Game Preview - #2 Maine vs. #6 Delaware - April 4, 2024

Game details:                           

Matchup: Maine Celtics (20-13) vs. Delaware Blue Coats (19-15) 

Location: Portland Expo; Portland, Maine 

Tipoff: 7:00 PM EST    

Streaming: ESPNews 

For the second-straight year, the Maine Celtics are in the G League Playoffs. 

In head coach Blaine Mueller’s first season at the helm, the Celtics closed the regular season on a 10-2 stretch, including a six-game win streak, to finish at 21-13. Trailing by 10 heading into the final frame of the season finale, Maine limited the Texas Legends to just 11 fourth-quarter points and Jordan Walsh came in clutch at the line to seal the one-point win and secure a first-round bye plus homecourt advantage in the second round.  

Now, rather than having played a first-round game on Tuesday and hitting the road for the second-round, the Celtics had a week of practice at home prior to tomorrow’s matchup with the sixth-seeded Delaware Blue Coats. Maine took the season series with the Blue Coats three games to one, but the squad we’re seeing in the playoffs is a bit different than it was just under a month ago when Tony Snell buried the game-winner to complete a two-game sweep in Delaware. 

Breaking down the Blue Coats: 

The most notable difference between the Blue Coats squad Maine faced last month and the one headed to the Expo tomorrow is that Ricky Council IV and Jeff Dowtin Jr. will be with the team. Back in March, neither Two-Way guard was available to play against Maine while the Philadelphia 76ers dealt with the injury bug, but now that the big club is healthier and it’s time for the playoffs, Council and Dowtin are going to be factors. 

With Council and Dowtin leading the charge, the Blue Coats earned a 22-point wire-to-wire victory over the Indiana Mad Ants in the first round. As a team, Delaware shot 46.9% from downtown – Council and Dowtin accounted for five made threes, with Melvin Frazier Jr. adding five made 3-pointers all on his own. With no true point guard on the roster, Dowtin shoulders the responsibility as the initiator while Council handles the secondary playmaking and creation, giving them a formidable backcourt duo with size, scoring and versatility. 

The impact of losing Darius Bazley and Kenneth Lofton Jr. during the regular season is exacerbated against a big, tough, physical team like Maine. The Blue Coats also lack a true center on top of a true point guard – they ranked 12^th in offense on the season and don’t have the positional depth the Celtics boast at the one and five. With Neemias Queta, Kylor Kelley and James Banks III on the other side, perhaps the best shot-blocking and rebounding center lineup in the G League, the Blue Coats are going to need to execute at a high level and score hyper-efficiently while trying to replicate their performance against Indiana. 

The rebounding battle is rarely the sole determinant between a win or a loss, but whichever side claims the advantage has an upper hand in creating extra possessions (especially with offensive boards), which obviously can lead to a higher scoring output. Delaware was outrebounded 44-43 by Indiana – Maine outrebounded Delaware in all four matchups this season, eclipsing 50 total rebounds in each game. Not only did the Celtics beat the Blue Coats three times this season, but the only win that had a final score within 10 points was the overtime win on March 13. When the Celtics control the glass, they give themselves a significantly increased chance to win games. 

But, in the grand scheme of it all, there isn’t a ton for the Celtics to add or adjust at this point. Between the Showcase and regular season, Maine won 29 games – what got them to that point is going to be what helps them make a deep playoff run as well. Rebounding, defensive effort and attention to detail have been the keys all year.  

For today, there’s only one key to the game; do whatever it takes to win.