at
Boston Celtics (43-24) at Houston Rockets (35-31)
Friday, March 19
8:30 PM ET
Game #68, Road Game #35
TV: NBA-TV, RTV, FSH, CSN-NE
Radio: WEEI, KILT
Toyota Center 
For more than 25 years the Rockets played at the Compaq Center, a 16,000 seat facility that was southwest of Houston. The Rockets wanted to replace the Compaq Center because it lacked luxury suites and other modern amenities that other arenas in the NBA had. They were able to get a new modern arena built by using existing hotel and car rental taxes and by paying $105 million through future rent in order to get it built.
Construction of the Toyota Center, located in the eastern corridor of downtown Houston began in July 2001. The Rockets played their first game at the arena on October 30, 2003 against the Denver Nuggets. Most fans that go to games at the Toyota Center enter through the main entrance on the northwest side of the building. Here is a massive atrium that once inside, fans receive views of the skyline of Houston. Unlike many other NBA arenas, fans with tickets to seats on the lower level do not have to go up in order to their seats because the court is 32 feet below street level. Because of this, the Toyota Center has the largest lower level in the NBA. The building has a seating capacity of over 18,000 that includes 2,900 club seats and 103 luxury boxes. Fans attending games can visit the Lexus Lounge or the Red and White Wine Bistro restaurant. Many fans hope that the Rockets can win several NBA Championships at the Toyota Center like they did while playing at the Compaq Center in the 1990s. Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Aaron Brooks
Shooting Guard 
vs
Ray Allen vs Kevin Martin
Small Forward 
vs
Paul Pierce vs Trevor Ariza
Power Forward 
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Louis Scola
Center
vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Chuck Hayes
Bench Shelden Williams
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Nate Robinson
Marquis Daniels
Brian Scalabrine
Rasheed Wallace
Michael Finley
D League Marcus Landry
BenchHilton Armstrong
Kyle Lowry
Chase Budinger
David Anderson
Jared Jeffries
Jordan Hill
Shane Battier
InjuredYao Ming (foot) out
D League Jermaine Taylor
Team ConnectionsAssistant Coaches Mike Longabardi and Tom Thibodeau worked for Houston from 2003-07
Shane Battier and Shelden Williams are former Duke Blue Devils
Ray Allen and Hilton Armstrong are both former UConn Huskies
Chuck Hayes and Rajon Rondo are former Kentucky Wildcats
Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries, Marcus Landry and Nate Robinson were all teammates on the New York Knicks during the 2009-10
season
Kevin Martin and Shelden Williams were teammates in Sacramento from 2008-09
Trevor Ariza and Nate Robinson were teammates on the New York Knicks during the 2005-06 season
Key Matchups 
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Aaron Brooks
Aaron Brooks is averaging over 20 points and 5 assists per game in his 3rd season with the Rockets. Rondo will need to stay in front of Brooks on defense and try to limit his shots. He also needs to continue to look to distribute the ball and get the other starters involved early.
vs
Ray Allen vs Kevin Martin
Before the trade deadline, there was a lot of talk of the Celtics trading Ray for Kevin Martin. Instead, Martin went to the Rockets and Ray stayed a Celtic. Both have been shooting the ball well and Ray will need to play defense along with hitting his shots since Martin has been averaging over 20 points per game.
Honorable Mention Kevin Garnett vs Louis Scola
KG has been getting closer to the KG of old and he will need to bring his defense to keep Scola from getting easy baskets inside. KG also has a height advantage over Scola and should be able to get his shot off over him.
Game Notes Celtics and Rockets split the season series 1-1 during the 2008-09 season
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 21.5 points per game last season
In his one appearance for the Rockets against the C’s, Tracy McGrady netted 26 points
The C’s have a record of 6-4 against the Rockets since the 2004-05 season
The Celtics are leading the all-time series 84-40 with the Celtics 43-14 at home
The Celtics begin on a very tough stretch of games starting with this game in Houston. This is the first of back to back games with the second in Dallas on Saturday. This is the first meeting between these two teams. The Rockets helped themselves at the trade deadline by swapping Tracy McGrady for Kevin Martin and are now making a run at the playoffs. They currently sit 9th in the West, 4.5 games behind the Portland Trailblazers and are just half a game ahead of the Grizzlies who are in the 10th spot.
The Rockets are 20-14 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games, but have won 4 in a row. The Celtics are 22-12 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Celtics have won 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4 games. They have had 3 blowouts in their last 4 games but all against lottery teams. This next stretch of games are all against teams with winning records and wins in them will be very important for the Celtics going into the playoffs.
Keys to the Game Defense
Rebounding
Ball Movement
Be Aggressive
Play 48 Minutes
X-FactorOn the Road Again
The Celtics have played better on the road this season than at home. However, their last 3 home games have been won in blowouts. Let's hope that home success hasn't reversed their earlier ability to win on the road.
Topic: Celtics (43-24) at Rockets (35-31) 3/19 (Read 50624 times)