Boar HeadThe Celtics travel to Charlotte to play back-to-back games against the Hornets. The Celtics suffered their first loss of the season against the Indiana Pacers, the Celtics' Eastern Conference final opponent. Charlotte is 2-2 this season, winning against Houston and Toronto and losing to Atlanta and Miami.

This is the first meeting between these two teams this season. They will meet again in back-to-back games on Saturday, also in Charlotte. They will complete the series on April 11th and 13th in Boston. The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season, winning their only game in Boston and winning one and losing one in Charlotte. The Celtics are 77-46 overall against the Hornets and 36-26 in games in Charlotte.

The Celtics remained mostly unchanged in the offseason, returning their entire roster and only losing Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They added Baylor Scheierman, who was the 30th pick in the draft, and signed second-round pick Anton Watson to a two-way contract. They also put a few chips on their shoulder after a few Olympic snubs.

The new owner of the Charlotte Hornets has been busy over the offseason hiring a new head coach, general manager and team president. Former Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee is the Hornets' new head coach. The team recruited French forward Tidjane Salaón at No. 6 and KJ Simpson at No. 42. They also signed center Taj Gibson and guard Seth Curry as free agents.

For the Celtics, Al Horford will miss the first half of the game due to rest. I suspect Luke Kornet will start in his place. They will also once again be without Kristaps Porzingis, who is still recovering from offseason ankle surgery. The Hornets will be without DaQuan Jeffries, who is out with a hand injury, and Mark Williams, who is out with a foot injury. Neither has played so far this season. Brandon Miller is questionable with a glute injury.

Likely Celtics starters

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PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Luke Kornet

Celtics reserves
Payton Pritchard
Sam Hauser
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh

2-way player
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

Injuries/losses
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) is out
Al Horford (break) is out

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely Hornets starters

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PG: LaMelo Ball
SG: Seth Curry
SF: Josh Green
PF: Miles Bridges
C: Nick Richards

Hornet reserves
Grant Williams
Nick Smith, Jr
Cody Martin
Vasa Micic
Three men
Tidjane Salaun
Taj Gibson

2-way player
Moussa diabate
KJ Simpson
Jared Rhoden

Injuries/losses
DaQuan Jeffries (distribute).
Mark Williams (foot) is out
Brandon Miller (gluteus) questionable

Head coach
Charles Lee

Key Matches

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  Jrue holiday
  
  

  Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
  

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  LaMelo Ball
  
  

  Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
  

Jrue Holiday vs. LaMelo Ball
Ball has played very well this season, averaging 28.5 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He shoots 42.7% from the field and 37.5% from distance. It will be difficult to slow him down, but if anyone can, it's the Celtics' defensive backcourt.

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  Payton Pritchard
  
  

  Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
  

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  Three men
  
  

  Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
  

Payton Pritchard vs. Tre Mann
This is a clash of key substitutes off the bench, both of whom shoot three-pointers very well. Mann is averaging 20.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 44.6% from the field and 42.9% from distance. Pritchard is averaging 16.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 45.6% from the field and 46.9% from distance.

Honorable mention
Jayson Tatum vs. Miles Bridges
Tatum is coming off a game in which he scored 37 points but shot just 40% from the field and 27.8% from distance on 18 attempts. The Celtics need him to be more efficient in this game. Bridges averages 15 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1 block per game. He shoots 39.6% from the field and 25% from distance.

Key to the game
defense – Defense is always the key to victory. It was a lack of defense that gave the Pacers a 23-point gap, and it was good defense that got them back into the game and forced overtime. The Celtics rank 11th with a defensive rating of 111.5. The Hornets are ranked 29th with a defensive rating of 118.7. The Hornets are fourth with 118.5 points per game. The Celtics rank 1st in 3-point attempts at 42.4% and 2nd in 3-point percentage at 40.7%. The Hornets rank 4th with 44 three-point attempts per game and 5th in 3-point percentage at 39.2%. The Celtics have to protect the Hornets, especially on the perimeter.

rebound – Rebounding is important to give the Celtics more possession and limit their opponents' possession. The Celtics average 43 rebounds per game (18th), while the Hornets average 48.3 rebounds per game (3rd). Rebounding requires effort and the Celtics will have to put in extra effort to beat the Hornets in rebounding. The Hornets rank first with 22.8 second-chance points per game and the Celtics need to limit that by trying harder to grab rebounds.

Maximum effort for 48 minutes – The Celtics' first three-quarter performance against the Pacers left much to be desired, landing them in a 23-point hole. They finally found some energy and commitment in the 4th quarter and fought back to force overtime. The Celtics' performance in the last two games has been good at times and not so good at times. The Celtics need to be at their best on the boards and on defense throughout the entire game, not just a quarter or two.

Bank game – The Hornets have three players on the bench who are shooting over 40% from beyond the arc. Tre Mann (20.5 points, 42.9% from three), Cody Martin (11.5 points, 42.1% from three) and Grant Williams (10.3 points, 47.4% from three) The Celtics Reserves need to come in and play hard on the defensive end to limit their 3-point shooting. They also have to perform on offense.

X factors
On the way – The Celtics are playing their fourth road game this season. The Celtics face the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd, and they cannot allow those distractions to affect their focus on the game. On the other hand, having lost their last game due to a poor performance on their part, they have the motivation to compensate for the distractions of the away game.

Coaching – Charles Lee helped lead the Celtics to their 18th championship as an assistant coach. He is now head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. I'm sure these two coaches share some coaching philosophies, including the strategy of shooting a lot of threes. Which coach will emerge as the winner here?

Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Each team calls the game differently. Some call it “tight” and demand every little contact, while others allow more physical play. Some prefer the home team, while others consider both sides to be equal. The Celtics must adapt to the way the referees call the game and not allow no-calls and bad calls to affect their focus on the game.

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