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Here are five things to watch out for when the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets meet at 9 p.m. tonight at Pepsi Center.
Capping off a Strange West Coast Trip
This has been a peculiar West Coast road trip, to say the least, for the Boston Celtics.
Boston opened up its longest road stretch of the season last Friday with a dominating, 20-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers – no surprise there.
Then, the C’s fell in stunning fashion on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Sunday night to one of the worst teams in the league in Phoenix.
They followed that up the next night with another shocking loss to the Clippers, during which Boston surrendered a 13-point second-half lead.
And then on Wednesday night, Boston redeemed itself by defeating the best team in the league, the Golden State Warriors, by a convincing score of 99-86. It marked Golden State’s lowest point total at home since Mar. 30, 2014 (84 vs. New York).
The Celtics will wrap up its last lengthy road trip of the season tonight in Denver against a Nuggets team that is battling for one of the last spots in the Western Conference playoff hunt.
This will mark Boston’s last Western Conference road game of the season, and a win would give them a final record of 8-7 during such contests.
Celtics Elite with Preferred Starting Five
In some respects, it wasn’t a complete surprise that Boston was able to knock off Golden State Wednesday night on its home court.
That’s because the Celtics can compete against any elite team in the NBA when their preferred starting five of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson and Al Horford is healthy and active.
The C’s were without Bradley (hamstring/rest) and Horford (elbow) during their loss to Phoenix, and without Horford again when they fell to the Clippers.
Boston’s starting five was completely healthy against Golden State, and they played like an elite team during that contest.
Thomas said after the win, "When we're healthy, we compete and we can beat any team in the NBA. And we know that."
The Celtics are 19-6 when its preferred starting five is on the floor, which would give them the third-highest winning percentage in the league (76.0 percent). Meanwhile, they are 22-18 (55.0 percent) when missing one or more of their starters, which would place them 11th in the league in winning percentage.
Injuries Piling Up in Denver
While Boston is expected to be at full strength tonight, the Nuggets could be facing a number of key absences.
Denver was missing three of its starters Wednesday night when it fell 123-113 to the Washington Wizards.
Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari and leading rebounder and shot-blocker Nikola Jokic missed the game due to illnesses, while key defensive cog Kenneth Faried missed his sixth straight contest because of back spasms.
All three starters are listed as questionable for tonight’s game.
Flipping the Switch on Defense
The Celtics did not play up to their standards on the defensive end during the first two thirds of the season.
Lately, however, they’ve been getting back into the swing of things on that end of the floor.
Boston entered the All-Star break ranked 18th in the NBA in defensive rating, with 106.2 points allowed per 100 possessions. Since the break, they have posted a defensive rating of 102.4, which is good for seventh in the league.
Wednesday night’s effort in Oakland was hands down Boston’s best defensive effort of the season, as it held the top-scoring team in the league to just 12 points during the fourth quarter.
The C’s will look to carry that trend with them tonight into Pepsi Center.
Last Time They Met…
The Nuggets handed Boston one of its worst losses of the season on Nov. 6 – a 123-107 defeat at TD Garden.
There are a number of reasons, however, why that loss should not hold much value as the C’s prepare to take on the Nugs again.
As mentioned before, Denver is banged up at the moment while Boston is at full strength. Last time they faced, the Nuggets were at full strength while the C’s were without Crowder and Horford.
Secondly, Denver experienced a fluky first quarter during the first matchup, as it outscored the Celtics, 42-23. Emmanuel Mudiay scored 24 of his career-high-tying 30 points during that opening frame; however he shouldn’t be much of a burden for Boston tonight as he has gone from a starting point guard role to a third-string option behind Jameer Nelson and Jamal Murray.
The Celtics actually outplayed Denver during the final three quarters of that November matchup, and they should outplay the Nuggets tonight during their second and final meeting of the season.