This Thursday, the (26-12) Boston Celtics will travel to Dallas, TX to take on the (22-16) Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff will be at 7:30 PM EST inside the American Airlines Center. This will be the second time that these two teams have matched up this season, as the Celtics walked away from their first meeting with a 125-112 win.
The Celtics are coming into this one after falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 150-117. They struggled on both ends of the court, as they were blown out in that game. They will have to be better on the defensive end of the court if they want to challenge the Mavs on the road.
The Dallas Mavericks are entering this matchup after defeating the Houston Rockets, 111-106. They looked great on the defensive end of the floor, as they only allowed Houston to shoot 31% from behind the arc. They will have to continue contesting shots near the rim and on the perimeter, if they want t o take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Boston Celtics are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they have a .5-game lead over the second-place Brooklyn Nets. On offense, they are scoring 118.6 points per game and they have shot 47.8% from the field. This is the most points scored per contest and the 11th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Celtics have an adjusted offensive rating of 117.7, which is the highest rating in the NBA. Jayson Tatum continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 30.8 points per game on 47.4% shooting from the floor. Boston has also shown that they have multiple players that can make it rain from behind the arc. They are shooting 37.2% from deep, which is the ninth-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. They have also taken care of business at the charity stripe, as they are shooting 82.6% from the line. This s the highest free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA, as they can't miss out on these free looks at the rim and still expect to win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Celtics are surrendering 113.3 points per game and their opponents have only shot 47.2% from the field. This is the 15th least amount of points given up per game and the 16th lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Celtics have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.5, which is the 10th lowest rating in the NBA. Unfortunately, Boston has struggled to consistently defend shots near the rim or on the outside. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 36.1% from behind the arc, which is the 18th-lowest three-point shooting percentage surrendered in the league. The Boston Celtics are also snatching 43.7 rebounds per game, which is the 13th most. They have to crash the offensive and defensive glass if they want to challenge the Mavs on the road.
Injury Repo rt: Robert Williams III C (Knee) is questionable.
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