Celtics at Grizzlies
The Boston Celtics were hoping to earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, but an 0-3 week has put a damper on those dreams. The Celtics will be trying to salvage a win on their three-game road trip when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. The Grizzlies, like Boston earlier in the week, lost at New Orleans on Friday but have won nine straight at home.
The Celtics have suffered season-ending injuries to a pair of guards and may be without another on Saturday after Courtney Lee went down with a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 104-94 loss at Dallas. The Grizzlies are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot and are locked in a battle for positioning with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference. Memphis is 27-8 at home and would like to have homecourt advantage in the first round.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), SportSouth (Memphis)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (36-32): Boston fell just short at home against the streaking Miami Heat on Monday and lost on a tip-in at the buzzer at New Orleans on Wednesday. The Celtics put up less of a fight in dropping their third straight on Friday. Boston is four games behind the fourth-place Brooklyn Nets, 1 1/2 shy of the Atlanta Hawks in fifth and a half-game back of the sixth-place Chicago Bulls. With the No. 4 spot and homecourt advantage looking less like a reality, the Celtics need to avoid falling into eighth place and dealing with the Heat in the first round. They have a two-game cushion on the No. 8 Milwaukee Bucks. Lee, who has been starting alongside Avery Bradley in the backcourt since Rajon Rondo went down in January, said after Friday’s game that his ankle injury wasn’t serious and he is considered day-to-day.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (46-22): After holding off the Oklahoma City Thunder in an overtime win on Wednesday, Memphis was due for a letdown the next game and dropped a 90-83 decision at New Orleans. The Grizzlies were strangely dominated on the inside in that one but should have a distinct advantage up front against a Boston team that prefers to use Kevin Garnett at center in a smaller lineup. Zach Randolph is averaging 12.8 rebounds over the last five games and Marc Gasol is at 8.4 boards over that same span. Memphis is making a rare stop at home and will not play back-to-back games in its own building the rest of the regular season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The road team has taken six of the last seven in the series, including a 93-83 Grizzlies' triumph in Boston on Jan. 2.
2. Boston is 2-11 on the road against Western Conference teams.
3. Memphis PG Mike Conley has scored 20 or more points in each of the last three games.