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Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« on: March 06, 2010, 10:22:36 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Washington Wizards (21-38)  at  Boston Celtics (39-21)
Sunday, March 7
8:00 PM
Game #61, Home Game #29
TV: ESPN, CSN-NE, The Score, Comcast Sportsnet
Radio:  WEEI, WJFK
TD Garden




ProbableStarters
PG SG SF PF C
Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen/Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Kendrick Perkins

Reserves
Marquis Daniels
Rasheed Wallace
Nate Robinson
Glen Davis
Brian Scalabrine
Shelden Williams
Michael Finley

Injuries

Tony Allen  (hip) day to day

D League
Marcus Landry




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Randy Foye/Mike Miller/Al Thornton/Andre Blatche/JaVale McGee

Reserves
Earl Boykins
James Singleton
Quinton Ross 
Nick Young
Fabricio Oberto
Shaun Livingston
Mike Harris

Injuries
Josh Howard (ACL)  out

Team Connections
Randy Foye was originally drafted by the Celtics in the 2006 NBA Draft
Mike Miller played for Doc Rivers from 2000-03 in Orlando
Nick Young and Brian Scalabrine are former USC Trojans
Randy Foye, Mike Miller and Shelden Williams were teammates in Minnesota during the 2008-09 season…
Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Dallas from 2003-06..
Wizards Assistant Coach Sam Cassell played for the Celtics from 2007-09 and was a member of the 2008 Championship team..
Kevin Garnett played for Wizards coaches Flip Saunders
and Randy Wittman in Minnesota
Rasheed Wallace also played for Saunders in Detroit.

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Randy Foye
As in most games, the point guard matchup is key.  Foye has a height advantage but Rondo has a quickness advantage. 


  vs 
Ray Allen vs Mike Miller
Mike Miller is a scorer and is shooting 55% from the floor.   Ray will need to contain Miller while hitting his shots to make Miller work on defense. 

Honorable Mention
Nate Robinson vs Earl Boykins
This is a battle between two mighty might point guards and should be fun to watch.  This may be the one and only time where Nate actually has a height advantage.   

Game Notes
 The Celtics are currently 2-0 against the Wizards during the 2009-10 season; The Celtics swept the season series 3-0 against Washington in 2008-09
 Rajon Rondo is leading the C’s with an average of 19.0 points and 11.5 assists in the two contests this season against Washington
 Andray Blatche has averaged 13.0 points per game against the C’s this season
 It marked the first time since the 1981-82 season that the C’s had swept the season series against the Wizards
 The Celtics are leading the all-time series 169-101 with the Celtics 86-37 at home

This is the 3rd of 4 meetings between these two teams with the Celtics winning the first 2 in Washington.  The Wizards team that the Celtics will see in this game bears little resemblance to the team they played earlier in the season.  Gone are  Arenas, Crittendon, Butler, Jamison and Haywood. 

The The Wizards are 4-6 in their last 10 games and just 9-19 on the road.  The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 and 17-11 at home.  The Celtics should have Michael Finley in uniform for this game.  It will be interesting to see how Doc works him into the rotation. 

The Wizards have lost 2 games in a row while the Celtics are on a 3 game win streak.  The Celtics have started to show some of the swagger that we saw in the past two season which been missing for much of the season.   Celtics fans are hoping that this is just the beginning of a big win streak.  The Wizards did a big salary dump and are jockeying for position in the lottery. 

But, as with any team in the NBA, it seems to get personal when they play the Celtics.   The Celtics can't take this team for granted and must come out ready to play. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - We are finally seeing a  more consistent defensive effort from the Celtics over their last 3 games.   They have to continue to to make defense a priority because defense wins games and championships. 

Rebound - The Celtics are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league and because of that they give up way too many second chance points and fast breaks.  They need to make a concerted effort to crash the boards. 

Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have been better recently about playing consistently.  They need to continue to come out strong and not let up until the end.  Celtics fans would love to see Gino again in this game. 

