They're more banged up than we are! Celtics GDT
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:08 pm
You never cheer for injuries, but you do cheer for justice. And after years of an absurd amount of injuries for the Wolves, it seems fair that the tables appear to be turning. Tonight the Celtics will have three starters out...Smart, Johnson and Sullinger...and one of the replacement players (David Lee) is having a terrible year. In contrast, the Wolves will only be missing KG, who only plays 15 minutes a game, and of course Pek. The line opened at -8 1/2 for the Celtics, but I assume it has dropped since the news about Johnson and Sullinger.
Boston has to be the shortest team in the league. 7 foot Olynyk makes them taller by replacing the 6-9 Sullinger, but the rest of the starters are 6-9, 6-6, 6-2, and 5-9. The Wolves should have a significant height advantage at each position. We don't know who Sam will start at PF, but I think it will be Payne after his strong defensive and rebounding effort yesterday. Sam is concerned about starting his only two centers...worried about his options if they both get into foul trouble.
Boston has lost 3 in a row, and the Wolves have won two in a row while playing their best basketball of the year over the past 10 quarters. In addition, while they began the season strong defensively, Boston has not been nearly as effective since Marcus Smart got hurt. Boston will be missing its best defensive player, its best rim protector, and its best rebounder. In other words, we're catching them at the right time.
Sam monitored his player's minutes last night, so with KG out the only player who may have a big problem with the BTB might be Tay Prince after 35 minutes last night. He has been a huge factor in anchoring our defense, so hopefully he can be effective tonight. Look for Shabazz Muhammad to get a lot of minutes tonight and be fresh after only playing 8 minutes last night.
Winning a third consecutive game would be big for the Wolves. Let's steal this one!
Boston has to be the shortest team in the league. 7 foot Olynyk makes them taller by replacing the 6-9 Sullinger, but the rest of the starters are 6-9, 6-6, 6-2, and 5-9. The Wolves should have a significant height advantage at each position. We don't know who Sam will start at PF, but I think it will be Payne after his strong defensive and rebounding effort yesterday. Sam is concerned about starting his only two centers...worried about his options if they both get into foul trouble.
Boston has lost 3 in a row, and the Wolves have won two in a row while playing their best basketball of the year over the past 10 quarters. In addition, while they began the season strong defensively, Boston has not been nearly as effective since Marcus Smart got hurt. Boston will be missing its best defensive player, its best rim protector, and its best rebounder. In other words, we're catching them at the right time.
Sam monitored his player's minutes last night, so with KG out the only player who may have a big problem with the BTB might be Tay Prince after 35 minutes last night. He has been a huge factor in anchoring our defense, so hopefully he can be effective tonight. Look for Shabazz Muhammad to get a lot of minutes tonight and be fresh after only playing 8 minutes last night.
Winning a third consecutive game would be big for the Wolves. Let's steal this one!