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Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« on: December 19, 2012, 12:39:55 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Cleveland Cavaliers (5-21) at Boston Celtics (12-12)
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Regular Season Game #25, Home Game #13
TV:  CSN-NE,  FSO,  NBA-LP 756(CLE)/757(BOS)
Radio:  WEEI,  WTAM
TD Garden 





Probable Starters

Rajon Rondo.......Courtney Lee.......Paul Pierce......Brandon Bass ........Kevin Garnett

Celtics Reserves

Jared Sullinger
Jason Collins
Jason Terry
Jeff Green
Leandro Barbosa
Chris Wilcox

Injuries
Avery Bradley (shoulders) out

D-League

Kris Joseph
Fab Melo



Probable Starters

Kyrie Irving.....Dion Waiters....Alonzo Gee....Tristan Thompson.....Anderson Varejao

Cleveland Bench
CJ Miles
Luke Walton
Tyler Zeller
Donald Sloan
Kevin Jones
Samardo Samuels
Jon Leuer
Jeremy Pargo

Injuries
Omri Casspi (illness)  questionable
Daniel Gibson (leg) questionable

Team Connections
Daniel Gibson, Tristan Thompson and Avery Bradley all attended the University of Texas
Cavaliers Assistant Coach Paul Pressey was an assistant with Boston from 2004-06
Jason Collins played for Cavaliers Head Coach Byron Scott in New Jersey from 2001-04
Kris Joseph, Fab Melo and Dion Waiters were all teammates at Syracuse
Kris Joseph and Tristan Thompson are both from Canada
Fab Melo, Leandro Barbosa and Anderson Varejao are from Brazil
Jason Terry and Luke Walton both attended Arizona.



Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Kyrie Irving
Rondo has been playing rather un-Rondolike in recent games.  He has had 29 turnovers in his last 5 games, including a pair of back to back 7 turnover games.  He will need to be more focused as he faces Kyrie Irving, who is playing very well and averaging 23.8 points per game. 

  vs 
Kevin Garnett  vs Anderson Varejao
This will be a tough matchup for the Celtics.  Varejao plays with a lot of energy and also plays rough.  I expect to see Bass or Wilcox guarding him more than KG because of how physical he plays.  The Celtics need to keep Varejao, who is averaging 14.6 rebounds per game, off the boards.   

Game Notes

The Celtics return home to host the 5-21 Cavaliers after an 0-3 road trip.   In spite of their record, the Cavs are a team that the Celtics need to take seriously now that they have Kyrie Irving back running the offense.  Irving, Varejao and Waiters are all finding their strides and make the Cavs dangerous to any team taking them for granted. 

 Both teams come into the game on losing streaks.  The Cavs have lost 4 in a row, while the Celtics are on a 3 game losing streak.  Both teams played on Tuesday night and so fatigue could come into play, although with the Cavs being a younger team, fatigue could affect them less than it would the Celtics. 

The Celtics won the series last season 3-0. All 3 wins were close games with the Celtics winning by 3 points, 3 points and 1 point.   This is the first of 4 meetings between these two teams this season.  The Celtics are 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Cavs are just 1-9 in their last 10.  The Celtics are 8-4 at home while the Cavs are 2-13 on the road. 

The Celtics have been struggling and are once again back at .500.  They need to get back on track especially on the defensive end where they are allowing 98 points per game.   The bench, which was supposed to be a strength has been struggling to find chemistry and haven't been producing.   A home game against the Cavs could be just what the Doc ordered, but if they don't come out focused,  it could be another loss. 

Keys to the Game
Focus - The Celtics have shown that when they come out focused and keep their intensity, especially on defense, throughout the game, they win.  Whether it's a lack of focus or a lack of chemistry, the Celtics must figure it out.  They must focus on taking care of the ball and limiting turnovers as in every game recently, they seem to lose focus and turn the ball over several times to give the other team a chance to put the game away.   

Rebound -  Rebounding is mostly desire and effort.   When the Celtics put out the effort to out-rebound their opponents, they usually get the win.   When they put the effort in to crash the boards, that effort also tends to show in other areas of the game as well.  Too often we see opponents hustling to get rebounds while Celtics stand around or are slow to react.  They must make an effort as a team to win the rebounding battle. 

Defense -  Defense is the key to every game.  The Celtics won banner 17 with defense and if they want to win banner 18 they must once again do it with defense.  We've seen that type of defense only in short spurts this season.  They must find their defensive identity and make it a priority in every game. 

X-Factors
Home Court and Fatigue
The Celtics are home after 3 losses on the road.  Hopefully the home crowd will give them a boost in this game.  Both teams are playing in back to back games so fatigue could be a problem for both teams, but more so for the Celtics since they are the older team.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2012, 03:43:50 PM »

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I would like to see Jeff Green get extended minutes at PF against the Cavs.

I don't think Cleveland gets much out of their power forward options.

