Last season the Boston Celtics took a great deal of pride in winning on the road.
And the reason was obvious: they were pretty good at it.
Only seven teams had a better road record than Boston’s 20-21 mark a year ago.
No team understands how good the Celtics (1-1) can be on the road better than the Hornets (2-0) who have been beaten by Boston in their last three meetings in Charlotte.
Continuing along those lines won’t be easy, especially tonight against a Charlotte Hornets team that returns home after having shown some road Warrior-like tendencies of their own by opening the season with road wins at Milwaukee and Miami, respectively.
And while the season is still very early, Charlotte showed some serious resiliency over the weekend.
The Heat led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter on Friday, only for the Hornets to rally and eventually take a double-digit lead of their own after a Nicolas Batum 3-pointer that put them ahead 94-84 with 2:49 to play. Charlotte would eventually hold on for a 97-91 win.
Boston Celtics
Charlotte’s second unit appears to be one of their strengths this season. In the win over Miami, the Hornets had four double-digit scorers coming off the bench which included former UConn star Jeremy Lamb who had 16 points and eight rebounds.
“My biggest challenge is doing it every night,” Lamb told Fox Sports Southeast Basketball analyst Stephanie Ready shortly after Friday night’s win. “I have to bring it on both ends.”
The Celtics will naturally adopt a similar mindset as they try and get back on track after a disappointing loss at Chicago Thursday night.
Rebounding has been problematic through Boston’s first two games, but they may have one less 7-footer to worry about around the basket tonight. Roy Hibbert left Friday’s game against Miami with a soreness in his right knee. It is unclear if he will suit up and play tonight against the Celtics.
But the Celtics have their own health issues to worry about.
Kelly Olynyk (right shoulder) is still on the mend from offseason surgery. He’s expected to be back sometime in the middle of November.
Marcus Smart suffered a left ankle sprain injury on Oct. 19 that’s expected to keep him sidelined for at least four games with a possible return Nov. 3 at Cleveland.