Boston Celtics vs New Orleans Pelicans Preview

The Boston Celtics are closing out their five game road trip against the New Orleans Pelicans. Looking at the standings, this appears to be an easier game for the Celtics. The Pelicans are 5-15 but that in no way captures the team they are capable of putting on the floor. No team has been decimated by injuries like the Pelicans and while they still are not fully healthy, their current roster is much better than five wins.

Anthony Davis alone can blow this game up for the Celtics. No team in the NBA has a player that can physically matchup with Davis and he will have an opportunity to exploit the Celtics’ lack of interior athleticism. Jared Sullinger has been a phenomenal rebounder this year but he hasn’t had to deal with a player that has the kind of length and strength of Davis.

Davis is also a defender who has no problem defending outside. Nobody blocks jump shots better than Davis and that could become problematic for a team who depends on their bigs stretching the floor. The Celtics simply do not have anything that can account for Davis and they may have a hard time depending on their depth.

The Celtics know that they will be without Marcus Smart, David Lee and R.J Hunter and Avery Bradley remains a game time decision. The Celtics’ second unit has not been the same without Smart and they will be pushed to the brink with the additional players missing. The Celtics may still have better depth and cannot compare their injuries to the Pelicans but their bigs will have to find a way to remain productive or the Celtics will not have enough to win.

If Isaiah Thomas can remain the catalyst on offense it needs to feature great distribution. There are weaknesses on the Pelicans that the Celtics can exploit but there are match ups that can destroy this game for them. The Celtics need to find a way to generate offense around Davis and they will have to find a way to continue to get production out of their bigs.

Dec 5, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (R) drives to the basket while defended by San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Danny Green (L) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

It will be a different story if Bradley is out of the lineup and it gets worse considering how careful the Pelicans are with the ball. They give up an average of 7.1 steals per game and that is second best in the league. It will be a challenge for the Celtics to take over the game in transition but that is where they can have the biggest advantage. If the Celtics can generate steals at a high rate they can avoid Davis destroying them by pushing the ball and attacking in transition.

The Pelicans are also the 8th best team in giving up offensive rebounds and with Davis roaming around the paint it is hard to imagine the Celtics generating the kind of second chance opportunities that they are used to. The Celtics will need to find a way to be active on the offensive boards but they cannot depend on it in order to win.

The Celtics have been a great shooting team these past two games and they cannot afford to put up a dud against the Pelicans. Especially if Bradley is out of the lineup, the Celtics will struggle to win this game in the way that they have been most successful this season.

The Pelicans are allowing their opponent to shoot 46.2% and the Celtics have to take advantage. The Celtics have been shooting a terrible 43.5% on the season but they shot over 40% from three against the best defense in the league in the Spurs, and that was after shooting over 40% from three against the Kings in Mexico City.

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The Celtics never want to rely on their outside shooting in order to win games but without it they will lose to the Pelicans. The Celtics have an opportunity to close out their road trip with a third straight win but do not let a 5-15 record fool you into thinking this will be an easy one for the Celtics.

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