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Portland Trailblazers (9-3) at Boson Celtics (4-7)
Sunday, November 23, 2014
6:00 PM ET
Game #12, Home Game #7
TV: CSNNE, CSNNW, NBA-LP 753(DTV); 755/756(Xfinity)
Radio: WZLX 100.7 FM, Rip City Radio 620Probable Starting Matcups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Damian Lillard
Shooting Guard vs
Avery Bradley vs Wesley Matthews
Small Forward vs
Jeff Green vs Nicolas Batum
Power Forward vs
Jared Sullinger vs LaMarcus Aldridge
Center vs
Kelly Olynyk vs Robin Lopez
Celtics ReservesPhil Pressey
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
James Young
Gerald Wallace
InjuriesVitor Faverani (knee) out
Marcus Smart (ankle) out
Blazers Reserves Chris Kaman
Steve Blake
Allen Crabbe
Will Barton
Joel Freeland
Meyers Leonard
Dorell Wright
Thomas Robinson
Victor Claver
Injuries CJ McCollum (finger) questionable
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard is averaging 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. Slowing him down will be key to getting a win in this game.
vs
Jared Sullinger vs LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 21.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game and he is long. Sully will probably struggle on both ends of the court against him, but slowing him down will be key in this game.
Honorable MentionKelly Olynyk vs Robin Lopez
The battle of the hair. Kelly is still finding his place in the league but has all the tools to be very good on any given night. Lopez is a solid center averaging 11.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Game Notes The Blazers are coming off a big win over the Bulls on Friday night. They are a very good team and it is going to be tough for the Celtics to get a win against them. They are strong with size in their front line where the Celtics aren't and that's going to be tough to overcome.
The Celtics are still 4th in scoring with 106.2 points per game but the Blazers are also a high scoring team averaging 104.4 points per game (6th). The Blazers also are second in the league with 10.3 three pointers made per game and are shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc.
The big difference between these two teams is on defense. The Celtics are allowing a whopping 108.4 points per game while the Blazers are allowing a stingy 95.3 points per game. With their size up front, the Blazers are also the top rebounding team in the league with 46.8 rebounds per game. The Celtics are 12th in the league in rebounds with 42.4 per game.
Keys to the Game Pace and Space - The Celtics must push the pace of the game as that may be the only way they have a chance against this tough Blazers team. They also have to move the basketball without turning it over to get open shots.
Rebound - The Celtics must make an extra effort to grab rebounds in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to keep the Blazers from cashing in with second chance points.
Defense - The Celtics have been able to score for the most part, but they have been failing on defense. They must play tough in your face defense, especially in the paint to keep Aldridge and Lopez from getting easy points there. They also have to do a better job defending the 3 point line or the Blazers will make them pay if they don't.
Energy and Focus - The Celtics have to be the team that works harder and wants the win more. They have to dive for loose balls, go for every rebound and just hustle on every play.
X-Factor Jet Lag The Celtics can only hope that the Blazers will come into town all worn out from travel and be sluggish on the court. Then they might just have a chance.