Fire and Ice: A 2K22 and Beyond Boston Celtics MyNBA

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum quickly gets the ball up the court to swingman Jaylen Brown.

by Edward Kincade | October 20, 2021
BOSTON, MA

Both the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks had several months to think about their disappointing first round exits from the playoffs. The Knicks made a few major changes to their roster while the Celtics focused on enhancing the team's depth. Interestingly enough, the Knicks signed two players that had played for the Celtics last season in guards Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier.

The newest additions to the Knicks did not have the impact they would have imagined. Walker and Fournier were a combined 11-of-33 for 31 points. The new look backcourt of the Knicks did shoot better from beyond the arc though, drilling 7-of-17 three-pointers. Unfortunately, third-year swingman R.J. Barrett was quiet on a night that the offense really needed a boost.

Meanwhile for the Celtics, ninth-year point guard Dennis Schroder faired a little bit better in his debut. Schroder finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes. Schroder was one of three players to score in double figures for the Celtics. The other two players were Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The pair of All-Star wings looked great in the season opening game. Tatum recorded his first double-double of the season by grabbing 12 rebounds to go with his game-high 26 points. Twelve of Tatum's 26 points came in the fourth quarter as the Celtics closed the game. As for Brown, he had a big quarter as well. In the third, Brown scored 12 of his 25 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Knicks forward Julius Randle also had a big third quarter scoring 10 of his 12 points in the frame.

In the end, the Knicks just did not have enough offense to compete with the Celtics. The Knicks bench scored 29 points on 38 percent shooting. Veteran points guard Derrick Rose, who averaged 12 points on 44.5 percent shooting last season only had nine points on 4-of-11 shooting. One of the few bright spots for the Knicks was center Mitchell Robinson. The seven foot tall center had six of the team's eight blocks.

The Celtics will try to build a win streak when they head home to TD GArden to play the Toronto Raptors while the Knicks will head south to Florida for a game against the Orlando Magic.

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Boston Celtics (1-0) at New York Knicks (0-1)
Oct 20, 2021 1 2 3 4 Final Boston 26 25 22 24 97 New York 17 22 22 21 82 Top Performers Boston Celtics J. Tatum (SF): 26 pts (11-23 fg), 12 reb, 3 ast, 4 to J. Brown (SG): 25 pts (11-19 fg), 8 reb New York Knicks E. Fournier (SG): 16 pts (4-8 3pt), 5 reb J. Randle (PF): 12 pts (6-12 fg), 4 reb, 6 ast	Team Stats Comparison BOS NYK FG Made-Att 40-81 33-85 3PT Made-Att 11-25 11-36 FT Made-Att 6-7 5-8 Rebounds 56 41 Assists 21 18 Turnovers (Pts Off) 10 (0) 4 (11) Steals 3 8 Blocks 4 8
Boston Celtics STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS J. Tatum (SF) 36 11-23 3-8 1-1 12 3 0 0 4 26 J. Brown (SG) 31 11-19 3-6 0-0 8 2 0 1 2 25 G. Williams (PF) 30 3-5 2-4 0-0 6 2 0 0 0 8 M. Smart (PG) 29 2-7 1-1 0-0 7 5 0 2 0 5 R. Williams lll (C) 24 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 0 0 1 0 3 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS D. Schroder 29 5-12 0-2 0-0 5 4 0 0 2 10 J. Parker 19 2-3 1-2 4-4 3 3 0 0 0 9 E. Kanter 25 2-3 0-0 0-0 7 0 1 0 2 4 P. Pritchard 12 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 4 R. Langford 10 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 3 J. Hernangomaez -- DID NOT PLAY (Coach's Decision)-- A. Nesmith -- DID NOT PLAY (Coach's Decision)-- S. Hauser -- DID NOT PLAY (Coach's Decision)--
New York Knicks STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS E. Fournier (SG) 24 6-15 4-8 0-0 5 1 0 0 0 16 K. Walker (PG) 28 5-18 3-9 2-2 1 2 0 0 1 15 J. Randle (PF) 31 6-12 0-4 0-0 4 6 2 0 0 12 M. Robinson lll (C) 30 3-4 0-0 1-2 7 0 1 6 0 7 R.J. Barrett (SF) 21 1-5 1-2 0-2 4 1 1 1 1 3 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS D. Rose 27 4-11 1-3 0-0 3 4 3 0 0 9 O. Toppin 17 3-8 1-5 0-0 1 1 0 0 1 7 I. Quickley 15 2-4 0-1 2-2 2 0 0 0 0 6 A. Burks 29 2-7 1-4 0-0 5 3 0 0 1 5 T. Gibson 18 1-1 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 1 0 2 T.J. Simms -- DID NOT PLAY (Coach's Decision)-- Q. Grimes -- DID NOT PLAY (Coach's Decision)-- M. McBride -- DID NOT PLAY (Coach's Decision)--

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by Ella Adubato | October 20, 2021
DETROIT, MI

The revamped Chicago Bulls marched into Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night and soundly defeated the Detroit Pistons 108-95. Veteran swingman DeMar DeRozan led the offense with 35 points and eight rebounds. DeRozan was followed by guard Zach LaVine who had 21 points and five assists. For a team with as many new players as they've acquired, they managed to build chemistry very quickly. All 35 of their field goals were assisted on with all but one player recording an assist.

