The Boston Celtics (4-6, 2-2 away) visit the Memphis Grizzlies (10-2, 6-0 home) on Friday night at FedEx Forum (8 p.m., CSN). Here's what to watch for:
• Talent runs deep: The Grizzlies own the best record in the NBA and haven't lost at home. Memphis has quality depth and showcased that on Wednesday night by hanging around in Toronto despite missing five players due to illness. "[The Grizzlies are] good and very deep. Even [Wednesday] night, five guys are sick, and they had a five-point lead late in the game at Toronto ... These guys are playing really well," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "The bigs are obvious with [Marc] Gasol and [Zach] Randolph, those are go-to guys, and they feed them in the post time and again. They both can pass, they both can play. And then I think they’ve got a lot of guys that fit their roles exceptionally well. And Mike Conley is probably having an All-Star-type of year. So it's a heck of a challenge." The Grizzlies listed seven players as questionable for Friday's game due to the virus around the team.
• Griz at a glance: The Grizzlies rank fifth in defensive rating, allowing only 97.8 points per 100 possessions (and a mere 91.8 points per game). Despite their size, Memphis ranks in the back third of the league in defensive rebound rate (23rd), but limits its turnovers (6th in turnover percentage) and is a top-10 team in both second-chance points and points in the paint.
• Matching the physicality: Stevens lauded Brandon Bass for his game-changing physicality in Wednesday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics will need much more of that on Friday. "[Memphis has] got physical guys," said Stevens. "Sometimes you can increase that physicality, you can increase your toughness, you can increase your strength by the weight room. Sometimes it’s just about signing physical guys. They’ve got some physical dudes in that locker room, that’s for sure." Added Stevens: "I think the biggest thing that stands out with these guys is their physicality, just generally. And part of that is because they play really hard and they're really well-coached, and part is because they’re big, physical guys. Randolph and Gasol are big guys. Kosta Koufos is a big guy. Tony Allen's a physical 3, we all know that. So it's a nice basketball team, and the physicality plays a big role for them."