Gm8: Celtics @ Spurs (Sat 11/9 @ 5PM on TNT) WIN 135-115

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)


SAN ANTONIO -- The Boston Celtics close out their three-game road stretch against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday afternoon. Here are four things to watch.

1. The Spurs don’t blow out or get blown out.

San Antonio is 5-3 with a point differential of +2.4. The Spurs lost to the Clippers by six and beat the Wizards by two. Their biggest victory was a 17-point win over the Golden State Warriors (back when everyone was blowing out the Warriors), but their second-biggest win was nine over the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder. Their biggest loss was an eight-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

So far, the Spurs are just generally solid. They won’t blow you away, and they won’t get blown away. Beating them will likely come down to late-game execution.

2. Daniel Theis struggles with LaMarcus Aldridge.

The Celtics have gotten away with their small-ball lineups and Theis at center in part because Theis has made significant improvements as a rim protector this season. But Theis is still fairly undersized for the center position, and he has a tough matchup on Saturday -- LaMarcus Aldridge, whose size and touch from mid-range make him the type of big man Boston doesn’t have a ton of answers for on its roster.

Last year, Aldridge gave the Celtics 32 points in San Antonio, and with Aron Baynes hurt, a lot of those point came over Theis. Enes Kanter is already ruled out for Boston. Will the Celtics try more Robert Williams? More Vincent Poirier? Can Theis handle Aldridge’s skill set a little better now? The answer will be fascinating to watch.

3. The Spurs don’t get to the rim and don’t shoot 3-pointers.

As a team, the Spurs are 30th in shots at the rim and 29th in 3-pointers, per Cleaning the Glass. They are first, meanwhile, in both long mid-range shots and mid-range shots in general (third in short mid-range).

The Spurs, however, are third league-wide in accuracy at the rim and fifth from the mid-range. They aren’t making 3-pointers, but -- again -- they aren’t shooting them. San Antonio knows what it is and what it does well, and it doesn’t do the other stuff. That might not win them a championship with this roster, but it does make them somewhat formidable.

4. Is Javonte Green in the rotation now?

Green got minutes over Semi Ojeleye and Brad Wanamaker on Thursday against the Charlotte Hornets, and he finished with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting.

Is this a thing now? The case for keeping Green off the floor is getting weaker and weaker every time he gets minutes -- he looked great in Summer League, he looked great in the preseason, and now he looked great against a likely lottery team. Green just plays within his skill set and plays extremely hard. Given his physical tools, that might be enough to turn him into a productive rotation player for a playoff team.

The Celtics and Spurs tip off at 5 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Boston.