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Boston Celtics (29-14) at Atlanta Hawks (29-14)
Friday, January 29
7:30 PM
Game #44, Road Game #24
TV: NBA-TV, RTV, CSN-NE, SSO-ATL
Radio: WEEI, WQXI
Phillips Arena Probable Starters PG Rajon Rondo 14.2 PPG 9.7 APG 2.5 SPG
SG Ray Allen 15.9 PPG 2.9 APG .345 3P%
SF Paul Pierce 18.9 PPG 4,8 RPG 3.6 APG
PF Kevin Garnett 15.0 PPG 7.3 RPG 0.9 BPG
C Kendrick Perkins Perkins 12.0 PPG 8.5 RPG 2.1 BPG
ReservesShelden Williams
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker
Tony Allen
Big Baby Davis
Eddie House
Rasheed Wallace
Injuries:Marquis Daniels (thumb) out
D-League JR Giddens
Probable Starters PG Mike Bibby 9.2 PPG 4.4 APG 0.9 SPG
SG Joe Johnson 21.1 PPG 4.9 APG 5.9 .352 3P%
SF Marvin Williams 10.5 PPG 5.0 RPG 1.1 APG
PF Josh Smith 15.1 PPG 8.3 RPG 2.2 BPG
C Al Horford 13.8 PPG 9.8 RPG 1.3 BPG
ReservesJamal Crawford
Zaza Pachulia
Mo Evans
Jeff Teague
Joe Smith
Randolph Morris
Jason Collins
Mario West
InjuriesNone
Team Connections Doc Rivers played for Atlanta from 1983-9
Doc also holds the Hawks record for most assists in a career as a Hawk (3,866)
Celtics Assistant Coach Armond Hill played for the Hawks from 1976-80 and also during the 1983-84 season
Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith were teammates at Oak Hill Academy
Joe Johnson was originally drafted by the Celtics with the 10th pick in the 2001 draft
Eddie House is married to Mike Bibby's sister
Rajon Rondo and Randolph Morris were teammates at Kentucky
Al Horford and Glen Davis played against each other in the 2006 Final Four
Hawks assistant coach Alton Lister played for the Celtics from
1995-97
Maurice Evans and Kevin Garnett were teammates in Minnesota during the 2001-02 season
Shelden Williams was originally drafted by the Hawks with the 5th
overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft
Jason Collins and Brian Scalabrine were teammates with the Nets from 2001-2005
Marvin Williams and Rasheed Wallace are former North Carolina Tar Heels
Shelden Williams and Jason Collins were teammates in Minnesota during the 2008-09 season.
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Mike Bibby
Rondo must be aggressive in this game. Bibby has had a couple of big games against the Celtics and Rondo must stay close to him on defense especially on the perimeter as Bibby can be very dangerous from there. On the other end, Rondo has got to be aggressive pushing the ball up the floor and going to the basket.
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Josh Smith
Smith is a very athletic and quick power forward and will be a good test of how healthy KG really is. At times against the Magic, KG looked a step slow especially on that last play by Rashard Lewis. I even wonder if Doc will play KG in this game or sit him out in hopes to have him fresh for the Lakers game.
Honorable MentionRay Allen vs Joe Johnson
Joe Johnson is the Hawks leading scorer and slowing him down is one of the keys to beating this team. He is dangerous both on the perimeter and taking the ball inside. It would be really nice if Ray could get his shot going early and make Johnson have to work on the defensive end.
Game Notes • The Hawks are currently leading the season series 3-0; Celtics won the season series 4-0 against Atlanta in 2008-09
• Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 23.5 points per game last season
• Joe Johnson averaged 21.3 points per game against Celtics last season
• Marked the first time in the 60 year history between the two franchises that the Celtics had swept back-to-back season series
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 214-129 with the Celtics 114-37 at home
The Celtics are down 3 games to none to this Hawks team. That record may be a little skewed though because the only game that the Celtics had their full complement of players was the first one. In their second meeting, The Celtics were without KG and in their third game, the Celtics were missing both KG and Sheed, leaving Scal to match up with Josh Smith. In each of those games, the Hawks were at full strength. In fact, they haven't had any major injuries this season so far. The Celtics are still missing Marquis Daniels, but they have their starting lineup back and that should make a difference.
The Celtics are coming off a tough loss to the Magic in which Ray Allen and Paul Pierce both played over 40 minutes and KG played 33. Perk's the only starter who will be fresh since he played only 15 minutes due to foul trouble. Any way you look at it, this is going to be a very tough game for the Celtics to win against a team who is always a tough matchup for them.
Keys to the GameDefense - This is the key to every game and to winning a championship this year. The Hawks are a good 3 point shooting team as well as having the ability to get to the basket and so the Celtics must defend both the perimeter and the paint.
Rebound - The Celtics have been giving up too many rebounds. With Horford and Smith inside, if the Celtics don't box out and get the defensive boards, the Hawks will get second chance baskets. If the Celtics don't grab the offensive boards, the Hawks will get out on the break for easy baskets. The Celtics must put out more effort on boards.
Focus The Celtics must come out focused on getting this win. They don't want to allow a potential playoff foe to sweep the series. They could blame the previous 2 losses on injuries, but there won't be an excuse for this one.
X-FactorFatigue The Celtics gave up a 16 point lead against the Magic and looked very tired at the end of that game. With Pierce and Ray playing over 40 minutes and Rondo and KG over 30 minutes against the Magic, they may be running on fumes by the end of this one. They will need a lot of heart to win this one.