscala
Head CoachMike Budenholzer
Injuries Tiago Splitter (hip) out
Kent Bazemore (ankle) questionable
Game Notes The Celtics and Hawks meet for the second of 4 meetings this season. The Celtics won the first meeting 106-93 in Boston. That loss to the Celtics began a stretch of 4 losses in their last 5 games for the Hawks. The Hawks last played on Saturday in a 109-97 loss to the Cavaliers. The Celtics last played on Sunday in what may be their worst loss of the season to the Nets.
Avery Bradley missed the first game vs the Hawks while the Hawks were at full strength. Marcus Smart will miss this game for the Celtics. Hopefully the Celtics can figure out a way to get their defense to work better without him than they did against the Nets, who seemed to get whatever shot they wanted.
The Hawks will be without Tiago Splitter, who injured his hip in Saturday's game. Kent Bazemore is questionable with an ankle sprain that has kept him out of the last 3 games. Jeff Teague had missed 3 games with an ankle injury but returned to come off the bench against Cleveland. I would expect that he will be back in the starting lineup for this game. If not, Dennis Schroder will probably get the start again.
Key Matchups vs
Amir Johnson vs Paul Millsap
Millsap is averaging 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 blocks and 2.1 steals per game. He is a handful for anyone to have to guard. Amir will need to play well on both ends of the court.
Jared Sullinger vs Al Horford
vs
Jared has been playing well and his defense has won him the starting center position. Horford is averaging 16.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. In the past, after a disappointing game, Jared has bounced back with a big game. Hopefully he continues that trend in this game.
Honorable MentionTeague is averaging 16.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Teague returned to the bench in the Hawks' last game but should be back in the starting lineup for this one. Teague is capable of having a big game on both ends and hopefully Isaiah is able to handle him.
Keys to the Game Play as a Team - The Celtics played very un-Celtic like in their loss to the Nets. The Celtics had only 19 assists and seemed to forget to play together on both offense and defense. They have to get back to moving the ball and finding the open man to get the best shot. They are at their best when they share the ball and work together. Hitting some shots wouldn't hurt either.
Take Care of the Ball - The Hawks are 3rd in the league in steals with 9.7 per game and they get a lot of their points on second chance opportunities. They are also 4th in the league, forcing 17.3 turnovers per game. The Celtics have to move the ball but also make good passes and not allow the Hawks to get extra points off steals and turnovers. If the Celtics get careless, the Hawks will make them pay.
Rebound - The Celtics were out-rebounded by the Nets in their last game 49-35 and they can't be happy with that kind of effort. They have to make an extra effort to crash the glass and not give the Hawks extra possessions.
Defense - Defense wins games. The Hawks have players who can put points up in a hurry and the Celtics have to concentrate on defense to keep them from having big games. Without Marcus Smart, the rest of the team have got to up their effort on defense in order to keep the Hawks from flying high.
X-Factors Revenge and Bounce Back Factors - The Hawks will want to get back at the Celtics for their loss in the first game. The Celtics have to be ready for them. If they play like they did against the Nets in the second game, the result will be the same as well. Both teams will want to bounce back from losses in their last games. Which team will be able to do so?
Officiating - Officiating is aways an x-factor. The Celtics play best when the officials let them play and don't call a lot of ticky tack fouls for incidental contact. Referees with an agenda are always a possibility as well.