BOSTON CELTICS (53-25) at CHARLOTTE HORNETS (43-36)
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
What to watch for: For the second straight game, the Boston Celtics will welcome a potential first-round playoff opponent to TD Garden, as the Charlotte Hornets will be in town on Tuesday night.
The Hornets are hovering around the 7-8 game of the Play-In Tournament, and the winner of that game will take on Boston in the first round (should it remain the No. 2 seed, which seems likely at this point).
Tale of the tape: This will be the third and final time the Celtics and Hornets square off this season, and Boston is 1-1 in the first two matchups.
Charlotte picked up a big-time win back on March 14, beating the Celtics by a final score of 118-89. Kon Knueppel scored 20 points in that one, backed up by Brandon Miller’s 18.
However, the Celtics got their revenge just over two weeks later on March 29. Jayson Tatum put up 32 points in that one, and Payton Pritchard had 28, as Boston picked up a victory without Jaylen Brown.
Last game: In their last game, the Celtics took down the Toronto Raptors—another team they could potentially see in the first round of the postseason.
They earned a 115-101 win. Brown put up 26 points, and Tatum ended the game with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
Standings check-in: Boston is out of the race for the No. 1 seed in the East, but they still need to work to keep the No. 2 seed away from the New York Knicks.
They are currently 2.5 games up on New York, and they take on the Knicks on Thursday night.
Hornets check-in: The Hornets have won four straight games and are 8-2 in their last 10.
LaMelo Ball has been leading the way for Charlotte in its last 10 games. He has averaged 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 43.2% from the field and 38.8% from deep on 11.6 three-point attempts per contest.
Miller has averaged 19.4 points in his last 10 games, and Knueppel has scored 14.9 points per game in his last 10.
Grant Williams has been on fire from deep range as of late, shooting 41.7% on 3.0 attempts (last eight games). Sion James has also gotten heavy minutes, playing 19.9 in his last 10 games, providing Charlotte with solid perimeter defense.
One fun play: This is the type of offensive boost Nikola Vucevic will be able to provide Boston once he starts to gain a bit more chemistry with the rest of the group.
The Celtics feed Vucevic in the post, and Pritchard immediately finds a lane to cut to the basket. Vucevic tries to find him, but he overcooks the pass and turns the ball over.
However, Vucevic’s passing, especially out of the post, is one of his most underrated attributes. His playmaking should add an extra layer to Boston’s offense as he plays more and more with the current group.
