Final: Celtics 118, Pelicans 116 - Tatum hits game winner as C's survive

BOSTON CELTICS (33-15) vs. NEW ORLEANS PELICASN (12-36)    

Smoothie King Center, 8 p.m. - TD Garden

Line: Celtics -11.5

INJURIES

Boston: None

New Orleans: Zion Williamson (OUT, illness), Brandon Ingram (OUT, ankle), Herb Jones (OUT, shoulder), Daniel Theis (OUT, thumb), Jordan Hawkins (OUT, illness)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Strong start: Whether it’s Kristaps Porzingis staying hot, Jaylen Brown getting going early, or someone else, the Celtics coming out strong will go a long way toward getting New Orleans out of sorts. It would also be a nice sign that the Celtics aren’t just going to come out and mess around. 

2. Flow through Porzingis: Run the offense through him and make the Pelicans defense overreact. Use Porzingis as the hub. I’d love to see Porzingis get seven or eight assists. 

3. Get Tatum going: I would love to see Joe Mazzulla run some actions aimed at getting Tatum some stuff going to the basket or maybe some post ups. I want to see him get some baskets tonight before he starts firing from 3. I bet that would get him going. 

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.