Final: Celtics 121, Timberwolves 109 - Slump busted

Game 33: Celtics (-10) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: 

Boston: Danilo Gallinari, Robert Williams (questionable, non-COVID illness) Marcus Smart (probable, non-COVID illness) 

Minnesota: Karl-Anthony Towns (calf), Taurean Prince (shoulder), Jordan McLaughlin (calf), Rudy Gobert (questionable, ankle), Kyle Anderson (questionable, back)

Timberwolves projected starters: D’Angelo Russell, Austin Rivers, Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert

Refs: Tre Maddox (#23), Kevin Cutler (#34), John Conley (#79)

A little something about this game: The Wolves come in hurting, and could be even worse off if Gobert and Anderson are out. That would leave the scoring up to Russell and Edwards. Minnesota just lost to Dallas, breaking a three-game winning streak that followed a three-game losing streak. The Celtics continue to deal with a bug running through the team. Marcus Smart will likely return after missing the last game due to a non-COVID illness, but now Robert Williams is on the fence for this game.

How Boston wins: Run a bunch of pick-and-rolls with Tatum and Rudy Gobert’s man. Pick-and-roll them to death. Run Horford out there and have him pop and hope he has the shooting touch going because it’s going to be wide open. Horford could have a nice bounceback game here. 

Defensively, don’t overhelp. The Magic love to iso and without many of their good players, their iso-heavy guys will love going one-on-one. Live with the tough baskets they make, run off the ones they miss. Minnesota is a bad transition defense team, so get out and run.

How the Timberwolves win: If the Celtics are playing well, then Edwards will have to have a monster game to overcome that. If the Celtics play like they did in the first half, then all they’ll have to do is hit the open 3-pointers they’ll get off Russell and Edwards driving. 

Things I’m looking for:

- Run, run, run: I’m going to over-emphasize this because the running is both what Boston needs to do to get its offense going and what Minnesota does poorly. There should be minimal walking the ball up the floor, even after makes. 

- Hit the paint: Working the ball around the perimeter is nice, but getting the ball into the paint is better. The more it hits the paint, the better the shooting will get. I’m betting if the ball gets into the paint when Derrick White is out on the perimeter, he’ll start knocking down good looks. 

- Jayson Tatum leading the way: No, not with his points, but with his words and by example. Show everyone the way to the rim and play like it’s the second half of the Pacers game. That guy is an MVP candidate. If guys aren’t playing the right way, get them to. Take another step deeper into the leadership role. 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.