Celtics (H) vs Suns

KP will not play tonight due to a sore hammy and Jaylen Brown is questionable due to a back issue.

The Celtics can win games without KP.  I am hoping that JB can play as the Celts will need him.

The Suns beat the Cavs on Monday so they have been off for 3 days.  In that game, they had their trifecta in place led by Durant (37), Beal (24) and Booker (27).  That is a lot of fire power  The Suns are playing with a Center plus Durant at PF and 3 shooting guards in Booker, Beal and Grayson Allen (the tripper)  It remains a weird configuration because they do not have a natural PG out there.

The Suns will have plenty of incentive to get one back after we beat them.

This is not a Blazers or Jazz game where missing 2-3 guys does not matter.   Our rotation players will have different roles to play.  If JB sits, SH will probably start.  In the game out there, both Kornet and PP played well off the bench.

The game is probably more meaningful to the Suns because they are 7th and want to avoid the play-in round.  

I do not have a feel for how things will playout.   I hope that the Celtics are up for what will be a very difficult defensive challenge.  If SH can check Allen we should be fine with JT on Durant, Jrue and D White on Booker and Beal (take your pick)

We just have to neutralize 2-3 of them or lock up one of them, maybe two. Easier said than done. But we are the only team in the league barring the now depleted Timberwolves who have the defensive fire power to do it. Just ask the GSW. We play ANYWHERE close to that performance and PHX will fold up like a cheap suit. We know we can and have locked up one of them already....unfortunately it was a couple of years ago in the playoffs!

db

Touché.

db

The Jays are full grown men.  JB went off and once Durant realized that JT cannot be checked by him , he was nothing of consequence in the 2nd half of the game.

I love mano vs mano matchups.  

Our most significant addition this season is probably Jrue Holiday.  He is the defender that everyone fears the most on this team.  He's a quiet assassin on offense.  You put your hand in your pocket and come to realize that he has already separated you from your lunch money.  

You cannot really be an impactful player unless you are available to play.  While KP's situation is understandable, it remains troubling to me.  The Celtics are a better team when he plays although we are winning at a high rate when he does not play.  Will he be able to make it through a grueling playoff season?  We need to win 16 games and I doubt that we will sweep through teams.   The Celtics would be wise to anticipate the real possibility that KP will not be able to play every game during the playoffs.  Our center depth has taken a turn for the better with the improved play of Kornet and the addition of Xavier Tillman.  The Celtics have to be able to substitute a variable in the equation and still arrive at the same solution...the NBA Championship