Tristan Thompson is a good defender/rebounder with excellent athleticism but he has a limited offensive game. Their backup PFs are all pretty limited players.

I think Thompson will do a pretty good job on Bass and Sullinger. I don't really see them as particularly advantageous options for the Celtics. On the other hand, I think someone like Jeff Green who can spread out the offense more for the rest of the team will offer Boston their best advantage against a player like Thompson. Thompson struggles offensively so Doc can hide Green on him comfortably. And Green can open up the rest of the court for players like Rondo and Pierce to attack more aggressively.

That's the direction I'd like to see Doc go in with this game.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2012, 06:41:51 PM »

Offline Boston Garden Leprechaun

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varejao will have 50 rebounds against us.
LET'S GO CELTICS!

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2012, 07:08:43 PM »

Offline Celts Fan 92

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not highly confident bout dis one on da 2nd night of a back to back wit a player like Kyrie comin thru Rondo betta not be on dat matador defense swag lettin him blow past him or he'll get buckets. nd Andy V will prolly have 15-20 boards against us I got us winnin but not in blowout fashion

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2012, 07:13:21 PM »

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Starters

PG: Rondo vs Irving = advantage Boston
SG: Terry vs Waiters = advantage Boston
SF: Pierce vs Gee = large advantage Boston
PF: Green vs T.Thompson = advantage Boston
C:  Garnett vs Varejao = advantage Boston

Bench

PG: Barbosa vs Gibson = advantage Boston
SG: Lee vs CJ Miles = neutral
SF: (J.Green) vs Casspi = advantage Boston
PF: Bass vs Samuels = advantage Boston
C:  Wilcox vs T.Zeller = neutral

Coach: Doc vs B.Scott = advantage Boston

Conclusion

Let's not oversell Cleveland here. They are a lousy team and they are grossly overmatched.

Anything less than a win would be a very bad result for Boston. They are far and away the better basketball team.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2012, 07:13:26 PM »

Offline ImShakHeIsShaq

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Doc just said Jet will start (until AB is back at least) and as a shocker Collins is someone who will play and may get the starting nod (shocking).

If Doc starts Collins, I would fall over.


Edit, it's official Collins is starting! 0.0
It takes me 3hrs to get to Miami and 1hr to get to Orlando... but I *SPIT* on their NBA teams! "Bless God and bless the (Celts)"-Lady GaGa (she said gays but she really meant Celts)

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2012, 07:15:37 PM »

Offline CelticSooner

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Varejao is out tonight. No real season to play Collins now.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2012, 07:18:12 PM »

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Cleveland's big man rotation is pathetic without Varejao.

This should be an easy win.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2012, 07:20:48 PM »

Offline ImShakHeIsShaq

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Cleveland's big man rotation is pathetic without Varejao.

This should be an easy win.


Is he injured? If not (or if they are lying)... I could see AV about to be moved.

Get him Danny-Boy!!
It takes me 3hrs to get to Miami and 1hr to get to Orlando... but I *SPIT* on their NBA teams! "Bless God and bless the (Celts)"-Lady GaGa (she said gays but she really meant Celts)

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2012, 07:22:01 PM »

Offline Edgar

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If varejao isnt playing
and Green isnt playing and bass isnt playing and AV is back

WELCOME HOME ANDY!!!!

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Nice to be back!

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2012, 07:33:08 PM »

Offline CelticSooner

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Cleveland's big man rotation is pathetic without Varejao.

This should be an easy win.


Is he injured? If not (or if they are lying)... I could see AV about to be moved.

Get him Danny-Boy!!

He injured his knee last night against Toronto.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2012, 07:35:32 PM »

Offline Meadowlark_Scal

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We need a win tonight...yo...!

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2012, 07:36:23 PM »

Offline TheLegendaryClub

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I hate to say any game is a "must win" in the first half of the season, but if we don't beat a Varajao-less Cavs team I will be really, really concerned. Let's get a win here, Cs.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2012, 07:36:37 PM »

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Varejao would be great in Brooklyn. Perfect addition to that team. Would make them a title-contender.

I'd love to see Varejao + B.Lopez together. I'd love to see Brook Lopez finally have some help in the paint defensively. I think someone like Varejao would bring the best out of B.Lopez and help him develop his own defense.

Sorry, just watching the Nets vs Knicks and their poor defense and reading this Varejao stuff ... Varejao + B.Lopez has long been a fantasy combination of mine. They are perfect for one another.

Re: Cavs (5-21) at Celtics (12-12) 12/19
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2012, 07:37:50 PM »

Offline apc

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Doc just said Jet will start (until AB is back at least) and as a shocker Collins is someone who will play and may get the starting nod (shocking).

If Doc starts Collins, I would fall over.


Edit, it's official Collins is starting! 0.0
too late Doc, you messed up!
we had Darko(not great but better than Collins)and Doc couldn't find 5 minutes for him, now he is going to play Collins.
Doc is killing us.