The Boston Celtics will welcome the Trail Blazers to TD Garden tonight in what seems like a must-win game to start to regain momentum for a team that has lost four of its last five games.
Here’s how they can get the win.
Marcus Smart has to contain Damian Lillard
It’s no secret that Marcus Smart will be tasked with guarding the best player tonight. Damian Lillard is averaging 40.3 PPG in the six games he’s played since the All-Star Break, and he will look to continue his hot streak against a Celtics team that has lost four of their last five.
This is the exact situation where the Celtics turn to last year’s Defensive Player of the Year to get a result. Smart has to be aggressive, consistent, and energetic to try and keep Dame at least under 40 points — though preferably under 30.
The Boston Celtics must bring the energy
In addition to it being rough few games for the Celtics, they’ve also been exhausting ones. Boston has sent the last two games to overtime, with their battle against the Knicks heading to double overtime. Better yet, these games were back-to-backs.
The fatigue was obvious late in the game against Cleveland, but luckily the starting frontcourt of Tatum and Horford got to sit that one out entirely. The Celtics need to keep their effort and intensity going throughout all 48 (and hopefully not 53) minutes.
The Boston Celtics must take smart shots
No, I don’t mean Marcus Smart shots. I mean intelligent shots.
When the Celtics play this season’s brand of “drive and kick” basketball, they tend to find a groove and confidence when they see the open ones fall. When they take inefficient, contested shots after falling behind, they can’t climb back. Take the game against the Knicks from last Monday, for example. The Celtics trailed by double digits for most of the game, and a large reason was the three-point shooting: 21.4% as a team, which is roughly 16% lower than their season average.
The Celtics have to maintain their cool and not settle for the chuck-ups that we saw in overtime against Cleveland. Then, a win against Portland would be easier to obtain.