We saw the Celtics stumble a bit throughout December, finishing the month with a record of 8-6. However, they ended 2024 with a bang, defeating the Raptors with their biggest win of the season, a whopping 54-point win. Tonight they play their first game of the new year, a battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by their young star Anthony Edwards. Minnesota currently holds 8th place^Th The seeded team in the West is facing a disappointing season so far as they were the third-placed team^approx seeded and made it to the Western Conference finals last year.

After their success, they made an unexpected move and traded their longest-serving player, Karl Anthony Towns, to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Minnesota is still trying to work out the post-trade issues, but it seemed like they’ve found some rhythm lately. They were on a three-game winning streak before losing a hard-fought game to the Oklahoma City Thunder on the final day of 2024, thanks to an MVP-level performance from Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Tonight they will be hungry to get back on track against our Celtics.

How do the Celtics balance their offensive attack?

While his place in history is hotly debated, Rudy Gobert’s four Defensive Player of the Year awards and seven All-Defensive Team selections, the result of his elite shot blocking, are undisputed. He is averaging over 2 blocks per game in his 12-year career, although he is averaging 1.4 BPG this year, his lowest since his rookie year. But that doesn’t mean he’s any less dangerous in the team. The Celtics must try to drag Gobert to the edge as much as possible if they want to open up lanes.

This is usually easier when you have greats like Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Unfortunately for the Celtics, Porzingis will miss his No. 4 pick^Th Game in a row as he is out tonight. While Al still deserves some attention, he also needs to rediscover his rhythm from distance. In the last two games, Horford has made just one measly three-pointer out of his 16 attempts. That won’t be enough against a team like Minnesota, especially since he’s the only big player available for Boston tonight.

To add insult to injury (or perhaps injury to insult?), Jaylen Brown was ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury. Jaylen is arguably the Celtics’ best in-and-out player, perhaps second only to Jayson Tatum. Brown is relentless when attacking the rim and is always a threat from deep, which is something Boston will sorely miss tonight. In their last matchup, the Celtics scored just 30 of their 107 points in the game while Jaylen made seven three-pointers in 10 attempts. With him and Kristaps missing, the Celtics could struggle to vary their offense.

Who will be tasked with guarding Anthony Edwards?

Not only are the Celtics suffering from the loss of Jaylen on offense, they are also losing their best defender for Minnesota’s star player. In the previous game, Brown guarded Edwards for more than seven minutes, by far the most time on the team. Jaylen held Ant to just 3 points, 4 assists and 2 turnovers on 1/4 shooting. The next three most frequent defenders were Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, who combined to only guard Edwards under 7 minutes. Together they held Ant to 9 points and 1 assist on 3/13 shooting.

However, with fewer elite defenders, it becomes easier to find matchups. Ant had the most success when defended by either Al Horford or Xavier Tillman, scoring 15 points on 6/10 shooting. In all likelihood, he’ll try to attack Boston’s big men again tonight. The Celtics need to commit on defense and we’ll see if they continue to change things up when Jaylen is out of the lineup.

Will Boston lose out defensively?

Minnesota had a great year behind the arc, shooting 37.2% from three as a team, currently ranked 9th^Th in the league. They also do this at high volume, with an average of 40 3PA per game, ranking 6th^Th in the league. This is an increase of 22.4% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, they are averaging 45.9 2PA per game this season, which ranks them 28th^Th in the league. With nearly half of the Timberwolves’ shot attempts coming from behind the arc, we can see the Celtics huddling on the perimeter and putting the Wolves in their place. With Kristaps out tonight, it could also make it more tempting for Minnesota to attack, although the Celtics will need someone to at least challenge shots when the Wolves come into the game.