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2010, 05:14:05 AM »

Offline thirstyboots18

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Here we go!  Stay alert all 48 minutes and play defense!  Repeat after me....  ;)  Thanks, FL, tp.
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Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2010, 08:40:52 AM »

Online celticinorlando

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close early with boston pulling away

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2010, 11:01:31 AM »

Offline bello_man09

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i want to see how finely looks out there..

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2010, 11:03:15 AM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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I'd say the Key Matchup is Blatche vs Garnett.

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2010, 11:11:23 AM »

Offline Eddie20

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i want to see how finely looks out there..

Yeah, so do I. Does anyone know TA's status for this one? He had a sore hip after that hard fall, but I expect him to play.

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2010, 11:22:48 AM »

Offline barefacedmonk

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Another W in Celtics kitty. Nobody can beat us but ourselves...CELTICS HOORAH...CELTICS HOORAH...1 2 3 Ubuntu.
"An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching." - M.K. Gandhi


Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2010, 12:39:37 PM »

Offline Drucci

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I'm expecting a blowout, probably close for the entire first half and then we roll on all cylinders.

Of course the C's could still lay another egg at home but I just don't see it. This Washington team must not be taken lightly but I really think the C's are starting to get their mojo back and they will take care of business at home.

Definitely excited to see Finley make his debut in green (or not?).

Too bad tipoff is at 2 am. I will catch a replay tomorrow.

TP Fl and let's go C's, let's make it 4 in a row!

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2010, 01:15:52 PM »

Offline Q_FBE

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Tough game tonight - Wizards were crushed by the Milwaukee Bucks who are only the hottest team in the NBA and a very possible 1st round opponent for the C's. They are a much better team after all the trading they did and have a nice foundation for the future (not to mention all that cap space).

I don't believe it will be a blowout tonight. The Celtics do not blow opponents out as a rule but are getting better at handling their business. I would like to see what the old pro Mike Finley has left in his tank.

The Forensic Basketball Evaluator (FBE) does have a note to write down here. Washington and Boston have had three common opponents in the last ten games.

vs New Jersey (Boston 0-1, Washington 1-0)
vs Denver (Boston 0-1, Denver 1-0)
vs Knicks (Boston 1-0, Washington 0-1)

Sunday games bother me for some reason. Boston has a poor record on Sundays the last couple of years.
The beatings will continue until morale improves

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2010, 01:16:49 PM »

Offline Tai

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TP, FL.

Come on Celtics, you've embarrassed yourself on National TV enough. Play some defense on these guys and you'll be fine, just like with the Sixers.

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2010, 01:17:37 PM »

Offline WeMadeIt17

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We need another blow out win to get this teams head in the right place. I see some of our swagger coming back but a blow out on national TV will get us some more! 

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2010, 03:35:42 PM »

Offline Vermont Green

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i want to see how finely looks out there..

It should be the kind of game we can put him in and let him work out wrinkles.  He shouldn't need to know too many sets like Nate, all he needs to do is stand in the corner and shoot when he gets the ball.  Defensive rotations are likely not going to be tight but he is a veteran so he should know the concepts well.

I hope we see him play a lot too.

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2010, 03:47:07 PM »

Offline twinbree

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What I really want to see today is good 3 point defense where I think we've been hurt a lot this season. Our past 3 wins have come against poor shooting teams so I want to see how we'll do against one that shoots a little better from 3.
Hoping for an extension of our winning streak. TP FLCF. Go Celtics!
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Mike: Everybody 60 or over knows Tommy as a player. Everybody 40 or over knows Tommy as a coach. Everybody 20 or over knows Tommy as a broadcaster. And everybody 10 or under thinks he's Shrek.

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2010, 04:01:22 PM »

Offline yupitsme

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big games from Rajon and Nate tonight...

Re: Wizards (21-38) at Celtics (39-21) 3/7
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2010, 04:36:28 PM »

Offline GreenFaith1819

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I'd say the Key Matchup is Blatche vs Garnett.

Thanks FLCeltsFan and TP4U.

I agree BudweiserCeltic - I believe Boston will win this one. but KG will need to slow down Blatche for sure.

And we'll have to watch Javale also - the guy can cause problems inside with his shotblocking if we aren't careful.

But so does Perk ;D