Final: Celtics 118, Nuggets 106 - Tatum, Porzingis combine for 54, C's finish strong

BOSTON CELTICS (26-10) at DENVER NUGGETS (20-14)

Ball Arena, 10 p.m. - NBCS Boston/TNT

Line: Celtics -5.5

INJURIES

Boston: Derrick White (QUESTIONABLE OUT, illness), Jordan Walsh (QUESTIONABLE OUT, illness)

Denver: Nikola Jokic (QUESTIONABLE OUT, illness), Aaron Gordon (OUT, calf), Vlatko Cancar (OUT, knee), DaRon Holmes II (OUT, Achilles), Spencer Jones (OUT, adductor)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1: Attack Nikola Jokic: I expect the Celtics to put Jokic in every action they can. They will be relentless, trying to get Jayson Tatum on that matchup as often as possible but not exclusively hunting that matchup. Jaylen Brown will get his cracks at Jokic as well. It’s a successful strategy that will start full breakdowns of the Nuggets defense when the right passes are made and Denver gets into rotation. 

2: Run off turnovers: Jokic is prone to making mistakes because he has to do everything to carry the Nuggets. The Celtics need to stay active and jump passing lanes because they will be able to pick off a few and start running. With Gordon out, Jokic is losing a favorite target, so they can be more aggressive in trying to blitz and bother him and maybe get him to throw a few away. 

3: Shooting: I’m thinking specifically about Sam Hauser but guys like Jaylen Brown and Al Horford are in this mix as well. I want to see this team get back to its usual self when it comes to 3-pointers. It would be great to get some more consistent shooting performances out of these guys. This is becoming a very feast-or-famine shooting team. If they're not burying teams under 45% shooting, they're trying to make up for 20-something percent shooting. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.