Final: Celics 118, Timberwolves 115 - Tatum, White have monster nights to survive in Minnesota

BOSTON CELTICS (24-9) at MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (17-15)

Target Center, 7:30 p.m. - TNT/NBCS Boston

Line: Boston -3.5

INJURIES

Boston: Kristaps Porzingis (OUT, ankle), Jaylen Brown (OUT, shoulder)

Minnesota: Luka Garza (OUT, ankle), Rob Dillingham (OUT, ankle)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1: Al Horford shooting: He’s shooting 25% from 3 over his last nine games, and if you throw out a 5-10 night in the middle of it, it drops to 17.6%. He’s polar vortex cold, lately, but with Porzingis out, he’s going to be the guy tasked with dragging Rudy Gobert out of the paint. 

I expect the Timberwolves to dare Horford to make a few before they oblige. The more he misses, the more Gobert just hangs back and clogs the lane. 

2: Jayson Tatum’s passing: With Gobert starting in drop coverage and the TWolves likely blitzing Tatum on every pick-and-roll, his passing will be extremely important. Guys have to be in their spots and Tatum has to find them. Horford will obviously be target number one, but other guys will have to be in position to shoot, which means Tatum has to find them. 

3: Rotations: I expect Joe Mazzulla to get funky with his rotations, trying to match his best driving lineups against non-Gobert units. I wouldn’t be surprised if he messes with Tatum’s minutes just to maximize his time on the floor with Gobert off … or to force Minnesota into playing Gobert more. I think they’d hope for the latter because the more Gobert is on the floor, the more they can help off him defensively and try to prevent Anthony Edwards from getting all the way to the rim. 

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.