Final: Celtics 144, Wizards 102 - C's pour it on in second half blowout

GAME 79
Boston Celtics (48-30, 27-13 home, 3rd East) vs. Washington Wizards (34-43, 13-24 road, 11th East) 
TD Garden
1:00 PM - NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis, Al Horford

Washington: Tomas Satoransky, Corey Kispert, Rui Hachimura, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kristaps Porzingis

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Robert Williams (meniscus surgery) and Nik Stauskas (ankle) are out for Boston.

- Washington is on a little roll. The Wizards are 4-1 over their last five games, all featuring Satoransky as the starting point guard. He’s had at least six assists in each of those games. 

- Bradley Beal (wrist), Kyle Kuzma (knee), Vernon Carey, Jr. (calf) are all out for Washington.

- The Celtics are still working Derrick White into the system. “Derrick is fitting in well,” Ime Udoka said. “Our physicality is different than some places, notably San Antonio. So we tell him we don't mind him getting a foul every now and then, being aggressive, more so than laying back."

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Do NOT take this team lightly: They're not a good team, but the Wizards are capable of putting up big numbers. Caldwell-Pope just went off for 35 points on 13-19 shooting (6-11 3pt). Porzingis is capable of getting hot. And there's always Celtics-killer Ish Smith to worry about. 

“It’s similar to Indiana, a situation where it’s a different team (now) and the way they’re playing is different,” Udoka said. “The ball movement stands out and the scoring stands out, similar to Indiana in that sense where in the last 15 or so games since the trade deadline they’ve been one of the top teams offensively, scored a ton of points.”

Underestimate these Wizards at your own peril. If the Celtics come out soft, they will get down big early. 

2. Smart vs. Porzingis: I always love when Porzingis thinks posting up Smart is a mismatch. It looks like it should be, but it never is. Let’s see if today is the day that changes. Porzingis is playing well, and is one of six players in the NBA to average at least 20 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block since his Wizards debut on March 6.

3. Daniel Theis the ZeitLord: He did a reasonable job filling in for Robert Williams in the Pacers game. Let’s see if he can build on that. 

“Getting him and Al together to play out there … him on and off ball - he has the ability to do both, as does Al,” Udoka said. “It’s more of a matchup-based thing, and then him getting acclimated to being off the ball. He’s more transition - he switches well enough, he can be in regular drop coverage. But him being off the ball there’s a little hesitancy there as far as when to help, and when to recognize that a guy’s in a good position. We’ve been doing both with him and Al, and then Al’s been doing both all season.”

GAME THREAD

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