Live blog: Celtics’ last preseason scrimmage vs. Rockets

8:16 p.m., 6:55 to go in 1st — This is the danger of the Rockets. A quick 12-3 run has erased a 10-0 start. This could happen even against the Celtics regulars. Matt Langone of the Lowell Sun will be joining the proceedings shortly.

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8:07 p.m. — Stevens is resting his regulars tonight, while the Rockets are playing it fairly straight with their main men. That’s a clear mismatch in favor of one of the league’s most explosive teams.

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8 p.m. — Tacko Tuesday! Celtics expect to give Tacko Fall some extended minutes tonight. He may not be a part of coach Brad Stevens’ rotation in the playoffs, and it’s unclear how much he will go in the seeding round. The 7-5 rookie project played his college ball not far from the bubble at Central Florida.

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Welcome to the Herald’s live blog of the Celtics vs. the Houston Rockets. It’s the last warmup from the Orlando bubble at Walt Disney World before eight seeding games begin for the 22 assembled NBA teams.

The Celtics will be tested right out of the box Friday night at 6:30 p.m., matching up with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 53-12 Milwaukee Bucks. Yes, we had to look up the spelling and check it four times.

A couple of things you may see tonight:

1. Kemba Walker. The PG only went 9 minutes against Phoenix in a 117-103 scrimmage win Sunday. If the Celtics are going to make a deep postseason run, they need Walker at or near 100 percent. He dealt with a balky left knee before the coronavirus shutdown.
2. Running and gunning. That’s Houston’s game … like baseball’s “3 outcomes” approach of a walk, a homer or a strikeout, the Rockets want 3-pointers, layups or to go to the foul line. They committed to small-ball behind league scoring leader James Harden (34.4 ppg) and running mate Russell Westbrook.
3. The Rockets are 2-0 against the Celtics this year.
4. Without an inside presence, we likely won’t be able to tell if the Celtics have been working on interior defense. In an opening scrimmage loss to Oklahoma City, the Thunder torched Boston inside.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2X6NgMu