Preview: Celtics Take on Clippers as They Continue Road Trip
By Jeremy Karll
The Boston Celtics take on one of the top teams in the West as they continue on their road trip
The road trip continues for the Boston Celtics. This is the first of a three game stretch for the Celtics that is crucial if they want to gain home-court advantage in the first round. Boston comes in as the four seed in the East, owning a 43-30 record on the season. The Los Angeles Clippers are the fourth seed in the West as their 45-27 record follows the trio of elite teams on top of the Western Conference standings.
The Celtics had a day off following their close victory to the Phoenix Suns, one where they blew a big lead. It was even tougher to watch considering the Celtics could have rested their starters for most of the fourth quarter and be more than well-rested for their bout against the Clippers.
Los Angeles played yesterday afternoon as they cruised to a 105-90 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers dominated the entire game, led by a DeAndre Jordan‘s double-double. No one played more than 30 minutes yesterday, meaning they should have relatively fresh legs for this match-up.
It’s going to be a match-up among two all-star point guards as Chris Paul is once again having a great season for the Clippers. Isaiah Thomas continues to carry Boston as they miss their starting small forward, Jae Crowder.
This may also be one of the last times Paul Pierce faces his old team. He wasn’t much of a factor in these two team’s first outing, although, he still is the team’s starting small forward. Speaking of old friends, Doc Rivers is still the coach of the Clippers. He won a championship with Boston, however, the job Brad Stevens has done this season has made Rivers seem like old news.
Jae Crowder is still going to be out on Monday, although it’s expected that he’ll make his return at some point this road trip.
Blake Griffin returned from injury last night, but he will be serving the second game of his four-game suspension tonight.
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DeAndre Jordan is one of the most dominating centers in the league, and he proved that last night as he went for 16 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks. Jared Sullinger will be on him on Monday night, and to say he will have his hands full is an understatement.
Sullinger’s ability to score is well-known around the league, however, it will be his defense and rebounding that will be on show tonight. Jordan is second in the NBA averaging 14 rebounds per game and 2.2 blocks per contest. He’s one of the best shot blockers and eats up boards as well as anyone in the league. Averaging 3.5 offensive rebounds per game is no joke, and how he scores most of his points.
Outside of three feet, Jordan is useless on offense though. The Clippers like to run a lot of pick-and-rolls with him and Chris Paul to get him rolling to the basket. Sullinger can’t step up too much on those screens or else Jordan will have an easy alley-oop.
Jordan also doesn’t have any post-up game, meaning Sullinger will be able to focus all his attention on not allowing any offensive rebounds. Sullinger does lead the team with 8.6 rebounds per game, however, DeAndre Jordan is on a different level when it comes to rebounding. The Celtics small team will make it hard to guard him, although ‘hack-a-Jordan’ is a viable option.
Jordan went off for 21 points and 16 rebounds last game, and that can’t happen again. If Sullinger isn’t able to body up Jordan on defense and keep him somewhat off the boards, the Celtics will be in for another long night.
With Blake Griffin out, the Clippers have turned to Luc Mbah a Moute as their starting power forward. Besides Jordan, they don’t have a reliable big man with Griffin out. That could cause a lot of problems considering Kelly Olynyk has finally started hitting his stride since returning from injury. Olynyk had 22 points against the Orlando Magic the other night and 16 against the Suns a couple of nights ago.
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The seven-foot three-point shooting big man can score inside or out, and is a tough match-up for any team. Putting someone like Mbah a Moute or Jeff Green on him seems like the best option, however, that leaves the inside game open for Olynyk. An expanded role of Cole Aldrich may do the trick, although, that means Olynyk will be able to drive the lane easier.
Olynyk can score in a multitude of ways, which is what makes him so effective. You can tell he is still trying to shake some of the rust off as he struggled against the Toronto Raptors. However, when his shot is on, he is as dominant as anyone on the Celtics.
Especially with an athletic Griffin out, it leaves a lot of question marks for the Clippers. Griffin may not be a great defender but he’s big and is able to stay in front of Olynyk. I would guess the newly acquired Jeff Green will have the job of guarding Olynyk, who got hurt after 11 minutes the last time these two teams met.
Next: Who Should the Celtics Hope to Play in Round One?
The last time these two teams met, the Celtics won a close game in overtime to send these two teams to the all-star break. There is no doubt that this one should be just as good. Staples Center will be rocking and these two teams shouldn’t disappoint.