BOSTON CELTICS (31-18) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (19-30)
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
TV: NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Boston
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
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Chris Boucher – QUESTIONABLE (personal reasons)
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Jayson Tatum – OUT (right Achilles repair)
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Amari Williams – OUT (G League, two-way)
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Moussa Cisse – QUESTIONABLE (G League, two-way)
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Anthony Davis – OUT (left finger sprain)
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Dante Exum – OUT (right knee surgery)
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Kyrie Irving – OUT (left knee surgery)
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Miles Kelly – PROBABLE (G League, two-way)
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Dereck Lively II – OUT (right foot surgery)
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Ryan Nembhard – PROBABLE (G League, two-way)
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D’Angelo Russell – QUESTIONABLE (illness)
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PJ Washington – OUT (concussion protocol)
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Brandon Williams – QUESTIONABLE (right lower leg contusion)
What to watch for: For the first time in his young NBA career, Cooper Flagg will get to square off against his hometown team. Well, as close to a hometown team as he had when he was growing up in Maine.
The Boston Celtics will be in Texas taking on the post-Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks, and with how injured their roster is, Flagg will be the obvious headliner. They’ll take on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, making it a true Lone Star State back-to-back.
Last game: The Celtics picked up a dominant win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday evening, surging after starting the game down 12-0.
Jaylen Brown scored 30, but it was Anfernee Simons’ 27 points off the bench that provided the biggest spark. Boston dug into the details, stuck to their strategy, and cruised to a 107-79 victory.
Standings check-in: Boston’s win over Portland kept them in second place in the East, but they are still 5.5 games back of the Detroit Pistons in first.
That said, the Celtics remain a full game ahead of the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors, and two games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mavericks check-in: It was an ugly start to the season for the Mavs. They’ve since fired Nico Harrison, the organizer of last year’s league-breaking Doncic trade, and are reportedly exploring pathways for trading Anthony Davis, who they got back from the Los Angeles Lakers in the deal.
Dallas has lost four games in a row, but before that, they were on a four-game win streak. And their recent losses have been close, losing by four to the Houston Rockets and by two to the red-hot Charlotte Hornets.
Flagg has been playing very well in his recent contests. Over his last seven, Flagg is averaging 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 51.5% from the floor and 31.0% from distance (4.1 three-point attempts).
Naji Marshall has averaged 20.0 points in his last nine games, shooting 54.4% from the floor but just 26.1% from deep (2.6 attempts). Max Christie has also played well in his last eight, putting up 17.0 points per contest on 40.3% shooting from deep (7.8 attempts).
One fun play: Even when the Celtics’ offense goes cold, they find ways to produce points. And it’s plays like that that make that happen.
Simons spoke about this earlier in the season: The Celtics want their three-point shooters to crash through the free-throw line in pursuit of offensive rebounds.
In doing so, not only do they earn Boston additional possessions, but if they don’t get the ball, they are already running back on defense. It’s a win-win.
Here, Simons is in the left corner, and he crashes through the nail when the shot goes up. And since it’s a long rebound, and he’s already running, he’s the first guy to the ball.
