NBA Matchups: October 25

Boston Celtics (back end) at Charlotte Hornets (back end)

Team Totals: Celtics 113, Hornets 112

Injury Report: Both teams on a B2B

Celtics projected starters: Marcus Smart, Dennis Schroder, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams (Note: Horford could sit in B2B)

Hornets projected starters: LaMelo Ball, Kelly Oubre, Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, Mason Plumlee (Note: Hayward could sit in the B2B)

Udoka quotes: Said Horford and Time Lord complement each other very well, said they were able to keep Horford under his 30-minute cap, said Grant Williams earned his role because he’s shot it so much better and he’s in great shape, said Jaylen Brown’s knee was a problem last year and Brown “didn’t feel great” yesterday.

Borrego quotes: Said he went with Ish and LaMelo told him to “Ride out Ish” because Ish was hot, said the depth of the team can lead to a different guy going off every night.

Stats and Notes: 

*It sounds like Brown is going to miss, so that’s Jayson Tatum’s music. Last season, Tatum put up 29/8/5 per 36 without Brown on the floor, and he’ll get a pretty good matchup against either Gordon Hayward or Miles Bridges. The concerning news is Tatum is freezing as a shooter at just 14.3% on his pullup jumpers to start the year. The Hornets were one of the worst teams at stopping 3-point shooters last year, so this might be the day he busts out. Plus, the Hornets are flying in pace at 104.7 to rank first in the Eastern Conference.

*Yeah, we’re not feeling James Borrego right now. After the first game, he said he didn’t play LaMelo enough, so naturally on Sunday he didn’t let LaMelo close the game because LaMelo said to go with Ish. As great as LaMelo’s role is right now, not having that high-end minutes upside is a killer.

*Miles Bridges is on one right now with his usage rate jumping to 22.7 from 17.0 last year, and he’s even been unassisted on 30.8% of his makes (24.6% last year). The Hornets are playing fast when he’s out there at a 106.1 pace. Borrego also played him more in B2B games last year compared to rest games. It’s going to be really tough to play Gordon Hayward in a B2B after previous comments of him getting managed this year. With Rozier out, Bridges offers big upside.

*Not great with Time Lord and Horford so far. There’s a pretty good chance Horford sits to possibly open up the Lord, though. Williams has only taken one shot in 23 minutes next to Horford so far this year with just four boards, one steal, and one block. Small sample, but yikes!

Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers