Pacers (4-2) at Celtics (4-3) 1/6

[FLCeltsFan]

at   
Indiana Pacers (4-2) at Boston Celtics (4-3)
Friday, January 6
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #8, Home Game #4
TV:  CSNNE, FSI, NBA-LP 757/758
Radio:  WEEI,  WIBC
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
PointGuard
  vs 
Rajon Rondo  vs  Darren Collison   

Shooting Guard
  vs
Ray Allen   vs  Paul George   

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce  vs  Danny Granger   

Power Forward
  vs 
Kevin Garnett  vs  David West

Center
  vs 
Jermaine O'Neal  vs  Roy Hibbert   





Celtics Reserves
Brandon Bass
Marquis Daniels
Chris Wilcox
Keyon Dooling
E'Twaun Moore
JaJuan Johnson
Avery Bradley
Sasha Pavlovic 
Greg Stiemsma

Injured
Mickael Pietrus (knee)  out
Ray Allen (flu) probable



Pacers Reserves
Tyler Hansbrough
George Hill
Louis Amundson
Dahntay Jones
Jeff Foster
AJ Price
Jeff Pendergraph

Injured
Lance Stephenson (ankle) doubtful

Team Connections
A.J. Price and Ray Allen both attended the University of Connecticut
Jermaine O’Neal played for the Pacersfrom 2000‐08
Frank Vogel was an assistant coach under Jim O’Brien with the Celtics from 2001‐04
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird won three championships with the Celtics and had his #33 retired on 2/4/93
Pacers Associate Head Coach Brian Shaw was drafted by the Celtics with the 24th overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft and he appeared in 178 games for the Celtics averaging 11.1 points
David West and Brandon Bass were teammates in New Orleans from 2005‐2007.

Game Notes
The Celtics have won 4 in a row but those 4 teams have a combined W/L record of 3 wins and 22 losses.  The Pacers will be the Celtics first opponent with a winning record that the Celtics will fact since their loss to the Heat in the second game of the season.    The Pacers' competition hasn't been much stiffer though as the teams they beat were Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland and New Jersey.   

Things may have gotten a bit harder for the Celtics when the Heat demolished the Pacers 118-83 on Wednesday.   The Pacers should be hungry for a win and to get their team back on track.  Both teams very much need a win over a quality team with a winning record. 

Ray missed practice on Thursday and Doc has listed him as questionable for this game but since also said that Ray was feeling much better and the game notes list him in the starting lineup, I'm assuming he'll play.  If he doesn't play, expect Dooling to get the start once again. 

The Celtics can't afford to come out sluggish as they have in several games so far.  If they dig a hole against the Pacers, it won't be as easy to come back as it was against the Pistons or the Wizards.  Hopefully we will see an energized Celtics team that will defend their home court and finally boast a win over a team with a record over .500. 

Key Matchups
vs
Paul Pierce vs Danny Granger
Danny Granger is a tough player who can hit from outside as well as take the ball to the basket. He always seems to play extra hard against the Celtics.   Paul Pierce is slowly getting his rhythm back after his heel injury and hopefully will take another step forward in this game. 

vs
Rajon Rondo vs Darren Collison
As Rondo goes, so go the Celtics.    When Rondo is aggressive, he makes the Celtics very tough to beat.  Rondo should have a height and experience advantage over Collison and hopefully he will use both to his advantage.

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs David West
KG versus the one that got away.  West came close to joining the Celtics but signed with the Pacers after the sign and trade with New Orleans fell apart.  West is a tough player and I'm sure he will be looking to show the Celtics what they are missing.  It will be up to KG and Brandon Bass to show Celtics fans that they are all that this team needs.   

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics defense has been up and down and they have clamped down in spurts.  The Celtics have been playing poor shooting teams and now it's time to show that they can defend against a team that is above .500.  They need to work harder on defense than they did against the Nets, especially in the first half,  or this could get ugly. 

Rebound -  Winning the rebounding battle prevents second chance points  and tip ins for the Pacers as well as limits fast break opportunities.   When the Celtics put out the effort on the boards, it often translates to other areas of the game as well.   

Move the Ball -  There have been times when the Celtics' ball movement is a joy to behold.  They have to continue to move the ball and find the open man.   They can't lapse into playing one on one and playing hero ball and expect to win the game. 

Hustle and Energy -  The Celtics need to bring some hustle and effort to the game.  They have to go after loose balls and chase down rebounds.  Too many times we see Celtics standing around while the other team dives for loose balls and chases down rebounds.   They must play hard for 48 minutes.  They can't come out sluggish as they have in several games and then have to dig out from a hole and they can't let up before the final buzzer. 

X-Factors
The Competition
For the first time since their win streak began,  the Celtics are facing a team above .500.  Can they lift their intensity to play a tough team that will be motivated to bounce back from a blowout loss at the hands of the Heat?   

[Who]

I'd like to see Stiemsma get some reps against Hibbert.

It would be a good test for him.

