Final: Celtics 108, Rockets 90 - Slow start, but easy win

Game 18: Boston Celtics (9-8) vs. Houston Rockets (1-15)
TD Garden
7:30 - NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

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

Houston: Jalen Green, Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, Christian Wood, Daniel Theis

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Josh Richardson is out with a non-COVID illness.  “Story of the year,” Ime Udoka said. “Get them back and get one missing.” 

- Jaylen Brown will be on a minutes restriction. “Try to keep him around 24 minutes,” Udoka said. “Probably four-six minutes stints.”

- Kevin Porter Jr. is out with a thigh contusion for Houston

- Boston is favored by 11.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

- Robert Williams will make his return tonight after missing three games with a sore left knee. 

“It’s feeling good,” Williams said after the team’s morning shootaround, acknowledging that he needs to take steps to maintain his health. “Whatever maintenance I need to take care of my body ... just realizing what’s going on, the increase in minutes, getting all the treatment, maintenance that I need. That’s the main thing.” 

Williams has a history of injuries, and the increase in minutes has presented him with these new challenges.

"He has to be meticulous with his preparation and rehab,” Udoka said. “That's on him and the medical staff to get him ready, get him prepared as far as rehab, the strengthening of everything. You also want to be mindful of the minutes and the increase because you haven't had that.”

Add to that a spate of overtime games and the early toll on his body was a little high.

“Those added up a little bit. I think we've played 30 extra minutes, so that's a whole another game for a guy like him on top of the minute increase anyway,” Udoka said. “We're mindful of that. But at the same time, he's a younger guy and we want him to run the longer stretches than Al.”

Williams is obviously extraordinarily important for the Celtics, and carrying the extra minutes load is part of his growth from ultra-athletic rookie to young veteran upon whom the team depends as a key element for success on both ends of the floor. 

"We had conversations when I got hired,” Udoka said. “He had to get himself in shape, prepare for longer stints this season. He's taking that to heart and he's been great in that role. But at the same time, it is an increase and he's had a story and we are mindful of it. His preparation has been great and his time on the court has been great. Increased role, increased minutes. If he can stay healthy and he's out there, he's proven that he can play some of those longer stretches."

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. No letdown: The Rockets have lost 14 games in a row. They’re the third-lowest scoring team in the NBA, and they own the league’s worst offensive rating. Their defense gives up the fourth-most points. Their -10.8 point differential and -10.5 net rating are the worst in the NBA. The Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, so this is a classic trap game situation.

“We have to come in with the same mindset we’ve been coming in with the past couple of games no matter who we’re playing,” Robert Williams said. If they do, they should cruise. If they don’t, then don’t be shocked if the Rockets make this a game. 

“They’re going out there with nothing to lose,” Udoka said. “You can’t take anything for granted on a night-to-night basis. ... got to handle business. Every game is an opportunity, they all count as one, no matter who the opponent is and so our guys got to come out with the same focus we did the last two home games.”

2. Dennis Schröder to the bench: He’s been playing pretty well during Jaylen Brown’s absence. He’s been free to score and attack at will. And while Brown’s minutes restriction might not mean as big a change in his role as he might see under normal circumstances, it will be interesting to see what that change in role means for his production. 

“The touches and time on the court may differ some, but Dennis is playing so well we have to find him those minutes and opportunities,” Udoka said. “It’s just guys knowing they’re not gonna have the same opportunities or the ball as much at times, but still finding ways to get them aggressive and do the things they’ve been doing with guys out.”

3. The overall adjustment to Brown’s return: Normally an eight-game absence wouldn’t draw this kind of question, but for now Brown has missed half of the young season (he also missed the first Houston game). The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and Brown has played in only two of those games. Schröder has been starting and he and Smart have figured out some level of cohesion. So the question now is how much of a disruption to the chemistry is reinserting a player like Brown, who is a high-usage, high-scoring player? Obviously it’s good to have a guy like that back, but will there be an adjustment period, or will he slide right back in?

GAME THREAD

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