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| Jeff Green lifted the Celtics over the Cavs in their last meeting. |
So what else is there to play for?
Well, for the Celtics (39-36), there's still a lot to be sorted out. They are two-and-a-half games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the fifth seed in the conference while holding a two-and-a-half game edge over the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth seed.
Boston will look to garner some momentum going into the playoffs and they will start with a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-52).
Cleveland has been bad. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup on Sunday but has not been cleared to play in back-to-back games. That isn't a problem tonight as the Cavs haven't played since Wednesday when they lost to the Brooklyn Nets 113-95.
But lest you forget, they beat the Celtics back on January 22, and Byron Scott will have his troops playing hard until the end.
Here's a preview:
Projected lineups:
Cavaliers:
Kyrie Irving
Wayne Ellington
Alonzo Gee
Tristan Thompson
Tyler Zeller
Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Courtney Lee
Paul Pierce
Jeff Green
Brandon Bass
Keys to the game:
1. Stop being so sloppy: Over their last eight games, the C's have allowed 103 points per contest. I know Kevin Garnett is out, but that is a lot of points. Boston needs to grind this one out and keep it in the double digits. The Celtics need to come together and tighten up their "d."
2. Rebounding: During Wednesday night's game, the Celtics were outrebounded 52-34. What's worse? They were outrebounded on the offensive glass, 25-4. Yikes. Now part of that was due to the Celtics' success shooting the ball. They shot 51%, giving them very little opportunities to grab offensive boards. Are they a great rebounding team? No, of course not. But they can't be that bad! Cleveland pulls down nearly 50 a game, so the Celtics better be up to the challenge tonight.
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