Celtics (48-28) at Knicks (27-49) 4/6

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
BostonCeltics (48-28) at NY Knicks (27-49)
Tuesday, April 6
7:30 PM ET
Game #77, Road Game #38
TV:  MSG, CSN-NE, NBA LP 757, 758
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden is known worldwide as one of the most popular arenas. For more than 125 years there have been four different Madison Square Garden’s in New York City. The first located at Madison Avenue and 26th Street was used for track cycling between 1879 until 1890. The second Madison Square Garden was constructed in 1890 on the same location as the first. It hosted many events but was demolished in 1925. Located at 50th Street and 8th Avenue, the third Madison Square Garden became the home of the New York Rangers (NHL) in 1926 and the New York Knicks in 1946


Probable Starting Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon
 
  vs 
Ray Allen vs Bill Walker
 
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Al Harrington   
 
  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Danilo Gallinari 
 
vs
Kendrick Perkins vs David Lee




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

Injuries
None

D League
Marcus Landry

Reserves 
Eddie House
Sergio Rodriguez
Toney Douglas
Earl Barron
JR Giddens

Injuries
Eddy Curry (calf)  out
Jonathan Bender (finger)  out
Wilson Chandler (groin)  out
Tracy McGrady  (knee)  questionable

  vs 
Kendrick Perkins vs David Lee 
David Lee has been playing very well  and has been one of the bright spots for a Knicks team that is once again heading for the lottery.  Lee is a handful for anyone to guard and Perk will need help from his teammates to try to contain him, especially since he is still struggling with a sore knee. 

vs
Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon
The point guard matchup is key in any game.  Teams are finding that if they can slow down Rondo, they can slow down the Celtics.  Rondo has been playing very well of late and he needs to continue his aggressive play on both ends of the court.

Honorable Mention
Ray Allen vs Bill Walker
With McGrady out, Bill Walker moved into the starting shooting guard spot.   Walker is finally getting playing time and is producing for the Knicks.  Ray is coming off his best game this season and hopefully will continue with his hot shooting in this game. 

Team Connections
 Doc Rivers played for the Knicks from 1992-95..
Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach with New York from 1996-2002
Eddie House played for the Celtics from 2007-10 and was a part of the 2008 championship team
J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker also played for the Celtics
from 2008-10
Nate Robinson was a member of the Knicks from 2005-10
Al Harrington and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Indiana during the 2006-07 season.

Game Notes 
 The Celtics are currently leading the season series, 3-0; Celtics won the season series 3-1 against New York in 2008-09
 Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24.0 points per game last season
 Al Harrington led the Knicks with 22.3 points per game last season against the Celtics
 The C’s are 18-4 against the Knicks since the 2004-05 season
 The Celtics are leading the all-time series 269-169 with the Celtics 146-59 at home

The Celtics are trying to build some momentum going into the playoffs.  They are coming off a big win over the Cavs on Sunday and need to win games against the  lottery teams like the Knicks or winning that game would be meaningless. 

The Celtics can't afford to take the Knicks for granted.  The Knicks have nothing to play for  other than pride and ping pong balls.  Against the Celtics, often their pride overrules their desire for a higher draft pick.  The Celtics have a game in Toronto on Wednesday so it would be nice to put this team away early and get some rest for the starters in the 4th quarter. 

Keys to the Game
Defense Defense is the key to winning not only this game but the championship.  The Celtics still need to work on tightening their defense up as they are still allowing too many easy baskets, especially in the second half of games. 
 
Rebound   The Celtics need to make a concerted effort to grab rebounds on both the offensive and defensive ends.   David Lee is very good at tip ins and put backs and the Knicks will be looking to run on defensive rebounds so the Celtics must crash the boards to limit both of those options for the Knicks.   Rebounding is another area the Celtics need to improve on if they want to go deep into the playoffs. 

Focus  When the Celtics are focused on team play, they are very hard to beat.  But, they seem to lose focus in some games, especially in the second half.   The Celtics need to keep their focus on team play and on defense throughout the game.  They need to play 48 minutes and not just 2 or 3 quarters. 

[yupitsme]

We trade Eddie for a guy that's not making our playoff rotation...

Even though Nate is a better choice than Tony. I'll give TA his credit though. for now

[barefacedmonk]

All I want is a win..at this point I don't care how we earn it. Lets go Celtics!

CELTICS HOORAH...CELTICS HOORAH...CELTICS HOORAH...1 2 3 Ubuntu!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqxIrERLYiI

[incoherent]

With the rotations supposedly set I wonder if we will see Nate. 

[celticinorlando]

we need to kick that arse tomorrow

[Q_FBE]

Well, this is the time to get the kinks worked out and establish an identity. Looks like the playoff rotation is going to be Rondo, Ray A, Pierce, Garnett, Perkins, Rasheed, Tony Allen, Glen Davis, and Sheldon Williams. Looks like we are taking the rebounding and defensive tactic to winning a title.

Tony Allen has been given a wonderful opportunity to shine off the bench. He has the talent.

[thirstyboots18]

   Silly me....had to come over from the front page to give you your tp!

[Drucci]

Should be an easy one... I wonder if Nate will get minutes in his old building. If it's a blowout, he should, so let's hope he plays tonight! I will catch the replay tomorrow, can't stay late for this one.

TP FL and let's go C's!

[RAcker]

Start playing playoff basketball and do it for 48 minutes...please!

[Mr October]

Just get the win, baby.

Go Celtics!!

[Mr October]

We trade Eddie for a guy that's not making our playoff rotation...

Even though Nate is a better choice than Tony. I'll give TA his credit though. for now

I'll always have a soft spot for what Eddie did for the team. Maybe this summer we can give him the vet min & he can be a situational guy to have on the bench.

[incoherent]

[dang] i cant watch the game tonight oh well here's to the game thread

[Kiorrik]

Can someone with ILP please confirm streams are up and running? I'm getting some errors. Weird ones. Ones I've never seen before.

Server Error in '/' Application.
Runtime Error
Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine.

Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on remote machines, please create a <customErrors> tag within a "web.config" configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This <customErrors> tag should then have its "mode" attribute set to "Off".

<!-- Web.Config Configuration File -->

<configuration>
    <system.web>
        <customErrors mode="Off"/>
    </system.web>
</configuration>


Notes: The current error page you are seeing can be replaced by a custom error page by modifying the "defaultRedirect" attribute of the application's <customErrors> configuration tag to point to a custom error page URL.

<!-- Web.Config Configuration File -->

<configuration>
    <system.web>
        <customErrors mode="RemoteOnly" defaultRedirect="mycustompage.htm"/>
    </system.web>
</configuration>

[Kiorrik]

Nvm, had to restart that RayV thing. Bloody thing is glitchy.

[Kiorrik]

I'll be watching this one from the couch. Don't expect much "me" in the game thread, 'cuz I need some rest.

Been awake since 6 am... yesterday. Didn't sleep and right now, just after basketball practice, I'm utterly drained. Brain-dead as well as physically broken.

Love it.

So, here it is;

LETS GO CELTICS!!!