Boston Celtics: A Preview of a Western Conference Battle With the San Antonio Spurs
This afternoon, the Boston Celtics play the San Antonio Spurs in their first Western Conference road game of the season. How will the team fare in the Alamo City?
The Boston Celtics come into the game on a six game winning streak, entering with an Eastern Conference best-record of 6-1. The Spurs enter with a 5-3 record, most recently winning 121-112 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
Both teams have similar offensive production, with the Spurs scoring 112.3 points per game to the Celtics’ 111. On the defensive side, the Celtics hold a significant advantage, holding opponents to 7.8 less points per game.
In the injury report, Enes Kanter has been ruled out for the sixth straight game with a knee contusion. Originally thought to be a minor injury, his extended absence should be a cause for concern. The Spurs are completely healthy.
Gordon Hayward is coming into this game red-hot, scoring 59 points over the past two games. The Boston Celtics should look to get more wing production this game, as the Spurs’ best defender, Dejounte Murray, will look to lock down all-star point guard Kemba Walker.
For the starting lineup, the Celtics should look to take advantage of undersized shooting guard Bryn Forbes. Jaylen Brown has a five inch height advantage on Forbes, meaning the game plan should revolve around post ups and aggressive drives to the basket.
Brown has showed improvement so far this year in driving to the basket, taking advantage of his unique size, quickness, and ball handling skills. He has finished much better in his fourth year in the league compared to his previous three.
A combination of Bryn Forbes, DeMar DeRozan, and Trey Lyles have to guard Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Gordon Hayward. That’s a huge advantage for Boston – they should win every one of those matchups.
An advantage for the Spurs is seen in bench production. Bench guards Patty Mills and Derrick White average a combined 23.5 points, something the Boston Celtics have been looking for all season.
Stars DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge are averaging 20 and 19 points respectively, leading the charge for the Spurs offense. It will be interesting to see who Coach Stevens matches up with DeRozan.
The most likely scenario is Brown on Forbes, Hayward on DeRozan, and Tatum on Lyles. Brown is the best defender of those three on smaller guards, Hayward can stand pound for pound with DeRozan, and Tatum has the length to deal with Lyles’ perimeter scoring.
Both Daniel Theis and Robert Williams will need to limit LaMarcus Aldridge’s production, as he scored a season-high 39 points on 19/23 shooting Thursday against the OKC Thunder.
A point of concern for the Celtics is their lack of rebounding, especially against the third best rebounding team in the league in the San Antonio Spurs (48.8 per game). With the Celtics giving up over 50 rebounds per game, look for the Spurs to gain the advantage on the glass.
The Boston Celtics haven’t won in San Antonio since 2011, so they will look to break that streak on Saturday.
Next. Gordon Hayward has returned to form. dark
If the Boston Celtics can win the take advantage of wing size advantages and not get completely demolished on the glass, they should be in good shape to secure the victory.