Here are five things to watch out for when the Boston Celtics and the Houston Rockets meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at TD Garden.
The Celtics were understandably frustrated last night when they surrendered 123 points during a 15-point loss to the Washington Wizards.
It marked Boston’s third straight game during which it allowed 118 points or more, and its lack of defensive intensity is beginning aggravate a number of its players.
Last season, the Celtics were one of the most feared defensive teams in the league, but now they’re lacking communication and tenacity at that end.
“I remember last year, dudes didn’t like playing against us,” said Isaiah Thomas following last night’s loss. “Even after games, my friends on different teams would be like, ‘Man, you guys played way too hard for us. You guys were in us. You guys were physical.’ We don’t have that presence anymore. We need to get it back.”
The absence of Avery Bradley (Achilles) has certainly not helped Boston’s desire to improve on the defensive end, but the C’s must find a way to impact the ball while he remains sidelined.
Boston has yet to beat an elite team this season. Tonight, it will have the opportunity to do so against one of the top teams in basketball.
The Houston Rockets come to town with a 34-14 record – the third-best mark in the league behind Golden State (38-7) and San Antonio (36-9).
The Celtics haven’t had good fortune against the league’s top teams this season. They have played five of the tops six squads – Cleveland, Golden State, San Antonio, Houston and Toronto – against whom they have a combined 0-8 record. In fact, the C’s have only beaten one (Utah) of the seven teams that currently rank ahead of them in the overall standings.
Boston can change that trend tonight if it can slow down the Rockets and avoid its first four-game losing skid of the season.
The Celtics’ defense will be challenged again tonight, considering its opponent has the second-highest scoring offense in the league. Houston enters this contest averaging 114.5 points per game, which is second only to Golden State’s average of 117.6 PPG.
On top of that, the Rockets are coming off a 127-114 loss to Milwaukee, which means the Celtics could be facing a very fired-up Houston squad.
The Rockets are 12-1 this season in games following a loss and they average 119.7 points per game during such contests, so the C’s will have to match the intensity that Houston will surely bring tonight.
There certainly was no lack of intensity when these teams last met Dec. 5 in Houston.
The Rockets, who were in the midst of a 10-game winning streak at the time, barely came away with a 107-106 win over Boston. They staged a fourth-quarter comeback and Celtics center Al Horford missed a game-winning layup attempt at the buzzer, which would have given the C’s a one-point win.
James Harden was the main source of Boston’s troubles that night, as he got to the free throw line at will. The explosive guard went to the stripe 18 times and sunk every single one of those free throw attempts, en route to a 37-point performance.
On the bright side, the C’s did force Harden to commit 10 turnovers, so hopefully they can continue that trend while limiting his point production.
Harden’s huge, 37-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist effort against the Celtics was nothing extraordinary for the four-time All-Star guard.
He puts on those types of shows on a nightly basis, and that’s why he could be well on track to earn MVP honors this season.
Harden completely runs the show for Houston, which has established itself as a top-three team the league this season. He’s tied for the third-highest scoring average in the NBA (28.6 PPG), is leading the league in assists (11.6 APG) and is third among guards in rebounds per game (8.2 RPG). He also gets to the free-throw line at the second-highest rate in the league behind Russell Westbrook and can score from virtually any spot on the floor.
The main reason why Harden is putting up such outrageous numbers this season is because first-year Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has been running the offense through him. Harden constantly has the ball in his hands and has one of the highest usage rates in the league.
Basketball-reference.com’s MVP tracker currently lists his MVP probability at 42.5 percent, which is well above the projected runner-up, Kevin Durant, whose win probability is 27.3 percent.
Boston, however, has its own MVP-hopeful in Thomas, who will look to outduel Harden tonight.