The Pistons gave a valiant effort with second-year forward Saddiq Bey leading the cause. Bey ended the game with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Veteran forward Jerami Grant was strangely ineffective during the game finishing with five points on 2-of-9 shooting. As a team, the Pistons shot poorly completing less than 40 percent of their attempts.

BOX SCORE

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Matchup Preview *|* October 21, 2021
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Los Angeles Clippers (0-0, 0-0 Away)		Golden State Warriors (0-1, 0-0 Home)
Projected Starters Reggie Jackson Point Guard Stephen Curry Eric Bledsoe Shooting Guard Jordan Poole Paul George Small Forward Andrew Wiggins Nicolas Batum Power Forward Draymond Green Ivica Zubac Center Kevon Looney Injury Report K. Leonard/Torn Right MCL (June 2022) J. Wiseman/Torn Right Meniscus (March 2022) S. Ibaka/Pinched Nerve in the Back (early November) K. Thompson/Torn Right Achilles (January 2022) M. Morris Sr./Sore Left Knee (mid November) Game Notes LAST MEETING: (Mar. 11, 2021) Los Angeles Clippers 130 - Golden State Warriors 104 SPREAD CONSENSUS PICK: Golden State Warriors

by Bear Gregory | October 21, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO, CA

When the Los Angeles Clippers take on the Golden State Warriors play on Thursday night the players not suiting up for the game will be a big story. For the Clippers, they will be without forward Kawhi Leonard. The two-time NBA champion is working on returning from a torn MCL. Forward Marcus Morris Sr. and center Serge Ibaka will also be out with a knee and back injury, respectively.

The Warriors, who had lost the first game of the season to the Los Angeles Lakers, will be without five-time All-Star Klay Thompson. Two major injuries have kept the sharpshooting swingman out of basketball since June of 2019. While Thompson's three-point shooting is sorely missed, the Warriors have added a number of capable shooters to the roster. The first overall pick from the 2014 draft in forward Andrew Wiggins has improved from beyond the arc as he averaged .380 last season. Otto Porter was signed during the offseason and the veteran forward has a career average of .403 from deep.

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by Bear Gregory | October 21, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO, CA

The Los Angeles Clippers, minus forward Kawhi Leonard, got a convincing win over the Golden State Warriors. Paul George led the way with 33 points and was one of seven players to score in double figures. Despite shooting 41 percent from the floor, the Clippers made an effort to get to the free throw line. Out of the team's 31 attempts, point guard Reggie Jackson led the way with nine attempts.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry bounced back back from his underwhelming performance against the Los Angeles Lakers by scoring a game-high 37 points. Curry also made a game-high seven three-pointers on the night and the Warriors shot 19-of-52 from beyond the arc. However, some struggled. Andrew Wiggins missed both of his attempts while Juan Toscano shot 3-of-14 from deep.

BOX SCORE

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Matchup Preview *|* October 22, 2021
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Phoenix Suns (1-0, 0-0 Away)		Los Angeles Lakers (1-0, 1-0 Home)
Projected Starters Chris Paul Point Guard Russell Westbrook Devin Booker Shooting Guard Avery Bradley Mikal Bridges Small Forward LeBron James Jae Crowder Power Forward Anthony Davis Deandre Ayton Center Dwight Howard Injury Report D. Saric/Torn Left ACL (June 2022) K. Nunn/Bruised Right Knee (February 2022) F. Kaminsky lll/Lower Right Leg Stress Fracture (February 2022)) T. Ariza/Right Foot Surgery (late December) T. Horton-Tucker/Right Hand Surgery (mid November) Game Notes LAST MEETING: (Western Conference First Round, Game 6) Phoenix Suns 113 - Los Angeles Lakers 100 SPREAD CONSENSUS PICK: Los Angeles Lakers

by Marie Brown | October 22, 2021
LOS ANGELES, CA

The Phoenix Suns are looking to follow their season-opening win against the Denver Nuggets by beating the Los Angeles Lakers. Since the Suns deploy a small lineup, the Lakers sixe will pose some problems. At the power forward position, the Suns start 6'6" Jae Crowder. Despite being a great defender, the veteran forward is at a disadvantage when going against Lakers power forward Anthony Davis.

At 6'10" and weighing 253 pounds, Davis is much bigger than many of the power forwards in today's NBA. That gives him a big advantage around the rim and should help the Lakers in rebounding as well. With veteran big man Dwight Howard as part of the Lakers frontcourt, that gives this team an intimidating presence in the paint.

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