Celtics host 76ers: the rebounding edge gets a second test
Boston had 21 offensive rebounds to Cleveland's 6 on Thursday. Tonight's preseason game shows if it travels.
Boston hosts Philadelphia tonight at TD Garden in its second preseason game, and the question is whether the offensive rebounding that carried the Celtics in Cleveland holds up against a team that eliminated them from last year's playoffs.
What to watch
1. The offensive glass. Boston grabbed 21 offensive rebounds against Cleveland on Thursday, and Cleveland had 6. That is 38.9% of the available offensive boards, well above the 31.8% rate, per Cleaning the Glass, that ranked fifth in the league last season. One bench-heavy preseason game proves little, but rebounding was the clearest gap in a 124-113 win.
2. The center minutes. Luka Garza started and had 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes. Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson sat out as a coach's decision. Last season Queta averaged 8.4 rebounds in 25.3 minutes and Robinson averaged 8.8 in 19.6. If either plays tonight, watch how the minutes are split. Our closing center storyline tracks the race.
3. Turnovers. Boston gave the ball away 16 times Thursday and Cleveland scored 17 points off those turnovers. The reserves who ran the offense are young or new, so tonight is a useful second look at ball security.
Injuries and availability
Boston's bundle shows no report yet on who plays tonight. On Thursday, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta and Ron Harper Jr. did not play, listed as a coach's decision in the box score. Rest was the reason reported by the Boston Herald's Zack Cox for Tatum, George, White and Queta.
For Philadelphia, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported Dominick Barlow (back), Anfernee Simons (right hamstring) and Adem Bona (left foot) are not expected to play in the Brooklyn and Boston games. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Ariel Hukporti has a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon.
Last results
Boston beat Cleveland 124-113 on Thursday. Philadelphia beat New York 120-97 on October 5 and lost 114-108 at Brooklyn on Thursday. Preseason results do not count toward season stats.
Our Take
Boston's rebounding edge looks more repeatable than its shooting. The Celtics made 41 of 99 shots, 41%, on Thursday and still won by 11 because they took 7 more shots than Cleveland (99 to 92), helped by 21 offensive boards to 6. Every center on the roster rebounds: Robinson averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds a game last season in 19.6 minutes and Queta averaged 3.0 in 25.3. If Boston keeps that up with its main rotation, it can win games on a bad shooting night.
Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m. ET at TD Garden, on NBA TV. The Celtics open the regular season on October 20 at Detroit.
Sources: CelticsBlog, CelticsBlog box score recap, Boston Herald (Cox, as cited in the injury report feed), ESPN (McMenamin, Charania), NBA TV schedule via ESPN.