Boston Celtics
Boston are in the middle of a westcoast roadtrip right now and they have played against GSW and last night against the Kings. Two tough matchups that went down to the wire. They come in to Arizona with one win and one loss, coming in early in the moring on a b2b to play against the Phoenix Suns. Celtics have had one of the best starts to the season in league and have a record of 10-2 and are at the top of the Eastern Conference, a couple games ahead the Miami Heat who is the 2nd seed. Boston have got going well with Kemba Walker at the point instead of Kyrie Irving, they have looked good on defensive but especially on offense like against the San Antonio Spurs. The Celtics are like we usually see them a system team both offensivley and defensivley. This can make the offensive seem a bit stiff in the beginning of the game but when they get going it looks good. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown has really stepped up for this team in offensive production and are 20 point a game scorers, Kemba leads the Celtics with his 24 points per game. Walker is looking really comfortable with this team and it's a hand in glove situation like we predicted at the start of the season, both the attitude and the talent is a perfect piece to the puzzle for the Celtics to step up a notch in production offensivley. Last season it was a bit unclear and planless who would be the number one guy and how much he would have the ball. Celtics like I said has had a good start to the season but they have landed in a tough situation when they come in to Arizona to play the Suns.
What they need to think about in this matchup the hole they've got in the paint. Celtics are weak inside while the Suns are a top 15 team scoring in the paint. Aron Baynes, the old Spurs and Celtics player, has been brilliant for them at the start of the season. He gets the ball more and can go to work in the post or pick and roll more often then he could elsewhere but in anycase he has taken his chances and done well. Boston needs to try and not to get killed in the paint tonight and on the boards, Celtics are, im sorry to say, a bad team when it comes to guarding the backcourt aswell, this will cause problems because the Suns best player is a guard in Devin Booker and he has a lot of usage and will have the ball in his hands. Booker have brought caos to the Celtics before with his 70-point performence in Boston and if they don't have a plan to stop him and have him as top priority in the scouting report it's going to be a long night. Even tough the Celtics seem atletic and should be good on the perimeter it's the wings that are atletic. Tatum, Brown and Smart have all been good on defense this season, they will probably throw Brown on him to get a fast and big body on him. It won't be easy but they need to minimize the damage under the basket and in the paint.
This Boston team have a rough schedule right now and they will most likely not go a 100% in this game knowing the Clippers and Nuggets are waiting around the corner in two and four days. Two teams that are a couple of levels above the Suns and I think it will be a scheduled loss this evening maybe even rest or play key players less minutes.
Phoenix Suns
Suns have started the season outstanding and they have taken a lot of people by surprise with their defense which has been tight. Sure, they have weaknesses in the paint like their visitors but in the overall scheme of things they have been really good Booker has come out in good form and he's looking forward to seeing the Celtics again, great memories for him. He has really stepped up but other players like Baynes and Oubre Jr needs to get some credit too. Suns play at a higher tempo and that gets punished on defense more often then not but they've had a plan on how to protect their basket with their new acquation in Aron Baynes who gives it his all both sides of the ball, Baynes will be a key piece for the Suns if they are going to get the win tonight.
Suns have a couple of advantages against this Celtics team, if we take away the obvious being on a b2b, playing two tough games prior to this one and going up against top notch teams like the Clippers and Nuggets later on, I have to say that the Suns have nearly gotten a free win. Phoenix needs to get Booker going early and let him go against Walker at all times. Brown will probably guard him tough to get a big body on him. Phoenix also needs to get Baynes going in the post and pick and roll when he's up against Kanter who is one the leagues worst defenders and he will get abused on defense. I like how Monty Williams have gotten his ideas out who last season looked a bit lost, now they have a experienced coach and more muture star in Booker.
It's going to be a dogfight, even if Celtics needs to concentrate on upcoming opponents and have a scheduled loss here in Phoenix. Suns can be a team who is up and down sometimes and now with the great start to the season I fear they can get in a state of mind of being pleased with themselves. But I hope the Suns can take advantage of the situation their in and get a good win against a team that's normally better.
Recap and Bet
Cs come in to this game on a b2b and have had two tough games before this one and they probably need to think about other matchups down the road. Tatum and Walker needs to step up for this Boston team. These two have good matchups, especially Tatum who can matchup with Booker who's one the leagues worst defenders for his position. Suns needs to push the ball and be aggressive from the get go if they really want to win and to show that they are a playoff team, every win counts. I think the Suns have a good matchup inside with Baynes and with Booker as the edge of the spear I think they can give the Celtics a good fight and come out with a big win. My bet is Suns -3 @1.96 at Unibet.
