Here are five things to watch out for when the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at TD Garden.
NBA teams typically hold a shootaround the morning of every game day, with the exception of when they’re playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Denver deviated from that plan Wednesday morning.
The Nuggets, who last played Monday night against the Hawks in Denver, canceled their shootaround that was scheduled to take place this morning at TD Garden. No reason was given for the cancellation.
Shootarounds are very important for some teams, and they’re not so important for others. We’re guessing the former is likely to be true for a young Denver team that has three rookies or sophomores in its starting lineup. Don’t be surprised if it takes the Nuggets a while to get going tonight.
The youngest player in Denver’s starting lineup is rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. The 19-year-old is a bit of a mystery to those who do not live in Denver. He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and, despite growing up in the US, did not play college ball in the US. He instead went overseas to play a season in China before being drafted seventh overall by the Nuggets in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Mudiay was regarded as a high-level athlete with size and playmaking ability as he headed into the league. He has shown flashes of stardom, and has also racked up averages of 11.0 points, 5.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. However, he has been one of the most inefficient players in the entire league.
Opponents do not need to respect Mudiay’s shot, as the rookie has hit only 32.4 percent of his field goals and 26.3 percent of his 3s this season. He just can’t put the ball through the basket on a consistent basis, and he’s a turnover machine who commits an average of 3.7 turnovers a game.
Mudiay may not be playing efficient basketball, but he has the potential to one day become an All-Star. It should be fun to watch him play at the Garden for the first time tonight.
It feels like ages ago that the Celtics lost six of seven games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 12. Why is that the case, you might ask? Well, because they have been rolling ever since.
Boston has won six of its last eight games, including three on the road and four against teams that are either currently in the playoff picture or just outside of the playoff picture. They just crushed Washington by 25 points Monday night, a day after they took it to the Sixers in Philly with a 20-point win.
The source of Boston’s resurgence has been its defense. Over their last three games, the C’s have forced an average of 21.3 turnovers per game while logging an elite defensive rating of 89.5.
Opportunity’s Arising
Boston’s schedule is lined up well for the final two weeks before the break. It plays nine more games, including six against teams that are sub-.500. Its next four games are all against sub-.500 teams.
So, yes, the Celtics are rolling, but the opportunity is arising for them to really make a run heading into the break. They’re currently only two games back of the third seed in the East and could conceivably be in that slot two weeks from now.
This past weekend was a nightmare for the Celtics, all thanks to Winter Storm Jonas.
The storm threw off nearly all of their travel plans and even affected the schedule. Their Saturday night game in Philadelphia was moved to Sunday night, and they didn’t even fly to Philly until that morning. Still, they crushed the Sixers and then disposed of the Wizards the next night in D.C.
Boston’s dominant efforts on the road allowed its starters to get plenty of rest. During each game, only one of the starters logged fourth-quarter minutes. The starters logged a total of just 14 minutes and 18 seconds of playing time during the two fourth quarters. Toss in the fact that the C’s had all of Tuesday off, and you’ve got a team that is very well rested heading into tonight’s contest.
