Final: Celtics 130, Wizards 104 - Tatum, Hauser, power easy blowout win

BOSTON CELTICS at WASHINGTON WIZARDS

6 p.m. - NBCS Boston

Line: Boston -13.5

INJURIES

Boston: Kristaps Porzingis (OUT, hamstring), Jaylen Brown (OUT, ankle), Derrick White (OUT, hand)

Washington: Deni Avdija (OUT, knee), Marvin Bagley III (OUT, back), Tyus Jones (OUT, back), Isaiah Livers (OUT, hip), Landry Shamet (OUT, calf), Bilal Coulibaly (QUESTIONABLE, wrist), Kyle Kuzma (QUESTIONABLE, shoulder)

LAST TIME

Celtics 133, Wizards 129 - February 9

The Celtics were extremely casual to start the game, allowing 35 points (18 in transition), but luckily only going into the second down four. They continued to play that way in the second, scoring more than enough but playing their worst defense of the season to go down seven at the half. Boston woke up halfway through the third quarter and went on a monster run to take a 15-point lead into the fourth. They were cruising through the quarter but relaxed and saw things get tight before they finally closed it out.

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Mindset: The Wizards are bad when they're healthy, and now they're crushed by injuries. It would be very easy for the Celtics to play too casually and make this a harder game than it has to be. The Celtics haven't played down to the competition much this season, but that doesn’t make it less of a concern.

2. Who steps up: This could be a big Payton Pritchard game, but there are plenty of candidates for the random big game in this one. Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman, all stand out as possibilities to step into big performances. 

3. Jayson Tatum the distributor: I'm guessing Washington sells out to stop Tatum, so let’s see if he lures the Wizards away from his teammates and gets them wide-open shots, or if he tries to play through the double-teams.

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.