Hardwood Houdini
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Boston Celtics Don’t Want a Shootout Against Nuggets

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 13: Gary Harris #14 of the Denver Nuggets shoots the ball during the game against the Boston Celtics on December 13, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 13: Gary Harris #14 of the Denver Nuggets shoots the ball during the game against the Boston Celtics on December 13, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics need to make sure they are winning with defense against the Nuggets

The Boston Celtics just had one of their stronger offensive games of the season, where they fell just short of toppling the Golden State Warriors with Steph Curry having his best night of the season. When you see the offense keep up with the Warriors like that, it gives you the confidence that they can take down any team in a shootout.

Even if we know that potential is there for the Celtics, it can never be their approach. One thing we have learned throughout this season is that the Celtics only consistently win when they are playing defense well, and they put themselves in a lot bad situations when they start relying on their offense too much.

The Denver Nuggets do not have anywhere near the offense of the Warriors, and their defense is much worse. That being said, getting into a shootout is playing into the hands of the Nuggets, and allowing them to be as comfortable as possible.

We have seen the Celtics offense play bad enough to be much worse than a Nuggets team that can score with the best of them. The Nuggets are around the middle of the pack on both ends, but they have too much offensive talent to ignore.

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Nikola Jokic has proven that he can take over a game, and will be one of Al Horford‘s biggest challenges of the season. When you add on the shooting of Gary Harris and Jamal Murray and they can certainly outscore the Celtics offense if they are all at their best.

The Celtics are capable of beating the Nuggets if they rely on the offense more than their defense, but that is just making things more difficult on them. The Celtics looked great against the Warriors and Clippers, but that bad stretch right before that is still too close.

The Celtics need to get back to playing consistently well, and that only ever happens when they are at their best on defense. We saw how great the offense can be against the warriors, but we also saw how great their defense can be.

Other than Curry, the Celtics disrupted everything the Warriors tried to do. If they can do that to the Warriors, then there is not a single team in the league that they will ever be scared of. If they are relying on defense they will be taking a tremendous amount of pressure off themselves on offense, and that is the end where they have struggled a lot more this season.

The Nuggets are a team that the Celtics need to be able to beat on a consistent basis, but they were losing to much worse before their Clippers win. Against the Warriors, the Celtics really found balance on both ends, and that is the most important thing.

If the Celtics avoid playing like individuals, and are as disruptive as a unit as they were against the Warriors, and instigate decent ball movement on the offensive end, they should have no problem getting this victory.

Next: Irving vs Curry the Rivalry the NBA Needs

The Raptors are just one game behind the Celtics right now, and they cannot afford to be losing to aa Nuggets team that is just three games above .500.

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