The Boston Celtics (16-19, 17-16-2 ATS) welcome the Phoenix Suns (27-7, 18-16 ATS) to TD Garden today as both teams get ready to ring in the new year. Boston will be hoping to snap a three-game losing streak, while the Suns are also looking to get back on track after losing two of their last three.
According to the online sports book Betonline.ag, the Phoenix are 3.5-point favorites:
G: Marcus Smart
G: Romeo Langford
F: Jaylen Brown
F: Al Horford
C: Robert Williams
G: Chris Paul
G: Devin Booker
F: Mikal Bridges
F: Cameron Johnson
C: Jalen Smith
The C’s will be missing five players today, all due to the league’s health and safety protocols – Jayson Tatum, Dennis Schroder, Aaron Nesmith, Enes Freedom, and Bruno Fernando.
Phoenix also has a somewhat lengthy injury report, as most teams do nowadays. They have four players currently in the protocols – Deandre Ayton, JaVale McGee, Jae Crowder, and Abdel Nader. On top of that, both Dario Saric and Frank Kaminsky are out as they continue to rehab injuries.
The Celtics have been rough to watch lately. If there’s one thing that can be said about them, though, it’s that they are consistently inconsistent. Whether it’s lackluster defense, a bad fourth quarter, or the worst three-point shooting performance on a certain number of attempts, something always seems to go wrong. At least, that’s what these last four games have shown.
With Tatum sidelined, Jaylen Brown has the entire weight of the team on his back. While it’s completely fair to say that he’s struggled, he’s clearly getting frustrated with the team’s results. After each game now it seems as though he gives the media at least one “no comment response.” Tatum being present in the lineup helps Brown a ton, as he’s a much better off-ball player. Until then, though, he’ll have to continue to adapt.
As for the rest of the crew, the LA Clippers fiasco spoke volumes. Missing that many open three-point attempts is astonishing. They did almost everything else well, but they lost the game because they couldn’t hit shots. Grant Williams shot 2-for-3 and the rest of the C’s shot a combined 2-of-39 from deep. It’s never been more clear that the team needs more consistent shooting around their best players.
As for Phoenix, they continue to be one of the best teams in the NBA. The backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker is amazing, and both should be All-Stars by the time the game rolls around. Booker is always ready to kill a team in the scoring column (as Boston saw when he dropped 70 on them), and Paul is there to rack up the assists. It’s a lethal two-man punch.
The Suns could run into an issue at the big man position this game, though. McGee killed the C’s the last time these two teams faced off, but with him, Ayton, and Kaminsky sidelined, sophomore Jalen Smith will likely get the start. Considering the team didn’t even pick up his rookie option for next year, that’s probably not ideal in their eyes.
That being said, the rest of this Suns squad cannot be underestimated. They are one of the best teams in the league for a reason. Players such as Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Cameron Payne are always a threat from everywhere on the floor, especially from deep. Phoenix is just a very fundamentally sound ball club.
Brown needs to be better. Simple as that. He may have had 30 points last game, but it took him 36 shot attempts to get it. In addition, he only had eight potential assists on the night. In a game where the team took as many shots as they did, that’s really not a lot. Most star players with as much ball dominance as he had put up double that number. As much as he may think otherwise, the best course of action is to play as a team, pass the rock, and let the offense come to him. Not the other way around.
Next up, the C’s need to crash the glass. A consistent theme this season has been Boston playing a great 24 seconds of defense only to allow an offensive rebound. Not having Tatum hurts, but the rest of the squad needs to step up. Phoenix will be without their core three centers, so there are really no excuses today. The Celtics have to focus on grabbing rebounds.
Finally, and most obviously, Boston needs to make shots. It’s going to be almost impossible for them to shoot any worse than they did against LA, but this just has to be said. Outside of Williams, everyone else needs to be better. There’s just no excuse for shooting that poorly.
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