The Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns will square off again in less than a week.
The Boston Celtics (51-14) and Phoenix Suns (38-27) will play again on their road trip. The game is a rematch of the closely contested 117-107 Celtics victory from last Saturday.
Devin Booker, who was sidelined for the last game, is back for the Suns, while Kristaps Porzingis is still out for Boston. Both players missed last Saturday’s game due to injuries.
A brief analysis of the Celtics’ strength at home, an important matchup, and a game prediction:
Celtics: Unstoppable at home court
The Celtics are on pace to establish one of the best home records in contemporary NBA history this season with their astounding 29-3 home record.
The Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets were the only teams to defeat them at home. This season, the Celtics have an astounding shooting split of 49.4/39.9/84.7 at home while also playing much stronger defense.
The Suns will put themselves to the test in this one because Boston has a clear home-court edge.
Key Matchup: Jaylen Brown vs Devin Booker
Due to Booker‘s sprained ankle, which forced him to withdraw from the game just before tipoff, this matchup was not played last week.
After missing a few early shots from close range on Saturday night, Brown had a difficult start to the game and finished with a rather effective 27-point performance.
Additionally, in 34 minutes on the court, he was a +6.
Although Brown is ultimately not as good as Booker, he is nevertheless an important component of the Celtics’ puzzle this year and has been playing much better lately.
Booker was clearly missed by Phoenix during the defeat, and if he had been healthy, his outstanding shooting could have given Phoenix the victory.
Whether the acquisition of Booker had an impact will be determined this evening.