Celtics-Pacers preview: C's backcourt key vs. Indiana

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BOSTON – When there’s talk of the top young backcourts in the NBA, seldom do Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart’s names come up.

And for good reason.

While they have shown the promise of being good players, rare have they been able to put their immense talents on display at the same time at both ends of the floor.

That’s why Monday’s 116-104 win at Charlotte was so important. Not only did it bolster Boston’s hopes of getting to the playoffs, but the win was fueled in large part by the starting backcourt with Bradley leading all scorers with 30 points and Smart tallying 14 points along with making a slew of high impact plays defensively.

And remember: this was the same backcourt that was among the many disappointments in Boston’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Celtics forward Gerald Wallace said both Bradley and Smart took the loss to the Clippers hard.

“They were kind of down on themselves about (the Clippers loss),” Wallace said after Boston’s win at Charlotte. “They kind of felt they had a bad game, they didn’t come out and compete. They knew (facing the Hornets) was a big game for us. They came out and did what we expected them to do.”

But Bradley understands that while he may not need to score 30 points for the Celtics to win, he as well as the rest of his teammates need to play well tonight against Indiana in order to move them closer to the only goal they have in mind which is to win enough games to get to the playoffs.

“We know that they are going to bring their all, just like Miami did and they (Charlotte) did (on Monday),” Bradley said. “We just have to come out and be the tougher team and we’ll get the win.”

Here are some other keys to tonight’s game:

 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Shot-making was a big key to Boston’s win at Charlotte on Monday. But the Pacers present challenges along those lines at just about every position on the floor. Opponents are shooting just 43.7 percent (the 4th-best mark in the NBA) against the Pacers this season and they are limiting opponents to 37.8 points in the paint per game which is 2nd in the league.

 

KEY MATCHUP

Tyler Zeller vs Roy Hibbert

Zeller has been a steady performer all season, doing so in relatively limited action. He has played in 74 games this season, but only seven times has he seen 30 or more minutes of action. Hibbert’s production has been down this season, but he remains one of the better defensive big men in the middle. Zeller’s face-up game will be important if he is to make an impact tonight.

 

KEY PLAYER

Isaiah Thomas

He has played OK since coming back from a lower back injury, but he seems due for one of those monster, 30-point nights that he’s more than capable of having. If he does that against a Pacers team that’s among the league’s best defensive clubs, Boston has to feel good about its chances of winning.

 

BY THE NUMBERS

42.9: That’s what teams have shot against the Pacers from 3-point range in their last 10 games which ranks dead-last in the NBA during that span. Boston could use a little help of late when it comes to 3-point shooting. In their last 10 games, Boston has shot just 30 percent on 3s which ranks 29th (out of 30 teams) in the NBA.

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