Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Clippers: Preview, Predictions and Stats

Second consecutive evening with a game at the TD Garden. Last night the Boston Celtics managed to survive the controversial game against Minnesota and today they host the Los Angeles Clippers. Ty Lue’s team has quietly moved into direct playoff positions in the West. Largely thanks to his magnificent defense, which is making us forget the loss of Kawhi Leonard. Now, the Celtics are a different animal even though it’s a day of back-to-back.

Date and time of the Celtics vs. game Clipper

Data: November 25th.

Tempo: These are the start times for the Celtics vs. Clipper depending on time zone.

headquarters: TD Garden (Boston, Massachusetts)

Celtics lineup vs. Clipper

No last minute casualties affecting the quintet. Norman Powell is still out and Kristaps Porzingis returns, but it is not known if he will be the first starter.

Latest news for the Celtics: injuries and form

As a rule of thumb, Luke Kornet should be out the night of Porzingis’ return to Boston. But it wouldn’t be the first time that the Massachusetts team decided to rest one of its starters on the second night of a consecutive game. If there is anyone who can afford it, it is Joe Mazzulla’s team, which continues to accumulate victories at the rate of closing the journey with 67 victories in the pits.

Yesterday Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves closed their way to the rim, leaving them with 30 points in the paint, 22 of them in the second half. As always, the runoff was resolved mainly by the triple. Today they face a team with a very different defensive system, which attacks the dribble and passing lines much more and relies less on internal correction. The most normal thing is for Boston to try to attack defenders like Ivica Zubac, James Harden or Amir Coffey, generating clearances from the block. Although it wouldn’t be the first time that Jayson Tatum has found himself faced with continuous double assists passing from the midfield line.

Harden, who has a similar methodology, is somewhat diminished by Boston’s constantly changing defense. So you’ll probably have to be more aggressive with it. pick and roll from the beginning.

Player to Watch: Jaylen Brown

Whether or not the Clippers’ defensive plan is viable depends largely on Jaylen Brown. It will be a head-scratcher deciding who starts guarding the forward, although we can expect Kris Dunn here and Jones Jr on Tatum. Brown started and finished the match against the Wolves very well, but will certainly have to draw on more repertoire from mid-range and from the post to punish the ferocious Los Angeles external defense. He averaged 25.6 points and 4.4 assists.

Latest news for the Clippers: injuries and form

They’re still without Norman Powell or Kawhi Leonard, but the Clippers aren’t looking back. The Angelenos have achieved five consecutive victories, the last five leaving their rival under the symbolic 100 points. Or what is the same, that in this stretch they are the second best defense in the league after that of the Houston Rockets. This may not be enough to stop all of the Celtics’ offensive advantages, but it will be enough to compete in every game they have in front of them.

In this segment their attack is a little below the league average, but they manage to be sustainable despite the loss of their top scorer. Curiously, no one has taken a big step forward to fill Powell’s void, but it is rather a collective task. A little Amir Coffey, a little Derrick Jones Jr. and another little Kevin Porter Jr. are adding necessary points here and there to validate the excellent defensive work that is taking place. Of those available, only James Harden surpasses 20 points and does so by a whisker, but there are five players who have surpassed the double-digit barrier in these five games.

Player to Watch: Derrick Jones Jr.

If Los Angeles wins the duel against Boston it will do so from defense, and Jones Jr. is, together with Dunn, the figure of these Clippers in that department. His performance becomes even more important considering that in front of him there is a tremendously motivated team based on the search for favorable matches, so he will have to spend a lot of time dancing with different profiles.

Celtics vs. Clippers: history of clashes

Brilliant dominance of the Celtics in the 54 years of clashes between the two franchises. Boston has won 93 of the 140 games played between them since 1970. The really interesting thing between these two franchises is that the current Clippers are actually the Celtics. And in 1976, when Irv Levin (the supreme leader Celtic) swapped franchises with the then-owner of the Buffalo Braves, moving the team to San Diego and passing Boston’s 13 championship rings along the way which, for convenience, have remained in their original display cases.

Pronostico Celtics vs. Clipper

Will the tiredness be noticeable? Both teams played yesterday against Wolves and Sixers respectively. And if the TD Garden match was more demanding, the Clippers arrive with the handicap of the kilometers traveled in recent days. This is especially concerning for someone like James Harden, who leads the team in minutes and usage percentage without being fully athletic.

Tatum and the staff line. The forward makes more free throws per game than in his entire career. As required, Tatum takes advantage of his size and weight to be aggressive as soon as he sees an advantage over his defender to get inside or up. Last night he only had six, so if he’s missing his legs it wouldn’t be a bad idea to rest from the staff line a few more times.

Ivica Zubac as supporter. The Celtics have difficulty controlling the impact of opposing interiors on the scoreboard. Rudy Gobert 20 rebounds including 8 offensive. There the Clippers might have a chance to tie the game.

Where to watch Celtics vs. Clipper

The game between Celtics and Clippers can be seen in Spain via the NBA League Pass Subscription.

(Cover photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)