AT
Boston Celtics (2-0) at Cleveland Cavaliers (0-2)
Round 2 Game 3
Saturday, May 10
8:00 PM, ABC
Quicken Loans Arena 
Probable StartersPG 
Rajon Rondo PPG 11.4 RPG 4.30 APG 7.0 EFF + 16.78
SG 
Ray Allen PPG 14.3 RPG 3.20 APG 2.9 EFF + 12.44
SF 
Paul Pierce PPG 16.6 RPG 4.80 APG 4.3 EFF + 15.33
PF 
Kevin Garnett PPG 20.9 RPG 9.10 APG 3.8 EFF + 26.00
C 
Kendrick Perkins PPG 6.7 RPG 6.80 APG 0.4 EFF + 12.56
Off the Bench James Posey, Leon Powe, Sam Cassell, PJ Brown, Big Baby Davis, Tony Allen, Eddie House
Inactive: Brian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt
Injury ReportScott Pollard, ankle, out
Probable StartersPG 
Delonte West PPG 8.5 RPG 3.60 APG 4.6 EFF + 11.25
SG 
Wally Szczerbiak PPG 11.4 RPG 1.80 APG 1.8 EFF + 8.12
SF 
LeBron James PPG 26.5 RPG 8.90 APG 7.6 EFF + 25.75
PF 
Ben Wallace PPG 2.9 RPG 6.80 APG 1.4 EFF + 9.75
C 
Zydrunas Ilgauskas PPG 16.0 RPG 7.60 APG 1.5 EFF + 18.62
Off the Bench Joe Smith, Devin Brown, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Aleksander Pavlovic, Damon Jones, Dwayne Jones
Inactive: Lance Allred, Billy Thomas
Injury Report Eric Snow, ankle, out
Ben Wallace, ear infection, questionable
Key Players
vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
So far in this series this has been a defensive matchup with each playing great defense on the other. Pierce got his game going in game 2 but LeBron continued to struggle. We know that LeBron will want to come out strong at home and so Pierce (and Posey) need to be ready to step up their defense on him.
vs
LeBron should have a better game at home and the Celtics will need to up their games as well. One of the keys to the game will be for Ray to get on track and be able to exploit the matchup with Wally and stretch the floor for the others.
Honorable MentionRajon Rondo and Sam Cassell vs Delonte West and Daniel Gibson
The point guard matchups will continue to be important. Doc has been using Sam more in this series and has been keeping him in down the stretch. The two point guards for the Celtics have been out playing the point guards for the Cavs so far and that needs to continue.
Keys to the Game Focus When the Celtics went to Atlanta, they lost their focus and allowed the Hawks to take them out of their game. The Celtics lost their defensive focus and let the Hawks get to the hoop at will. They also lost their offensive focus and didn't move the ball with each player trying to do it on his own. The Celtics can't let the Cavs and the crowd break their focus on either end of the floor.
Be Aggressive The Celtics must come out aggressively and must play hard for 48 minutes. They have to be aggressive in going after loose balls, attacking the rim and going after rebounds. They can't let the Cavs get 2nd and 3rd chances and they can't let the Cavs out hustle them. They can't settle for quick jumpers like they did in Atlanta. They have to drive to the rim and try to get a high percentage shot or draw the foul.
Defense Defense has been the key in the first two games and the Celtics must continue to play the swarming team defense that has gotten them here. They forgot their defense in Atlanta. Let's hope they remember it in Cleveland.
X-FactorEffort and Intensity If the Celtics put out the same effort and intensity in this game that they do at home, they should be able to win it. If they come out flat and let the Cavs out play them like they did in Atlanta, they will let the Cavs back in the series.
Topic: 2nd Round Game 3 Celtics at Cavaliers 5/10/08 8:00 PM ABC (Read 87556 times)