Celtics (3-1) at Knicks (2-1) Preseason Game #5 10/15/16

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (3-1) at New York Knicks (2-1)
Saturday, October 15, 2016
7:30 PM ET
Preseason Game #5
TV: CSNNE MSG, NBA-TV
Madison Square Garden



Possible Starters

PG: Isaiah Thomas 4
SG:  Avery Bradley 0
SF:  Jae Crowder 99
PF:  Al Horford  42
C:   Amir Johnson 90

Probable Reserves
Ben Bentil 50
Jaylen Brown 7
Marcus Georges-Hunt  45
Gerald Green  30
RJ Hunter  28
Demetrius Jackson  9
Jonas Jerebko  8
Jalen Jones  52
Damion Lee 56
Jordan Mickey  55
Terry Rozier  12
Marcus Smart 36
James Young 13
Tyler Zeller 44

Injuries
Kelly Olynyk  (shoulder)  out

Head Coach:  Brad Stevens 




Probable Starters

PG:  Brandon Jennings
SG:  Courtney Lee
SF:  Carmelo Anthony
PF:  Kristaps Porzingis
C:   Joakim Noah

Possible Reserves
Willy Hernangomez
JP Tokoto
Maurice Ndour
Chasson Randle
Justin Holiday
Kyle O'Quinn
Lou Amundson
Sasha Vujacic
Ron Baker
Marshall Plumlee
Damien Inglis
Mindaugas Kuzminskas

Injuries
Joakim Noah (ankle)  probable
Lance Thomas  (heel) questionable
Derrick Rose  (personal)  out

Head Coach
Jeff Hornacek

Game Notes
The Celtics continue on their short road trip with a visit to division rival New York Knicks.  Unlike the Celtics who have kept their core mostly the same over the offseason,  the Knicks have made quite a few changes.  They brought in Brandon Jennings, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. 

Noah sat out the Knicks first 3 preseason games with a hamstring injury.  He returned to practice on Wednesday and injured his ankle and sat out Thursday once again.  He practiced on Friday and is expected to play in this game.   Derrick Rose is in LA for his rape trial and has missed the entire preseason so far with Brandon Jennings starting in his place. 

Kelly Olynyk was scheduled to be re-evaluated this week but his doctor has been unavailable and so he is still out and limited to non contact drills.  Terry Rozier recovered from the 7 stitches he got against the Hornets to play against the Nets.  He suffered a hip pointer in Thursday's game vs the Nets and missed practice on Friday but is expected to be good to go for this game. 

This is the third straight home game for the Knicks and their last home game of the preseason.  They will face the Celtics again in Boston on Wednesday, October 19.  This is the Celtics 5th game in a row away from Boston Garden but a couple of those were considered to be home games.  After this game, the Celtics will finish the preseason with 2 straight games at Boston Garden. 

Key Matchups
vs 
Jae Crowder vs Carmelo Anthony
Jae prides himself on locking down opponents and Carmelo Anthony is a challenge for anyone to guard.  He is averaging 15.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game and is always capable of exploding for a big game.

  vs 
Al Horford vs Kristaps Porzingis
The 7'3" Porzingis is a tough cover and has been opening a lot of eyes around the league after being booed by Knicks fans on draft night.  He is averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. 

Keys to the Game

Defense - Playing tough team defense is the key to winning every game. The Celtics need to concentrate on getting stops and keeping the Knicks' offense off balance. Both teams are shooting 40% from the field, but the Knicks are shooting 40% from beyond the arc to just 30% for the Celtics.  The Celtics have to play tough defense, especially on the perimeter. 

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. 

Rebound - Much of rebounding is effort and desire and when the Celtics put out the extra effort to win the battle of the boards, they seem to play better overall. They have to grab rebounds to keep the Knicks from getting out on the break and to keep them from getting second chance points.  The Celtics are averaging 44 rebounds to 38 for the Knicks and they have to continue to put out the effort to win the battle of the boards. 

Move the Ball - When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man,  they play very well.  When their assist total is high,  they are tough to beat.  When they start to play hero ball and stop moving the ball,  they usually lose and look terrible while doing it.   They need to play as a team with no hero ball.

Smart Offense - Take good shots.  The Celtics need to take shots when they are open and not force contested shots.  They need to move the ball and they need to run and then run some more to get the ball up the court before the Knicks defense is set up.  If the 3s aren't falling, they need to drive to the basket. 

X-Factors
It's Preseason - It's tough to gauge anything in the preseason.  Brad Stevens may just play Jalen Jones, Damion Lee, Marcus Georges-Hunt and Ben Bentil the whole game or he may sit out the starters again.  The Celtics want to win every game, but player development and evaluation are the more important goals in the preseason. 

[A Future of Stevens]

TP FL. Great thread as always. Go celts! Should be a great game. Cant wait for smart to continue his 47% fg or for brown to make us drool over his future.

[max215]

Let's go Celts! Hoping for another big outing out of Jaylen.

[csfansince60s]

TP FLCELTS!

Another great game thread.

Always like to beat the Knicks.

Next to the Lakers, Nets, Sixers and LeBron,  this is the that I like to beat the most.

[hwangjini_1]

Sock monkeys rule! Just like the Celtics will rule over the knicks. 

Tp for flc, as ever.

Gooooo Celtics!!! 

[FLCeltsFan]

TP for A Future of Stevens for being the first to post in the game thread!

Gooooo Celtics.   

[saltlover]

ESPN lists Terry Rozier as out in their preview.  Anyone heard about this?

[FLCeltsFan]

ESPN lists Terry Rozier as out in their preview.  Anyone heard about this?

I went by this:  http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/celtics-terry-rozier-not-practicing-friday-expected-to-play-saturday/

And also he is not listed on the injured list on the game notes. 

[csfansince60s]

ESPN lists Terry Rozier as out in their preview.  Anyone heard about this?

Hip pointer. Might play.

[saltlover]

ESPN lists Terry Rozier as out in their preview.  Anyone heard about this?

Hip pointer. Might play.

Thanks.  Must not be too bad.

[Eddie20]

Kuzminskas is not bad. Plays a lot like Jerebko.

[SHAQATTACK]

Sock monkeys rule! Just like the Celtics will rule over the knicks. 

Tp for flc, as ever.

Gooooo Celtics!!! 

Trunk Monkeys Rule.

[Surferdad]

Great to have another game quickly.  I missed the Nets game due to biz travel and streaming did not work well in my hotel room.

Like a lot of folks, I will be watching Jaylen very closely for signs he is learning and of course, going to the hoop with abandon.  He is a very different player than Paul Pierce, yet that's who I think of when I see his potential.

I suspect Brad will play closer to his regular planned in-season rotation as the pre-season winds down.

[Kuberski33]

Like a lot of folks, I will be watching Jaylen very closely for signs he is learning and of course, going to the hoop with abandon.  He is a very different player than Paul Pierce, yet that's who I think of when I see his potential.

I think I agree with you.  He kind of has an old school game but he's also an elite athlete. He played very well vs NJ. 

Pierce in his early years was super athletic as well, but his game was different.  Brown's game reminds me a little of Pierce in his prime when his experience and guile caught up with his talent - though he never consistently took it to the hoop in quite the way Jaylen does.  But Brown obviously has a long, long way to go to get to that level - if he ever gets there.

[alldaboston]

Joakim Noah will indeed play today, he makes his debut for the Knicks, and will play around 15 minutes

https://twitter.com/AdamHimmelsbach/status/787410340124430336