[Who]

Game Notes
The Celtics have won 4 in a row but those 4 teams have a combined W/L record of 3 wins and 22 losses.  The Pacers will be the Celtics first opponent with a winning record that the Celtics will fact since their loss to the Heat in the second game of the season.    The Pacers' competition hasn't been much stiffer though as the teams they beat were Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland and New Jersey.   

Things may have gotten a bit harder for the Celtics when the Heat demolished the Pacers 118-83 on Wednesday.   The Pacers should be hungry for a win and to get their team back on track.  Both teams very much need a win over a quality team with a winning record. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics defense has been up and down and they have clamped down in spurts.  The Celtics have been playing poor shooting teams and now it's time to show that they can defend against a team that is above .500.  They need to work harder on defense than they did against the Nets, especially in the first half,  or this could get ugly. 

Looking forward to this game.

Pretty sick of the crappy competition the Celtics have faced over the last few games. It'll be great to see them against a quality ball club like the Pacers.

Especially looking forward to seeing how the defense fares. It wasn't tested much by Washington or New Jersey. Neither club had the offensive cohesion and/or talent to really stretch the C's and ask questions of their defense.

There are still some open questions about how much slippage KG and JO have suffered defensively + how good Stiemsma's defense is outside of shot-blocking ... which are very important questions to the C's title chances this season.

The Pacers are no great offensive team themselves (well below average last season, expect them to be mediocre this season) but hopefully they can test the C's defense a bit more than the last two teams have ... and we can get some more info on where KG, JO and Stiemsma are defensively. 

[ACF]

TP. Go Celtics!

[letsgoblue86]

Let's give David West a nice a** kicking!

[Marcus13]

Indiana always plays us tough and David West has been showing why we wanted him on our team.

Should be an awesome game.  I hope Ray doesn't come out cold.

[dtrader]

For all the talk about how the pacers werent on our level, looking at the starting lineups makes it look like a pretty even match.

The clearest mismatch is actually in their favor with Hibbert versus JO. David west and KG is a wash, PP and Granger would be small advantage Boston, but if Doc limits PPs minutes, it becomes advantage Pacers.  I'd say Ray has the advantage over George, but he could have a lot of trouble with Georges size.  Rondos got the advantage over collison, but theyre equally fast, so he might have to take as well as he gives this game.

Coming off the bench Hansbrough and Bass equal each other out.

I think it could be close.

[ACF]

 "There are no I’s. There are no You’s. It’s a We. It’s an Our. It’s a They. It’s an Us. The first thing you have to have in here is that you have to understand what you’re coming into, understand that being a Celtic is bigger than anybody in this locker room. You’re carrying on tradition. You have to have a work ethic. You have to care about the next guy beside you. If you can’t and if you don’t, then you’re not here. It’s the culture here.”

--Kevin Garnett

[heitingas]

If we had Hibbert instead of JO we'd smash that team.

[letsgoblue86]

For all the talk about how the pacers werent on our level, looking at the starting lineups makes it look like a pretty even match.

The clearest mismatch is actually in their favor with Hibbert versus JO. David west and KG is a wash, PP and Granger would be small advantage Boston, but if Doc limits PPs minutes, it becomes advantage Pacers.  I'd say Ray has the advantage over George, but he could have a lot of trouble with Georges size.  Rondos got the advantage over collison, but theyre equally fast, so he might have to take as well as he gives this game.

Coming off the bench Hansbrough and Bass equal each other out.


I think it could be close.

Besides T-Hans and George Hill, I think our bench largely outmatches that of the Pacers.

[Overrated]

I think Paul George is gonna be a match up problem for Ray.

[csfansince60s]

Let's give David West a nice a** kicking!

...or maybe we have Ray cough on him.

[CelticG1]

For all the talk about how the pacers werent on our level, looking at the starting lineups makes it look like a pretty even match.

The clearest mismatch is actually in their favor with Hibbert versus JO. David west and KG is a wash, PP and Granger would be small advantage Boston, but if Doc limits PPs minutes, it becomes advantage Pacers.  I'd say Ray has the advantage over George, but he could have a lot of trouble with Georges size.  Rondos got the advantage over collison, but theyre equally fast, so he might have to take as well as he gives this game.

Coming off the bench Hansbrough and Bass equal each other out.


I think it could be close.

Besides T-Hans and George Hill, I think our bench largely outmatches that of the Pacers.
[/quot
Yeah id say that's a pretty favorable view for the pacers. Maybe if you just look and compare stars they match up well but we are a lot better defensively and I think we are clearly the better team.

[FLCeltsFan]

  "There are no I’s. There are no You’s. It’s a We. It’s an Our. It’s a They. It’s an Us. The first thing you have to have in here is that you have to understand what you’re coming into, understand that being a Celtic is bigger than anybody in this locker room. You’re carrying on tradition. You have to have a work ethic. You have to care about the next guy beside you. If you can’t and if you don’t, then you’re not here. It’s the culture here.”

--Kevin Garnett

TP!!!!!!!

[Greenbean]

Good benchmark game for both teams tonight.

Are the Pacers ready to be in the Celtics class (contender but not favorites), and are the Celtics still in that class?

Might get a better idea on both teams tonight.