The Celtics head to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers for the 4th and final game between them this season. The Celtics are 1-2 so far this season against the Cavs. They lost 132-123 in OT at Boston on October 28 and they lost again 114-113 in Cleveland on November 2. They finally beat the Cavs 117-113 in Boston on March 1.
The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season, winning once at home and once in Cleveland. The Cavs got their win at home. The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and in the 3rd game in 4 nights. The Celtics are 8-1 in the second of back to back games and are 6-1 when the second game is played on the road.
The Celtics are coming off a 3 game home stand and after this game in Cleveland, they will play Portland at home and then head out on the road for a 6 game Western road trip that will begin in Atlanta on March 11. The Cavs are playing in their second straight home game. After this, they will head out for a 4 game road trip where they will play in Miami twice and then in Charlotte twice.
The Celtics remain in 2nd place, 1.5 game behind first place Milwaukee, who won on Sunday. They are 3.5 games ahead of 3rd place and 6 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland. They are 20-11 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 28-15 against Eastern Conference opponents. The Celtics have lost their last 2 games.
The Cavaliers are 4th in the East. They are 6 games behind 2nd place Boston and 2.3 games behind 3rd place Philadelphia. They are 5.5 games ahead of 7th place Miami and a spot in the play-in tournament. They are 27-7 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 24-13 against Eastern Conference teams. They had won 7 straight before losing 4 of their last 5 and are looking for their second straight win.
Al Horford is listed as out with back soreness. Robert Williams is expected to miss 7-10 days with a hamstring injury. Jayson Tatum has been added to the injury list with a knee contusion. Malcolm Brogdon, who has missed the last 2 games with ankle soreness was not on today’s injury list so I expect him to play. Danilo Gallinari remains out with the ACL injury.
So I’m going to make an absolutely wild guess that Mike Muscala starts at center although it may be Luke Kornet or Blake Griffin. I’m also guessing that the Celtics will go smaller with Derrick White in the lineup to replace Horford and Grant Williams to replace Tatum. These are all total guesses on my part. Joe Mazzulla has been a bit…
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