Three things to watch for against the Memphis Grizzlies

It’s the ultimate day of the NBA common season, and a number of groups are nonetheless preventing for seeding together with the Boston Celtics. After a sluggish begin to the yr, the Celtics have turned their season round, and are actually thought-about to be one of many higher groups within the league.

Tonight, the Celtics will face one other staff that has surpassed expectations to turn out to be the extra feared rosters within the NBA, the Memphis Grizzlies. In keeping with the Celtics injury report, everybody aside from Robert Williams and Nik Stauskas is on the market for tonight’s sport, whereas the Grizzlies are but to tell the world of who’s and isn’t going to be suiting up tonight.

Listed here are three issues to regulate throughout Sunday’s sport.

Photograph by Brian Babineau/NBAE through Getty Photos

Who performs?

Each the Celtics and the Grizzlies are assured a spot within the postseason, and neither is in peril of sliding right into a play-in place. So, even when each groups did not rule out their gamers through an harm report, there’s nonetheless no assure we see their full-strength roster take to the court docket tonight. And even when we’re handled to some star participant minutes, that doesn’t imply they’re going to get a full sport’s value of taking part in time.

Maybe Ime Udoka desires to maintain Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in rhythm, so opts to offer them 20 minutes every, or possibly the Celtics head coach decides to experiment with some new lineups to see how they’d look towards high-level competitors.

There’s additionally the priority a couple of potential matchup with the Brooklyn Nets, who at present occupy the seventh seed within the Jap Convention. Ought to the Bucks lose and Celtics win, Boston will doubtless face Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving within the first spherical for the second straight yr, and that isn’t ultimate given Robert Williams’ absence.

Taylor Jenkins may additionally resolve to relaxation a few of his stars. The Grizzlies sit 2nd within the Western Convention and their place is assured at this level, so why danger accidents to a few of your star gamers with nothing to play for? Or is making certain your guys maintain their rhythm and momentum a danger value taking?

Photograph by Brian Babineau/NBAE through Getty Photos

Controlling the house

Just like the Celtics, the Grizzlies wish to run a double-big lineup when wholesome, with Jaren Jackson Jr offering measurement and spacing on the 4, whereas Steven Adams affords physicality and rebounding on the 5. With Robert Williams wholesome, the Celtics can fight the Grizzlies fairly properly, but when Jenkins decides to area a full-strength roster, taking part in a bunch of drop protection could possibly be the Celtics’ undoing.

Certain, Adams’ doesn’t boast a mid-range sport, and isn’t one of many elite passers at his place, however the Grizzlies do have quite a few guys who will look to function within the house created by a back-peddling Daniel Theis or Al Horford. The Grizzlies sit 9th in the NBA for mid-range shots attempted, though they’re solely twentieth in mid-range pictures made – however with Adams and Jackson Jr. crashing the boards, the staff is greater than able to punishing you on second-chance factors and at present ranks 7th for offensive boards per game.

Whoever the Celtics resolve to placed on the ground tonight, the sport plan will doubtless be to pinch in on drives, field out on each shot, and swap on the perimeter as a lot as potential. The Grizzlies are a well-balanced roster with restricted weaknesses, and in an effort to restrict their effectiveness, the Celtics might want to restrict the house within the mid-range that we normally see created by drop protection, whereas additionally making certain they restrict mismatch alternatives on the low-block.

We’d even see the return of the “veer again” protection Ime Udoka used earlier within the season, the place a guard switches onto a rolling huge across the elbows and will get below them early to maintain them away from the boards and take away post-entry alternatives.

Limiting errors

As spectacular because the Celtics have been over the previous couple of months, you may by no means financial institution on their offense firing on all cylinders. Typically, Boston will go supernova from deep, and different occasions, they will’t purchase a bucket on the perimeter and have to assault the rim with reckless abandon, that’s simply how it’s. In fact, the rise of Sam Hauser as a bench scorer, and Derrick White processing to the imply along with his capturing have each been welcome developments.

The Grizzlies have a top-5 defense and rank 1st in rebounds per game, so the Celtics will must be disciplined of their offensive execution tonight as a result of second likelihood alternatives shall be restricted. Memphis additionally ranks first within the NBA for “percentage of points scored on the break,” so the Celtics could be properly served in monitoring again after a shot try, slightly than getting into a futile battle for an offensive rebound.

One other a part of the Celtics’ sport plan needs to be to restrict their turnovers, because the Grizzlies are at present sixth within the NBA in factors off turnovers, and first in the league for steals per game. To place it merely, Memphis is younger and hungry and can punish each mistake with high-intensity hustle-plays that may go away you bruised and demoralized.

Assuming the Celtics area a full-strength roster, they need to have sufficient ball-handling, playmaking, and defensive means to fight regardless of the Grizzlies can throw at them, however each mistake will doubtless get punished.

Last thought

Whereas the Celtics have regularly mentioned they’re aiming for the very best positioned seeding potential, no person would blame them for attempting to complete the common season in third place in an effort to keep away from the Nets and get the slumping Chicago Bulls within the first spherical. However, if you wish to be an NBA champion, you need to beat the creme de la creme ultimately, so I’d anticipate to see Boston come out scorching tonight, as they bid to point out the world they’re real contenders within the upcoming playoffs.