Game Preview - Maine vs. Indiana - Jan. 14, 2024

Game details:   

Matchup: Maine Celtics (3-4) vs. Indiana Mad Ants (4-3)   

Location: Portland Expo; Portland, Maine  

Tip-off: 2:00 PM EST   

Streaming: NBC Sports Boston, NBA TV 

The Maine Celtics ended its four-game losing streak yesterday afternoon with a rousing win over the Indiana Mad Ants. The Celtics held the Mad Ants below 20 points in the first and third quarters, and despite shooting just 21.2% with a season-low seven made 3-pointers as a team, head coach Blaine Mueller’s squad got the stops they needed and forced its opponent into an even tougher night – the Mad Ants shot just 36% from the floor and 21.7% from downtown. 

Both teams could make an argument that today’s quick turnaround favors them. Maine is riding the momentum built less than 24 hours ago, while on the other hand, the Mad Ants can enact short-term memory and promptly wipe a 20-point loss from the slate. 

Breaking down the Mad Ants: 

With yesterday’s 92-point scoring output, Indiana’s offense dropped from #3 to #8 in the G League ranks as Maine knocked nearly four points off the Mad Ants’ offensive rating. Without Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard on assignment and with Two-Way players Oscar Tshiebwe and Kendall Brown with the Pacers, leaving the team without its three leading scorers, leading rebounder in Tshiebwe and one of its best defenders in Brown. 

Yesterday afternoon, Stephan Hicks was the player to step up and fill some of the void, dropping 16 points on 6-8 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench. Isaiah Wong, the lone Two-Way with Indiana this weekend, struggled to find a rhythm and finished with five points on 2-11 shooting – Wong’s performance is arguably the strongest testament to Maine’s defensive aggression and attentiveness in Saturday’s win. 

Keys to the game: 

Lock up: If the Celtics can replicate the defensive energy from the last time out, they’ll be in good shape regardless. Kyle Mangas managed to put up 14 points and eight assists but shot 4-11 overall and 0-6 from deep – odds are one of the G League’s better 3-point shooters makes a couple today. Taking Mangas out of the game was the only thing the Celtics defense couldn’t do – why not aim even higher than yesterday and limit Mangas even further? 

Back on the old grind: Dalano Banton has been recalled to the Boston Celtics and Neemias Queta was transferred back to the big club after both made the trek up and down Interstate 95 to play for Maine yesterday. It’s back to the usual lineup and depth chart for Maine. Keep an eye out for Jaiden Delaire – the rookie forward hasn’t appeared in a game since Nov. 19 after spraining his ankle. He could be in line for rotational minutes today.