Game Preview - Maine vs. Grand Rapids - Dec. 31, 2023

Game details:          

Matchup: Maine Celtics (2-0) vs. Grand Rapids Gold (1-0) 

Location: Portland Expo; Portland, Maine 

Tip-off: 1:00 PM EST        

Streaming: NBC Sports Boston, NBAGLeague.com 

Following the reset of team records across the league at the conclusion of the Showcase, the Maine Celtics hit the road and opened the regular season with a pair of victories over the Blue in Oklahoma City. 

Back at home for the regular season home opener, the Celtics are matched up with the Grand Rapids Gold for a Sunday matinee on New Year’s Eve. It’ll be quite the occasion at the sold-out Portland Expo this afternoon. 

Breaking down the Gold: 

The Gold will be without Two-Way forward Braxton Key and frequent assignment player Jalen Pickett today, but Hunter Tyson is down on assignment from Denver and both Jay Huff and Collin Gillespie are with Grand Rapids. Gillespie has played well in the G League, especially as of late – he dropped 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the Gold’s season-opening win over Westchester and notched a triple-double on Dec. 10 with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 17 assists. 

The calling cards for Grand Rapids are its 3-point shooting and tough defense. During the Showcase, the Gold ranked seventh in defense, bolstered by the fifth-most blocks per game – having the reigning G League Defensive Player of the Year in Huff will have that affect. On the other end, Grand Rapids was ninth in team 3-point percentage and 12^th in makes per game and the roster features some high-end shooters. Among players that played in at least 10 games during the Showcase, Andrew Funk had the fourth-most attempts per game at 10.1, shooting 39.1% on those looks. 

Keys to the game: 

Control the pace: The Gold tend to play more of a slow, methodical offense with Gillespie, Pickett and Will Ricardson picking apart defenses, which Maine doesn’t have a problem with. The tempo of this game will be key with how similar these teams are stylistically. 

The boards, yet again: Offensive rebounding might be Maine’s biggest strength as a team – impose that size and physicality on the Gold. James Banks III and Kylor Kelley are bigger and longer than the centers in most G League rotations. 

Play to the crowd: The noise levels at the expo has always been great on New Year’s Eve. Advantage; Celtics.