Final: Celtics 112, Wizards 94 - Boston buries Washington with 3-point barage

Game 6: Celtics (-9) vs. Wizards, 6:00 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: Boston - Danilo Gallinari, Robert Williams.  Washington: Corey Kispert (ankle), Delon Wright (hamstring)

Wizards probable starters: Bradley Beal, Monte Morris, Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija

Refs: Tyler Ford (#39), Justin Van Duyne (#64), Jonathan Sterling (#17)

A little something about the game: There aren’t m(any people who expected this to be a battle of 3-2 teams. The Wizards have already played the Pacers twice, winning one and losing one, and they have a win against Detroit, so it can be argued that Washington picked up a couple of wins over bad teams. They, like Boston, also have an OT loss to Cleveland on their resume. Right now, the trio of Beal, Kuzma, and Porzingis has been potent, and the team amazingly has the league’s eighth-best defensive rating (109.9). The Celtics have lost two in a row after their 3-0 start, with serious questions about their defense, which ranks second-worst at the moment.

How Boston wins: The Wizards defensive rating might be a bit of a mirage. In their two losses, they allowed an average of 122 points and 24.5 assists. This is right in Boston’s wheelhouse right now, so the Celtics have a real chance to pile up some points. They also have a chance to drop their defensive rating since the Wizards are averaging 112 points a game in both wins and losses. Expect a lot of switching from the Celtics to bait the Wizards into a bunch of iso ball. 

How Washington wins: It all comes down to their defense holding. If they're able to force the Celtics into tough shots and isolation basketball, then they're going to have a chance to win this game. If they're able to keep Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in front and stay out of rotation, they’ll make this a tough night for the Celtics.

Things I’m looking for:

- Defense: There are real worries for the Celtics on this end, but it’s not that they don’t play defense. It’s that they don’t play it enough.

“I thought our effort was good. I think we're playing hard,” Joe Mazzulla said before the game. “I think it's a matter of execution. From my end, the defensive cleanup comes from our fundamentals and it comes from just a consistent execution over and over again. So I love our guys' effort, and we just have to clear that up.”

For Malcolm Brogdon, there is still a level of cohesion to find on the court. 

“I don’t think we’re connected how we need to be,” he said. “I think off the court, we are. We’re a group that gets along. We have a great locker room here, great guys. But on the court, we’re not as connected as we need to be. It’s something that we talk about daily and something that we’re going to continue to work on.”

This would be a great game to get that connection going. 

- Grant Williams: When you walk into the arena in full Batman regalia the day after a suspension, you’d better be ready to contribute. I know it’s Halloween, but he’s been pushing the Batman thing for a while, so it takes some cajones to make that kind of entry. I was already going to include him here because his bounce-back after suspension will be interesting, but now I’m especially interested. 

- Center rotation: Will they continue to go with Luke Kornett against a Wizards team with some size in the middle, or will they go with more mobility when Daniel Gafford is in the game? 

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