The Celtics look to win their fifth straight game as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is the first of two games this season, with the second game on January 2 in Minnesota. These two teams split the series 1-1 last season, with each team winning at home. The Celtics are 45-24 all-time against the Wolves and 25-8 in games played in Boston. The Celtics have won seventeen games in a row against the Timberwolves in Boston.

The Timberwolves made some big moves this offseason and it may take some time for them to build good chemistry with their new players. They lost Kyle Anderson to the Warriors and signed Joe Ingles, who they expect to take Anderson’s spot. They also lost Monte Morris to Phoenix and they signed former Celtic, PJ Dozier. But the biggest move was trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It’s that movement that seems to take time to gel.

After hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves in this game, the Celtics will host the Los Angeles Clippers in back-to-back games on Monday. They will then play in Chicago and Cleveland before returning home for a five-game home stretch against Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis and Chicago. They then visit Chicago and Orlando before playing another four-game home stretch, hosting Philadelphia twice, Indiana and Toronto.

The Timberwolves just completed a three-game road trip, playing twice in Portland and Sacramento. They hosted Phoenix before losing to the Raptors in Toronto. After this game in Boston, they return home for a four-game home stretch that includes Houston, Sacramento, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. They will then hit the road to take on the Clippers and Warriors.

The Timberwolves are 10th in the West, 4 games out of first place and just a half ahead of 11th-place San Antonio. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 3-2 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 3-5 on the road. The Celtics are second in the East, 2.5 games behind first-place Cleveland. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and they are 5-2 at home. They are 0-1 against Western Conference opponents.

Al Horford missed Friday’s game against the Wizards due to a non-Covid illness. He is listed as doubtful for this game. If he can’t play, I expect Neemias Queta to start again in his place. Kristaps Porzingis is listed as out for this match, but should return soon. For the Timberwolves, only Mike Conley is listed on their injury report with a toe injury.

Likely Celtics starters

Grid view

PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Al Horford

Celtics Reserves
Lucas Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh

2-way players
J.D. Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

Injuries/outK
Ristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Al Horford (illness) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely Timberwolves starters

Grid view

PG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Julius Randle
C: Rudy Gobert

Timberwolves Reservations
Rob Dillingham
Donte DiVincenzo
PJ Dozier
Luka Garza
Joe Ingles
Leonard Molenaar
Josh Minott
Naz Reid
Terrance Shannon, Jr

2-way players
Jaylen Clark
Jesse Edwards
Daishen Nix

Injuries/out
Mike Conley (toe) out

Head Coach
Chris Finch

Key matches

Grid view

• 

  Dirk White
  
  

  Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
  

• 

  Anthony Edwards
  
  

  Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
  

Derrick White vs. Anthony Edwards
Edwards is averaging 27.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 47.5% from the field and 43.1% from beyond the arc. The Celtics will need to defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter, as he can score very well in both.

Grid view

• 

  Jayson Tatum
  
  

  Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
  

• 

  Julius Randle
  
  

  Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images
  

Jayson Tatum vs. Julius Randle
Randle is averaging 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He is shooting 50.2% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc. Similar to Edwards, the Celtics will need to guard Randle both in the paint and on the perimeter. Tatum struggled with his shot on Friday and the Celtics will need him to shoot better in this one.

Honorable mention
Al Horford vs. Rudy Gobert
Gobert is averaging 11.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. He shoots 63.9% from the field and 0% on 3 pointers. Hopefully the Celtics can draft Gobert as he is a very good rebounder and rim protector. If Horford drops out, Luke Kornet or Neemias Queta or Xavier Tillman will likely start here

Keys to the game
Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is the key to winning any game. The Timberwolves average 113.3 points per game (15th), while the Celtics average 120.7 points per game (2nd). The Celtics rank 8th with a defensive rating of 110.7, while the Wolves have a defensive rating of 111.7 (13th). The Celtics haven’t played the same strong defense as last season. They were especially weak on defense in the paint. They are 27th, good for 53.2 points this season. The Celtics need to play strong team defense all four quarters if they hope to win this game.

Recoil – The Celtics average 42.8 rebounds per game (20th) and 40.6 rebounds per game for the Timberwolves (26th). The Celtics will have to crash the boards to prevent the Wolves from getting extra possessions and second chance points. A big part of rebounding is effort and the Celtics have to work harder on the boards than the Wolves. Once again, the Celtics were a much better rebounding team with the same roster last season. They need to increase their efforts on stage.

Play hard 48 minutes – The Celtics need to come out strong and not allow the Wolves to build an early lead. They need to play hard in the second and third quarters and not give up to give the Timberwolves a lead because the Celtics are not playing their hardest. The Celtics also need to finish strong and not let the Wolves take the lead to close out the game. The Celtics have started slow in a number of games lately and in games where they started strong and built a good lead, they have slowed down a bit and allowed their opponent to come back and make it a close game. They have to play hard for all 48 minutes.

Effort and energy – Against several teams this season, the Celtics lacked energy. They have allowed teams that should have blown them out to beat them or make it a close game. The Celtics’ lack of effort and energy may also help explain their lack of rebounds. The Celtics not only need to put in more effort and energy, but also put that effort into playing team ball. They have to keep the ball moving and not fall into hero ball.

X factors
It’s home field advantage for a reason – There’s a reason they call it home field advantage. The Celtics have the crowd behind them and if they give their best, the fans will cheer them on and help motivate them. It is when the team does not make an effort that the crowd will turn against their own team. The Wolves had to travel, stay in a hotel, play in front of a hostile crowd and on an unfamiliar field. The Celtics will have to struggle to get ahead and protect their home court.

On duty – Officers always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating team calls the game differently. Some referees call it tight and call fouls all the time, while others let them play with few fouls called. The Celtics must adapt to the way the referees are judging the game and not allow bad decisions or no decisions to take away from their focus on playing the game. The Celtics can’t let the referee get into their heads.

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