Final: Celtics 124, Nuggets 104: Tatum & Brown dominate again for C's 3rd straight win

GAME 72
Boston Celtics (43-28, 19-16 road, 4th East) vs. Denver Nuggets (42-29, 20-13 home, 6th West)
Ball Arena
8:00 PM - NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Denver: Monte Morris, Will Barton, Jeff Green, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Aaron Nesmith is still out with a sprained right ankle, but probably won’t be for much longer.

“Tested it recently and didn't feel great,” Ime Udoka said before the game. “But he’s getting close.”

It might actually be helpful if he can make it back for tomorrow’s game against OKC. That will likely be a chance to rest one or two guys, maybe even someone like Tatum who has been racking up the minutes this year (8th in the NBA at 36.3 minute per game).  

I wouldn’t be shocked if Udoka treated this like a playoff game and gave some guys some extra burn tonight and then turned around and gave full or partial rest against the Thunder tomorrow. Having Nesmith back tomorrow could help that plan. 

- Jamal Murray (knee) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) remain out for Denver. Zeke Nnaji (knee) is also out.

- Boston is favored by 3

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Get back on defense: Jokic loves to turn and fire down court to a streaking teammate. 

“Transition hurt us in the first half,” Udoka said of their first meeting with Denver. “We cleaned that up in the second half, and then their offensive rebounding which is always good. So a lot of areas we need to keep in check, but it really starts with Jokic.”

Let's use that quote to fold in…

2. Limit offensive rebounds: 13 offensive rebounds for the Nuggets last time around. This really is 1 and 1a because if Boston isn’t fully getting back then any transition misses will likely end up in Denver’s hands for a putback. That's part of why you push in transition. The first look is the easy bucket. If that misses and a teammate is also running, that can become a putback. 

So this is why everyone has to hustle their way back. Jokic is deadly if he spots a receiver with some space, so stop the initial layup, and then stop them from cleaning up the miss.

3. Head on a swivel: Jokic will pick a team apart with his passing. It’s easy to say turn him into a shooter, but he makes some of the most ridiculous passes you’ll ever see, so even when you think you’ve got him in an iso situation, he finds some windy, circuitous route for a pass to sneak through. 

So no matter where a Celtic is on the floor when Jokic has the ball, they need to be aware of Jokic’s passing ability. They might think the guy they're guarding is out of passing range, but few people actually are. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.