Next Up - Celts @ Jazz

The Celtics play BTB game tonight in Utah against the Jazz.

Since it is a BTB should coach sit Hayward?

Or does coach Stevens see it as an opportunity for Hayward to play through the boobirds that will be determined to let him know how much they were hurt by his departure?

And as a sidebar will Crowder try to extract a measure of revenge for being traded by Boston and how he may feel  about love for Hayward but no love for him (perception)?

Oh well just some thoughts floating through my mind.  On to what really matters.  Celts v Jazz.

The Jazz  are 5-6 and currently tied for 9th place with LAL and NOLA.  Their record is flip flopped.  1-4 at home but 4-2 on the road.  Let me do a quick summary of what we may see.

The starting 5 includes Rudy Gobert who by the way is putting up career numbers in points, rebounds and block shots,  Ingles is at SF, favors at the PF, Rubio at point and their their go-to guy, 2nd year player Mitchell.  Crowder come off the bench as their 6th man but plays starter minutes (30.2 PG)

Utah is averaging 110.5 PPG and they give up 109.5 PPG.  As the NBA has gone full blast at the offensive end Utah's defense has been a casualty.  Last year they were #1 in the NBA in points allowed at 99.8 PPG.  So we are looking at a 10 point change in their defense.

Coach Snyder is an excellent coach and Utah runs a nice offense with Mitchell and Gobert in the Pick and roll.  Ingles is the safety net and he will stand out on the perimeter and make 3 point shots.  He is an excellent 3 point shooter.  Ricky Rubio is still dishing out assists at 8 per game but he has been struggling so far this year.  Favors remains an old school PF that can score inside, is a solid rebounder but cannot stretch the floor.
 
That leaves Mitchell.  He is an aggressive offensive player in the mode of a Russell Westbrook.  He is averaging   22.4 PPG on 19.8 FGA.  His accuracy from deep remains below average (7.2 attempts at .323)

The problem with this team on offense is the lack of shot distribution.  Mitchell tales almost 20 FGA and the next closest guy is Ingles at 11 followed by Crowder at 10.4, Rubio at 10.1.  If Mitchell does not score well they will struggle.

Defensively they rely on their ability to filter activity over to the center where Gobert can utilize his tremendous rim protecting skills.  However they are not very good at defending the 3 point shot and are ranked 19th  as their opponents are shooting 36.2 %.

Let me sum this up now.  The Celtics need to keep Mitchell out of the paint.  They need to put a body on Favors.  They need to defend out to the perimeter where they are #1. and  they need to slow down Rubio and his cutesy little drives to the rim.

On offense it is the same ole song.  Move the rock, be patient, keep a good pace, make those 3 pointers at a higher rate to draw out the defender.  Look for Al to take Gobert away from the rim so we can also get to the rim.  Overall we need efficiency at both ends with limited turnovers and gaps in our defensive rotations.

We should win this game .

I just saw that Kyrie is out. I guess Terry gets the start.

dboss I want to thank you for these posts, really enjoy them.

lets go Celtics!

Matty wrote:dboss I want to thank you for these posts, really enjoy them.

lets go Celtics!

Agree. Thanks dboss!

During last night's game they said Stevens was planning on playing Hayward tonight, despite the BTB. Good sign.