NBA: GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS vs PHOENIX SUNS - January 1, 2:00 AM

[Mary C]

POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS: 

BOSTON CELTICS: 

PG | Marcus Smart 

SG | Jaylen Brown 

SF | Jayson Tatum 

PF | Al Horford 

C | Robert Williams III 

 

 

PHOENIX SUNS: 

PG | Chris Paul 

SG | Devin Booker 

SF | Mikal Bridges 

PF | Jae Crowder 

C | Deandre Ayton 

 

It’s Yellow vs. Green. West vs. East. We have an exciting match right on the first day of the year as the Phoenix Suns take on the Boston Celtics this Saturday, January 01, 2:00 AM (PHT), at the TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts. This matchup is the second time this season wherein the odds favored the Suns on their last matchup against each other. Will Boston even things out with Phoenix? Or will Phoenix once again dominate? 

It has been a relatively rough season for the Celtics (16-19), as most of their games resulted in several win-loss situations throughout the whole season. The team currently ranks 10 at the Eastern Conference and lost 3 straight games before heading into this matchup against the Suns. 

In the last 10 games of Boston, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been carrying the Celtics. Tatum is scoring an average of 25.6 points per game and 8.6 rebounds, while Brown is averaging 3.1 made three-pointers for the team. The stats and the team's performance are great; however, the team usually falls shorter than the other team's. The team only won three games in their last 10 games with three-straight losses before facing the Suns for the second time this NBA season. 

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns (27-7) remains one of the top teams in the Western Conference and is one of the most preferred teams to win this season's championship. However, the team is in a predicament as starting center Deandre Ayon and forward Jae Crowder was listed in the NBA's Covid-19 health and safety protocols earlier this week. 

Despite these conundrums, the Suns are still stronger than ever. The team is arguably one of the league's best defensive teams this season, which carried them to win most of their games and climbed the ranks of the Western Conference, and proved that they are worthy of being one of the top contenders to win the NBA Championship. 

The Suns' star player, Devin Booker, averages 23.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, while Cameron Johnson averages 14.7 points over the last 10 games of Phoenix. 

There is a good probability that the Celtics can break their losing streak in their upcoming match since the Suns might have a difficult time in their upcoming game against them because Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder might not play due to Covid-19. However, we are still betting that the Suns will win because most of their players are strong and great at defensive plays. Nevertheless, we believe that both teams will give us an exciting game to start the new year with a blast. So stay tuned, folks. 

Boston vs. Phoenix. Saturday, 01/01/21, 2:00 AM (PHT), at the TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts.