Celtics (29-6) at Bobcats (12-22) 1/6

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (29-6) at Charlotte Bobcats (12-22)
Tuesday, January 6
7:00 PM ET
Game #36,  Road Game #17
TV:  CSN HD, SportSouth, NBA LP 751
Radio:  WEEI, WOLS
Time Warner Cable Arena 
Time Warner Cable Arena is one of the NBA’s newest venues. Constructed in the Uptown area of downtown Charlotte, the arena is inspired by the event, the city and the fans attending games. While Time Warner Cable Arena is now a fixture in the City of Charlotte, getting a new facility built was a long process that led to one basketball team leaving town and the city receiving a new expansion franchise.  After the Hornets left for Charlotte, the NBA awarded the city an expansion franchise, the Bobcats. The $260 million Time Warner Cable Arena was constructed in downtown Charlotte and opened in 2005.   Originally the arena was known as the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, until Time Warner Cable bought the naming rights.



Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 26.7
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 222

Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo  PPG 11.1 RPG 4.90 APG 7.7 EFF + 18.68 
SG: Ray Allen   PPG 17.8 RPG 3.40 APG 2.6 EFF + 16.41
SF:  Paul Pierce   PPG 18.7 RPG 5.60 APG 3.7 EFF + 17.97
PF:  Kevin Garnett   PPG 16.5 RPG 8.80 APG 2.6 EFF + 21.97 
C:   Kendrick Perkins   PPG 9.1 RPG 8.50 APG 1.2 EFF + 14.70

Reserves
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Eddie House
Leon Powe
Gabe Pruitt
Brian Scalabrine
Patrick O'Bryant
Sam Cassell

Injuries:
KG (leg)  will play
assorted bumps and bruises


D-League
JR Giddens
Bill Walker




Coach: Larry Brown
Average Age: 25.8
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 222

Probable Starters

PG: Raymond Felton   PPG 13.0 RPG 3.60 APG 6.0 EFF + 13.33 
SG:  Matt Carroll  PPG 4.0 RPG 1.50 APG 0.7 EFF + 3.78
SF:   Gerald Wallace    PPG 16.6 RPG 7.90 APG 2.3 EFF + 19.76 
PF:   Boris Diaw   PPG 10.4 RPG 5.00 APG 3.0 EFF + 12.59
C:   Emeka Okafor     PPG 13.8 RPG 11.20 APG 0.6 EFF + 20.03 

Reserves
Adam Morrison
Alexis Ajinca
Ryan Hollins
Matt Carroll
Jared Dudley
Nazr Mohammed
Shannon Brown
Sean Singletary
Juwan Howard
Raja Bell
Sean May
DJ Augustin


Injured
Raja Bell (groin)  questionable

Key Matchups
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Gerald Wallace
Gerald Wallace always seems to have his best games against the Celtics.  Paul Pierce will need to be as aggressive in this game as he was against the Wizards in order to get the best of this matchup. 

  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Raymond Felton 
If Rondo is aggressive on both ends of the court, he will cause a lot of problems for Felton. 

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Boris Diaw
Diaw is quick and can score, but he gives up several inches to KG who should be able to exploit this matchup.   


Team Connections:
Nazr Mohammed and Rajon Rondo are all former KY Wildcats
Emeka Okafor and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Eddie House was a member of the inaugural Bobcats team in 2004-05
Matt Carroll's brother Pat played for the Celtics on their summer league team

Game Notes
The Bobcats are one of those teams that always seem to give the Celtics problems.  In their first meeting this season, the Celtics won by just 5 points.  The  Bobcats have a different look since that meeting with Boris Diaw in at the power forward spot and Matt Carroll replacing Jason Richardson who always gave the Celtics problems. The Bobcats are 9-12 at home but this is not a team that the Celtics can take for granted.   

Keys to the Game
Be Aggressive - The Celtics can't be passive against this team.  They have to be the aggressors in going after loose balls, rebounds and taking the ball to the basket.

Limit Turnovers - The Bobcats are a running team and very athletic and will make the Celtics pay if they turn the ball over. They did better against the Knicks with only 13 turnovers, but forgot every other aspect of the game.   

Focus - The Celtics seem to lose their focus on the road and they will need to focus on the task at hand especially on the defensive end.  They seemed to completely lose focus against the Knicks and forgot how to play on both ends of the court.  Let's hope they get that focus back in this one or it won't be pretty.

[RebusRankin]

Hate to use a cliche but this is a must win.

[gar]

Doc needs to definitely unleash Powe on Diaw. Powe was doing well against David Lee and Doc put KG back in and everything stalled. Really need to take advantage of match ups like this where we can actually us Powe and BBD to give KG some rest. Diaw is playing well; but can also disappear against physical post players like Powe.

[Celtics1990]

And also someone needs to get in TA's face and tell him that he doesn't need to try to make the Sportscenter highlight reel everytime he touches the ball.

[ACF]

Hate to use a cliche but this is a must win.

You said it, Rebus!

As usual, a TP for FL.

[TatteredOnMySleeve]

The bobcats are great at scoring off turnovers, this spells trouble

[jdpapa3]

Teams lately  have been getting layups and dunks on us. Tommy T's gotta crack the whip.

[Fafnir]

Offensively we look okay, too many turnovers but we're doing okay. We're giving them too many easy looks.

[Bankshot]

Wow, Bobcats getting into the paint too easily.

[crownsy]

im begging you boys, this was a cruddy day at work, don't play like this and ruin my night.

[jdpapa3]

No one on the team grinds my gears worse than Eddie House. He makes that same stupid foul every game.

[Andy Jick]

so if we lose this one can we officially hit the panic button?

not looking real good right now...

[ManUp]

House gives the worst intentional fouls.

 There almost always an And 1.

[celticinorlando]

geez...Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. is happening to boston right now?

[celticinorlando]

losing to the bobcats after losing to the knicks and golden state and yes it it time to panic...