Final: Celtics 130, Hornets 118 - Tatum drops 51 to hold off Hornets

Game 44: Celtics (-8) at Charlotte Hornets, 1:00 p.m., Spectrum Center, NBCS Boston/NBA TV

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari, Jaylen Brown (groin). PROBABLE- Derrick White (neck)

Charlotte: OUT-  Kelly Oubre (hand). DOUBTFUL- Gordon Hayward (hamstring)

Hornets projected starting lineup: LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Mason Plumlee, PJ Washington, Jalen McDaniels

Refs: Zach Zarba (#15), Ashley Moyer-Gleich (#13), Suyash Mehta (#82)

Last time they played: Celtics 122, Hornets 106, January 14 - The Celtics' offense was never really a problem, even after losing Derrick White to a neck strain early, but the defense was lacking early in the game. Boston let Charlotte get a lot of confidence early and the Hornets took advantage to start hitting everything through the first 20 minutes of the game or so. But then Robert Williams started making some incredible hustle plays, the Celtics' defense stepped up, and they went from down 16 in the second to up 10 by the end of the third. Then they really turned it on in the fourth to win going away.  

A little something about this game: Charlotte is equally as bad at home (5-15 as they are on the road (6-18). They have the fourth-worst point differential in the league, the fourth-worst defensive rating, and the second-worst offensive rating. They have lost four in a row. Boston enters the game with the league’s second-best offensive rating (behind by just .1) and tied for fifth-best defensive rating.

How the Celtics win: We just saw it two days ago. There is room to attack this team at the rim, and when the Celtics ramped that up, they won going away. There will be PLENTY of opportunities to pile up points from beyond the arc, so don’t worry about getting going from 3 early. Get to the rim, get to the line, build a lead, and then use that flow and confidence to finish the job from distance.

How the Hornets win: It will take a full outlier performance for them to get this win, but they are certainly capable of piling up points in that regard. If the Celtics come out slow again, the Hornets can use that to build on what they did in the first half of Saturday’s game and carry it through the full 48 minutes. If LaMelo Ball can create for his teammates and get them going early on, there's a chance they can keep it going after the half this time. 

Things I’m looking for:

Focus and effort: I’m keeping this here from the Saturday preview because it’s ESPECIALLY important in this game. The worst thing Boston can do is come out lazy and flat because they were able to win the second half so easily. After that game, they all acknowledged that they didn’t come out with full, proper effort, so the hope today is that they start from the beginning and maybe they can relax later on after building a big lead. I know it's tougher in these early starts, but it's also the first game in the big MLK Day slate, so maybe that will be motivation enough to come out strong.

Derrick White’s return: He left the last game with a sprained neck but is listed as probable for today. Let’s see if there are any lingering effects. One element of the last game that fell by the wayside with how things unfolded was that White had 8 points in 4 minutes to open the game. Let’s see if he can come out with the same effectiveness. 

Sam Hauser’s shooting: He needs to start making some shots. I’d like to see the Celtics take this opportunity to maybe run some extra plays for him to get him going. If the C’s can come out strong and build an early lead, then maybe Mazzulla can take advantage of the pad to get looks specifically for him to get some clean looks. If nothing else, a huge blowout with a full fourth quarter of garbage time would be a great chance for him to get some shots up with no pressure. 

Want something to help pass the time until the game? Re-live the first win over Charlotte with my post-win Locked On Celtics podcast:

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