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Boston Celtics (27-12) at Detroit Pistons (14-26)
Wednesday, January 20
7:30 PM ET
Game #40, Road Game #22
TV: FSD, CSN-NE, NBA LP 760,761
Palace of Auburn HillsProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard Rajon Rondo vs Rodney Stuckey
Shooting Guard Ray Allen vs Rip Hamilton
Small Forward Paul Pierce vs Jonas Jerebko
Power Forward Rasheed Wallace vs Chris Wilcox
Center Kendrick Perkins vs Ben Wallace
Reserves Tony Allen
Glen Davis
JR Giddens
Eddie House
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker
Shelden Williams
Injuries:Marquis Daniels (thumb) out
Kevin Garnett (knee) out
Rasheed Wallace (foot) expected to play
Reserves Kwame Brown
Austin Daye
Jason Maxiell
Chucky Atkins
Charlie Villanueva
DaJuan Summers
InjuriesTayshaun Prince (knee) game time decision
Ben Gordon (groin) game time decision
Will Bynum (ankle) out
Richard Hamilton (stomach flu) probable
Chris Wilcox (back) probable
Team ConnectionsRichard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo are former Kentucky Wildcats
Rasheed Wallace played for the Pistons from 2003-09 and won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004
Pistons Head Coach John Keuster was an assistant coach with the Celtics from 1995-97
Chucky Atkins played in 24 games for the Celtics in the 2003-04 season
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Rodney Stuckey
The Pistons have had a lot of problems and questions but one thing is for sure, they see Rodney Stuckey as their point guard of the future. We have seen in many games that as Rondo goes, so go the Celtics. The Celtics need Rondo to be aggressive and to set the tempo the team.
vs
Ray Allen vs Rip Hamilton
Hamilton is one of the few Pistons who remains from the old days. There have been some good battles between these two shooting guards, both of whom are very good at running off screens. Rip is the reason that Ray began wearing the shooting sleeve because 2 years ago in the playoffs, Rip was digging Ray's arm up with his long fingernails. It would really help the Celtics if Ray could get his shot back on track.
Honorable Mention Rasheed Wallace vs Chris Wilcox
This is Sheed's first game versus his former team. He wouldn't be human if he didn't want to give them a good beat down. Look for Sheed to be motivated in this game.
Game Notes• Celtics won the season series 3-1 against Detroit in 2008-09
• Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 15.5 points per game last season
• Rip Hamilton averaged 13.5 points per game against the C’s last season
• It marked the second straight year that the Celtics had won the season series and the first time that it had done so since the 1994-95 and 1995-96
seasons
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 221-121 with the Celtics 106-38 at home
The Pistons have been struggling this season as they rebuild. They signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva over the summer but things haven't worked out for them as they hoped. They are hoping to make a splash in the big 2010 free agent marked and are just biding their time until then.
However, the Pistons shouldn't be taken for granted. They are capable of beating some good teams as they have already beaten the Hawks and the Magic. The Celtics must take this team seriously and must come out strong to begin the game and they have to play hard for 48 minutes.
Keys to the GameDefense
Play 48 minutes
Run the Offense
Attack the Basket
X-Factor Focus - especially on the defensive end.