The Boston Celtics have stopped their slide and are on a two-game winning streak, the latest coming in a 104-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
Philadelphia is also starting to turn things around having won three of their last five games, including a 105-98 win over the Nuggets on Tuesday.
Projected Starting Lineups
Boston Celtics (18-30)
G Marcus Smart – 6.6 ppg, 3.5 apg
G Avery Bradley – 13.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg
F Evan Turner – 8.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg
F Jared Sullinger – 14.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg
C Kelly Olynyk– 11.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Philadelphia 76ers (11-39)
G Michael Carter-Williams –15.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 7.4 apg
G JaKarr Sampson – 4.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg
F Robert Covington – 12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg
F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – 9.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg
C Nerlens Noel – 8.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg
What to watch for:
Who plays with more intensity?
Boston is one of the worst defensive teams in the league (26th in the league allowing 102.9 points per game), while Philadelphia is the worst offensive team in the NBA (89.8 points per game). The Celtics can easily win this game if they play defense with a lot of intensity and desire to shut the Sixers down, while the Sixers can do the same thing if they play with a lot more focus on offense. Whoever can do that will win this game.
Prediction: Celtics win 99-97
Both teams are struggling, and both have this circled as a game they could potentially win. I think both teams will play hard because of that, but Boston has more veteran players that will make the plays necessary down the stretch to win the game.
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