vs
Los Angeles Clippers (13-8) at Boston Celtics (10-13)
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #24, Home Game #11
TV: CSNNE, PrimeTicket, NBA-LP 754(DTV), 752(xfinity)
Radio: WBZ, KFWB, KWKW
TD GardenProbable Starting Lineups Point Guard vs
Jordan Crawford vs Chris Paul
Shooting Guard vs
Avery Bradley vs Willie Green
Small Forward vs
Jeff Green vs Jared Dudley
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass vs Blake Griffin
Center vs
Jared Sullinger vs DeAndre Jordan
Celtics ReservesMarShon Brooks
Kris Humphries
Vitor Faverani
Phil Pressey
Gerald Wallace
Keith Bogans
Courtney Lee
InjuriesRajon Rondo (ACL) out
Kelly Olynyk (ankle) day to day
Clippers ReservesDarren Collison
Jamal Crawford
Ryan Hollins
Antawn Jamison
Byron Mullins
Steven Jackson
Injuries Matt Barnes (eye) out
Reggie Bullock (ankle) doubtful
JJ Redick (hand) out
Maalik Wayns (knee) out
Game Notes The Celtics continue their Reunion Week with Doc Rivers' only visit to the Garden with his Los Angeles Clippers. The Celtics are coming off a loss to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and the Brooklyn Nets and would love to get back on track against their former coach.
The Clippers have been hit with several injuries and have signed Stephen Jackson to try to fill in the holes left by the injuries to Matt Barnes and JJ Redick. He is expected to join the team in Boston. He may or may not see playing time in this game.
Doc Rivers has recently called out his team in the media for sulking and not playing hard. It will be interesting to see how they respond to that in this game.
The Clippers are looking for their second straight win while the Celtics are looking to get back on track after the loss to the Nets. They will play 6 of their next 7 games at home and this game begins a 5 game home stand.
The Clippers lead the Pacific Division while the Celtics lead the Atlantic Division by 1.5 games over the Raptors. The Clippers are 5-6 on the road, while the Celtics are 5-5 at home.
Key Matchups vs
Chris Paul is the leader of the Clippers and is averaging 18.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 2.4 steals. We will probably see Avery Bradley on Paul for much of the game as slowing him down is crucial for the Celtics.
vs
Chris Paul may be the leader of the team, but Blake Griffin is their star. Griffin is averaging 20.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and is the only player in the league that is averaging 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, 3+ assists and shooting 50% from the field. Brandon Bass will need every trick he has learned on defense to slow him down.
Honorable MentionBrad Stevens vs Doc Rivers
Since this game is all about the return of Doc Rivers to the Garden, it will be interesting to see how the new coach does against the old coach.
Keys to the Game Defense - The Celtics must continue to make team defense a priority. The Clippers are 5th in the league in scoring with 104.1 points per game, and stopping them from scoring is a must if the Celtics expect to win this game. They allowed way too many easy shots at the basket against the Nets and need to defend the paint much better in this one.
Move!! - This goes for both the players and the ball. The Celtics need to run on every possession to try to get an easy shot before the defenses are set. They also need to move the ball. They can't get caught up in one on one play and over-dribbling the ball.
Rebound - The Celtics need to crash the boards as a team. Each player, especially the guards, need to make an extra effort to grab every rebound. They were out rebounded by the Nets 42-35 and they must do better if they want to win this game.
Team Play - The Celtics need to play as a team and cover each other on defense as well as sharing the ball and playing offense as a team. Without a superstar, they have to stress playing for each other.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be aggressive on defense, in going after loose balls and rebounds. They need to win the 50/50 balls and play hard from start to finish.
X-FactorsHome Court and Focus The Celtics begin a 5 game home stand and they have talked about the need to establish a dominance at home. They have won their last 3 at home and hopefully will get a boost from the home crowd in this one.
They also need to keep their focus and not let any of the external hoopla about Doc's return take their focus off of the game and their play.