Final: Celtics 126, Rockets 102 - Classic good team vs. bad team game

Game 35: Celtics (-14.5) vs. Houston Rockets, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: 

Boston: Danilo Gallinari, Payton Pritchard (questionable, thigh contusion), Robert Williams (questionable, non-COVID illness) 

Houston: Jae'Sean Tate (ankle)

Rockets projected starters: KJ Martin, Jabari Smith, Jr., Alperin Sengun, Kevin Porter, Jr., Jalen Green

Refs: Sean Wright (#4), Gediminas Petraitis (#50), JT Orr (#72)

A little something about this game: The Rockets just snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over the Chicago Bulls. Porter, Jr. scored 36, Sengun had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Green added 24. The Rockets are 4-13 on the road. The Celtics have swept the past two season series against Houston.

How the Celtics win: The Rockets will crash the boards, so it’s important to keep them away from offensive rebounds. They are first in the league in that category (lending credence to the theory that offensive rebounding doesn’t lead to winning), grabbing 35% of their misses. The Rockets also have the second-lowest field goal percentage in the league, so there are a lot of misses to be had. Still, that's a big driver of their points, as they lead the NBA in points scored per 100 possessions after rebounding their own misses. Box out and this could be an easy win. 

How the Rockets win: Aside from putbacks, they need to see their 3-pointers fall. The Rockets are not a good offensive team, but they have talented offensive players. If the Celtics back off them too much, a bunch of these guys can get going. This is a confidence-driven team, and confidence behind the arc can be an easy way for a bad team to stick around. 

Things I’m looking for:

- No letdown: The Celtics just pulled away for a blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day in an ABC game. It’s their second win in a row and the talk right now is about how they're back on track. DO NOT fall back into the old habits just because the 10-win Rockets are in town. It’s very easy to pat each other on the back and congratulate themselves on a job well done and look ahead to a revenge game against the Clippers. The Rockets may only have 10 wins, but they’ve beaten Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Phoenix twice, and Chicago. They are young, athletic, and very much prone to riding waves of highs and lows, so if they are hot, they can stay hot. If they come out and struggle, they can stay struggling. 

Come out and make them struggle. 

- Shooting touch (and the reaction if it’s not there): It seems like the Celtics shooting touch has returned after a bit of a hiatus. So obviously we want to see if it is really, really back. That goes with ball movement, running off misses, and having a mindset of attacking to set up the 3-point shot. However, if the shot isn’t there, can the Celtics still focus on all the little things necessary to get the win? They can still win shooting poorly from deep, but they can’t if they are missing shots AND trying to take shortcuts. 

- Important garbage time minutes: There are a few guys still on the cusp of finding their rhythm. One message that should get through to the team is that building an early lead and putting the Rockets away with a good amount of time left will give some of those guys (Sam Hauser, for example, if he’s still struggling a little) important NBA minutes getting some shots up and not having the pressure of the game on them. It’s important for those guys to see some shots fall at the Garden, and this could be a real chance to get that.

To pass some time before the game, here’s the latest Locked On Celtics podcast, in which Tom Westerholm and I discuss the things Brad Stevens said in his media availability on Friday. 

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