Jazz (3-4) at Celtics (7-1) 11/11

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 

Utah Jazz (3-4)  at  Boston Celtics (7-1)
Wednesday, November 11
7:30 PM ET
Game #9, Home Game #5
TV: CSN HD, FSN,  NBA LP 754,755
TD Banknorth Garden




Probable Starters

Probable Starters
PG:   Rajon Rondo 10.6 PPG 9.0 APG  3.1 SPG
SG:   Ray Allen 14.8 PPG 3.0 APG  .343 3P%
SF:    Paul Pierce 18.8 PPG 5.0 RPG  4.1 APG
PF:    Kevin Garnett 12.9  PPG 8.3 RPG  1.4 BPG
C:     Kendrick Perkins 9.5 PPG 6.0 RPG  2.4 BPG

Reserves
Eddie House
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Shelden Williams
Brian Scalabrine
Lester Hudson
Bill Walker 

Injuries:
Tony Allen (ankle) out
Big Baby Davis (thumb) out





Probable Starters
PG   Deron Williams  24.2 PPG  9.8 APG   0.8SPG
SG:  Ronnie Brewer   12.8 PPG   1.3 APG   .250 3P%
SF   Andrei Kirilenko    12.2  PPG  4.5  RPG 3.5 APG
PF    Carlos Boozer    15.7 PPG   11.2 RPG  .5 BPG
C     Mehmet Okur  14.8  PPG  6.8 RPG  0.6 BPG

Reserves
Paul Millsap
Wes Matthews
Kyrylo Fesenko
Ronnie Price
Kosta Koufos
Eric Maynor

Injuries
Kyle Korver (knee)  out
CJ Miles  (thumb)  out
Matt Harpring  (knee)  out 
Deron Williams suffered a bruised calf in Monday's game and will be a game time decision for this game.   

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs  Deron Williams 
Rondo has yet another tough matchup with one of the top young PG's in the league.   Williams is strong and quick and Rondo will need to be aggressive on both ends of the court. 

  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Andrei Kirilenko
Paul Pierce plays well against Kirilenko. Who can forget the game in which playing Pierce reduced Kirilenko to tears?  Paul Pierce will be rested and ready to go for this game and should be able to take advantage of this matchup. 

Team Connections
Matt Harpring played for Doc Rivers during the 1999-2000 season in Orlando
Mehmet Okur and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit during the 2003-04 season

Game Notes
• Celtics and Jazz split the season series 1-1 in the 2008-09 season
• Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 20.0 points per game last season
• Paul Millsap led the Jazz with 20.0 points per game against the Celtics last season
• The Celtics are 6-4 against the Jazz since the 2004-05 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 44-35 with the Celtics 28-11 at home 

Keys to the Game
Defense  The Celtics didn't show much of their trademark defense in their last 3 games, but they are rested and have had a couple of days of practice and should be regrouped and ready to go.  We should see the lock down defense once again in this game. 

Rebound
While the Celtics have been able to out-rebound their opponents for the most part, they are near the bottom of the league in offensive rebounds.  They need to put out more effort on the boards to limit second chance points for the Jazz. 

Bench
The Celtics have a deep bench and a talented one,  and the Celtics will need them to continue to contribute in order to allow the starters to rest while still maintaining or widening a lead.  The bench will be the difference between a close game and a blowout.
 
Don't Over-rely on the 3
The Celtics have at times relied too much on the 3 point shot. They have players who can slash to the basket and players who can score inside and if the 3's aren't falling they need to go to the basket. 

[MattG12]

Tommy Point FCF!

I needed to see this more than I usually do.
This break is taking forever.

[celticinorlando]

we need a defensive performance this week...so far rondo has battled mo williams, paul, nash and now williams....he needs to be on wednesday

[ToppersBsktball10]

TP

[RebusRankin]

Hopefully our D returns from vacation.

[Drucci]

Hopefully our D returns from vacation.

Agreed. I'm really eager to watch this game since it will give us an indication about whether the missing D was due to the fatigue and the hard schedule or if it was just the team being lazy.

Hopefully it will be the first answer. Anyway I'm expecting a win, and a blowout would be nice to rest our guys a little more. TP FL and go Celtics!

[Bahku]

Hope the team doesn't miss the bus this time.

[xmuscularghandix]

TP FL,

I'm siked to get back on the grind.

[thirstyboots18]

Thanks, FL.  Agree.  Use the 3 if it is working but be careful not to "rely" on it if it isn't.  Paul and Marquis...slash in and cash in.

[ACF]

TP

[KCattheStripe]

Wes Matthews drops 12 in 12 but the Jazz lose by 10.

[Cman]

TP

[ma11l]

Our bench should be able to have a big game tonight.  They will either be matched up against the bad Utah bench or starters with tired legs.  Either way I think they will provide the difference in this one.

[RAcker]

Hopefully our D returns from vacation.

Agreed. I'm really eager to watch this game since it will give us an indication about whether the missing D was due to the fatigue and the hard schedule or if it was just the team being lazy.

Hopefully it will be the first answer. Anyway I'm expecting a win, and a blowout would be nice to rest our guys a little more. TP FL and go Celtics!

These are similar thoughts to mine.  I don't care about the offensive production at this point.  I want to see a good Jazz team held to 70 something points and victory.  Sure, a blowout is always nice, but that is not my concern as much as defensive domination is.

[pengaloo]

It looks like Deron Williams' back issues have gotten worse and backup pg Ronnie Price is still out with a sprained toe. Rondo will be going against rookie Eric Maynor who has played a total of 16 minutes this season. I think this will be a true test of whether Rondo is no longer playing down to the level of his competition.