NBA Matchups: November 1

BOS @ CHA | ORL @ CLE | NYK @ DET | SAC @ ATL | CHI @ BKN | LAL @ TOR | IND @ NOP | DEN @ MIN | OKC @ POR

Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets

Team Totals:

Injury Report: Sam Hauser (P, back), Brandon Miller (Q, butt)

Celtics projected starters: Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford

Hornets projected starters: LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Josh Green, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards

Mazzulla quotes: Said they were a step behind on the Pacers and they just didn’t play their best, said they were trying some different lineups and that’s why they went with Pritchard, gave some credit to Mathurin for his play.

Lee quotes: Said they lost focus in the second quarter and were able to bounce back after, said Cody Martin really helped them on defense and even handled a bit on offense, said it’s “useful” that Tre can score so much and handle the ball for them, said their screening is why they have so many wide-open 3-pointers.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Celtics finally took the L on Wednesday with the Pacers running on them, and their offensive rating has dropped in every single game this year. That’s largely due to their 3P% dropping in every game, but they are still getting massive volume from the outside. So far for the Hornets on defense, they have been 27th in the league, and they really struggled in the last three games (TOR, MIA, and ATL). They have been hit inside more this year, and their 3-point defense has improved from last year (tracks from the preseason). Still, Boston should bomb away against their former assistant. The Boston defense has been really good at limiting 3-pointers as the eighth-best team at limiting C&S possessions. One area where the Celtics have gotten a lot worse this year has been in transition, but it’s a little tied to garbage time. They have actually also really struggled at the rim this year with the second-most points allowed (matchup skewed a bit). It’s still a surprise that the Hornets are just 16th in transition possessions per game, and they’re just 24th in offensive pace. You’d think the Celtics can keep them in check with the defenders they can throw at Melo.

*Jayson Tatum’s jump shooting has finally cooled off a bit to 1.15 PPP, and Tatum’s still not getting great rim frequency — he was doing that early last year. His matchup isn’t going to be all that great with the Hornets having some OK perimeter defenders. There’s not too much to say on these guys most days.

*The Hornets have been a bit subpar so far with their transition defense, which has been an area Jaylen Brown can shine. He may see a hobbled Brandon Miller, while it also could be Josh Green. Brown continues to get about as many minutes as JT, and he’s still not being priced like it. You could sell me on a JB game here.

*Guards haven’t really popped off too much against the Hornets, and it makes it really hard to play Jrue Holiday. We saw in the preseason that the Celtics were willing to let Payton Pritchard cut into Jrue, so it’s really tough to play Jrue right now. Derrick White has been a slightly bigger part of the offense, and the Celtics may use him more to go at LaMelo, so I kind of like him.

*Al Horford gets the best matchup with the Hornets getting destroyed by centers, but there’s just no ceiling here.

*LaMelo Ball has helped his team get it going on offense a bit, and the Hornets have a 122.8 O rating when he’s on the floor (119.5 D) to put him in the top five for O rating and bottom five for D rating among the 60 players with 33+ MPG. LaMelo is driving a bunch, but he’s still not generating too much volume at the rim. He did pop off against the Celtics last year with a 36/9/8 line, and the Boston defense doesn’t look as good right now. He might get another big one today.

*Brandon Miller’s Q tag affects the rest of these guys. We’re just not getting enough usage out of Miles Bridges either way, and Miller would put an even bigger squeeze on the usage. I also wouldn’t play Miller in his first game back.

*Nick Richards feels like he’s in a terrible spot here. The Celtics just don’t put enough pressure on the rim, and I’d expect a lot of Grant Williams to dictate how they can run defensive coverages.

*Tre Mann is just absurd with his role, as he’s one of the best driving players in the league with 7.8 points on his 13.5 drives. He will have some tough 1-on-1 matchups, but the Hornets may just wind up leaning into more offense. Plus, Lee seems to trust his defense right now.

Great matchups: Al Horford (tough play), Derrick White

Good matchups: Jaylen Brown, Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum

Bad matchups: Nick Richards

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