**Who**: Phoenix Suns (39-28) vs. Boston Celtics (44-23)
**When**: 4;30 pm Arizona Time
**Where**: TD Garden — Boston, Massachusetts
**Watch**: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports
The Phoenix Suns look to shake off their tough loss vs the Toronto Raptors as they travel to Boston. With this six-game road trip meaning a lot to the standings, they must take advantage of every contest. So far, the team is 2-1 on this trip, but with another back-to-back on the horizon, they must get a win here. This year, they played the Celtics on their home court, and it did not go their way. Both teams also dealt with injuries to key players, whereas now the injury report is a bit cleaner for this contest.
For the Celtics, they are looking to keep this rhythm going. Fueled by the motivation from Joe Mazzulla, they have not skipped a beat this year. Now adding Jayson Tatum back makes them an even more lethal juggernaut, one that the Suns want to dethrone on the road.
In this game, though, one thing that will be fun to watch is the stars playing against each other. Tatum has not played the Suns since 2024, and this game between him and Devin Booker should be another classic. Will Booker find his offensive groove in the building, and will he have his career high? Only time will tell for the Suns fans who anticipate a great game.
* Dillon Brooks – (Left Hand Fracture) - OUT
* Mark Williams – (Left Foot Third Metatarsal Stress Reaction) - OUT
* Nikola Vucevic - (Right Ring Finger Fracture) - OUT
One thing to watch for in this one is how the Suns continue to use the rookies in this matchup. With the Suns still having injuries to Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams, it is still evident that both Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach will see some time in this one. That being said, they are both coming off a great week, with Fleming having a career-high 3 blocks in the last game and going 3/3 from behind the arc.
He was so impressive that head coach Jordan Ott even trusted him to start the fourth quarter with the Suns in a close game. Not to mention, he has also seen plenty of minutes at the center position, playing some small-ball five. This is where he has been able to get these incredible blocks and continues to prove he deserves to be a part of this rotation when fully healthy.
With him going up against a scrappy Celtics team that has plenty of players fighting for spots like his, I only hope this brings the best out of the young wing. He has something to prove to the team and has some good matchups against Tatum and Brown to keep an eye on.
The big key to his game is going to be dominating the rebound game. Last time these two played, Phoenix was outrebounded 61-34, and it was a major factor in their loss. Only having 9 offensive rebounds compared to Boston’s 22 basically sealed the deal, as they dominated in paint scoring and second chances. This also all happened with no Brown and Tatum in their lineup. Baylor Scheierman and Neemias Queta had 24 boards on their own, which is alarming if the Suns as a team only had 10 more.
Making sure they can limit those second-chance opportunities for Boston while creating their own fast break in transition should be the plan to help them execute a much-needed victory.
The Suns get the revenge they need against a top-tier team in the Eastern Conference.
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