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Celtics lost on Saturday to the GSW, they want to get back to winning. They will come in tonight ready to battle and fight for a win.

Clippers walked away with a win on Saturday. They turned up the defense late and created some separation.

ESPN is giving the Celtics a 63% chance of winning tonight.

Kawhi and PG need to come in ready and focused and show why they are Max players on this Clippers team.



ESPN’s Preview :


BOTTOM LINE: Jayson Tatum leads Boston into a matchup against Los Angeles. He ranks fourth in the league scoring 30.0 points per game.

The Clippers are 7-6 on their home court. Los Angeles has a 4-1 record in one-possession games.

The Celtics have gone 10-4 away from home. Boston leads the Eastern Conference scoring 120.3 points per game while shooting 49.1%.

TOP PERFORMERS: John Wall is averaging 12.6 points and 5.6 assists for the Clippers. Paul George is averaging 15.8 points over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.

PeteyPablo wrote:
Kawhi and PG need to come in ready and focused and show why they are Max players on this Clippers team.

I don't think that's happening. Kawhi is shooting 17% from the 3 point line, has a total of 1 block and 1 steal in the last 6 games. Averaging 1 foul a game.

donemilio21 wrote:

PeteyPablo wrote:
Kawhi and PG need to come in ready and focused and show why they are Max players on this Clippers team.

I don't think that's happening. Kawhi is shooting 17% from the 3 point line, has a total of 1 block and 1 steal in the last 6 games. Averaging 1 foul a game.

His three-point shot looks flat and I am no NBA player, but I would say it is due to not enough lift from the legs.
Slowly , he will get back into form. Maybe tonight we see 25 points from him.

yeah it's his lack of lift, for sure. we're have to expect it will progress incrementally over time, and if not he's going to have to tinker with his shot a bit to make it work.

The way Lue never shows his cards outright until at the very last possible minute (ie. game time decision) has me thinking they might just rest Zubac anyway. Without Zubac, they're forced to play small ball which has not done them any favors. But against the Celtics, this could be an exception.

Opponents need Zubac on the floor to trigger the 3-point accuracy bonus. Had Zubac played, Celtics would have automatically won: BOS is 13-0 when they shoot 0.395 or better behind the arc.

By resting Zubac, not only do they take away the 3-point boost, the Clipper's chances at defeating Celtics increase. At 0.394 or lower, BOS is 8-6. This is definitely a psyche-out move: pretend Celtics have automatically won by taking away their size and going with athleticism, only to realize that the Clipper's role starter is key into their 3-point percentage bump.

Zu needs a rest, he hasn't looked the same since his big game. How is Diabate defending the perimeter?

Scoundreldays wrote:Zu needs a rest, he hasn't looked the same since his big game. How is Diabate defending the perimeter?

Zu starts. And wins the tap.

Yeah he needs rest, playing career-high minutes. But not a rest. He is our iron man. Ty knows. Ty knows.

Give the man his identity. Respect and confidence is more important than anything.

clips ran a really slick motion set i don't think i've ever seen before with kawhi at the top of the arc. one of the things i've long been worried about is how the team might look to implement its real offense with kawhi, and if they'd just stay with the iso-heavy stuff they're used to doing. if that play's any indication of what's to come, i'll be pleased

luke kennard defensive stopper

he's made two great turnaround plays already just by himself, and made a really smooth switch with morris with resulted in a TO also.

i thought the defense looked a bit shaky to start but it's really picked up. it's the reggie effect, i guess, but you work with what you got i suppose

Went to hell when Leonard sat.

PG hurt? Not moving very well.

nickhx2 wrote:luke kennard defensive stopper

he's made two great turnaround plays already just by himself, and made a really smooth switch with morris with resulted in a TO also.

i thought the defense looked a bit shaky to start but it's really picked up. it's the reggie effect, i guess, but you work with what you got i suppose

c'mon, bro--

Reggie plus+6 in 6 minutes
Wall minus-2 in 6 minutes
Mann minus-6 in 2 minutes


what is cool is that Ty played 9 guys in the first quarter!

DEPTH

and coaching!--let's get everybody's feet wet!!

Fun game so far. PG had me really nervous with that iso play toward the end of the quarter.

offense looks pretty silly with john wall and paul george pushing way too hard. i don't know how you fix that, because kawhi can't be on the court for the entire game, and you're not gonna get pg or wall to change their stripes at this point

brogdon is abusing reggie and i'm not sure what the team can even do about it

Why does Brogdon give me the Rick Fox vibes?

kawhi's shot is looking... kinda good? solid signs he's getting back to his usual self.

Is Jim Jackson the best color commentator we’ve ever had? He’s so informative and objective. Maybe him never playing for the Clippers has something to do with his consistent unbiased analysis.

Scoundreldays wrote:Zu needs a rest, he hasn't looked the same since his big game. How is Diabate defending the perimeter?

Had two double doubles after the game and positive on the floor minutes in the two games prior to the Wizards game. That was the one issue with having a historical game is everything after want be deemed good enough lol. Went this half without a field goal attempt things are greatly changing with guys healthy.

I was suspecting this team to go all out for the big game. Still plenty of ball left but wouldn’t be surprised if they won. Winning the next game against a bad team might be more impressive.

Good end to the half