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Boston Celtics (24-21) at Milwaukee Bucks (21-24)
Thursday, March 22
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #46, Road Game #22
TV: NBA-TV, CSN-NE, NBAC , FSNWI
Radio: WEEI, WTMJ
Bradley Center Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings
Shooting Guard vs
Ray Allen vs Monta Ellis
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs Carlos Delfino
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass vs Ersan Ilyasova
Center vs
Kevin Garnett vs Drew Gooden
Celtics ReservesAvery Bradley
Mickael Pietrus
JaJuan Johnson
E'Twaun Moore
Sasha Pavlovic
Greg Stiemsma
Keyon Dooling
Marquis Daniels
Injured
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) out
Chris Wilcox (heart) out
Greg Stiemsma (foot) probable
Bucks ReservesLarry Sanders
Beno Udrih
Luc Mbah a Moute
Mike Dunleavy
Jon Brockman
Tobias Harris
Jon Leuer
Ekpe Udoh
Injuries Kwame Brown (shoulder) out
Shaun Livingston (ankle) questionable
Team Connections:Assistant Coach Joe Wolf played for the Celtics during the 1992-93 season
Ray Allen played for the Bucks from 1996-2002
Bucks Trainer Marc Boff worked for the Celtics for eight seasons as an assistant trainer and physical therapist
Armond Hill played for the Bucks during the 1982-83 season
Brandon Jennings, Stephen Jackson and Rajon Rondo all attended Oak Hill Academy
Drew Gooden and Paul Pierce both attended the University of Kansas
Mike Dunleavy and Mickael Pietrus were teammates in Golden State from 2003-07
Jon Leuer and Greg Stiemsma both attended the University of Wisconsin
Stephen Jackson and Mickael Pietrus were teammates in Golden State from 2006-08
Shaun Livingston and Chris Wilcox were teammates on the LA Clippers from 2004-06 and on the 2008-09 Oklahoma City Thunder
Game NotesThis is the second game between these two teams. They first met in Boston with a 102-96 Celtics victory as a result. The Bucks have been on a roll and they have won their last 6 games. 4 of those 6 were on the road, but the teams weren't top contenders in that they beat the Knicks (before their current run), Raptors, Nets, Cavs, Warriors, and Blazers. The Celtics are 3-3 on their current 8 game road trip. This game has big playoff implications for both the Celtics and the Bucks.
The Bucks are in the 9th spot just half a game behind NY, who are on a 4 game win streak of their own, for the 8th spot. The Celtics are still in the 7th spot and are 1.5 games behind Atlanta for the 6th spot and they remain 1.5 games behind Philly for the division lead and the 4th spot. Friday's game vs the Sixers will also be huge for the Celtics if they want to rise in the standings and avoid a first round meeting with the Bulls or the Heat.
The Bucks are 11th in points scored per game (97.55), while the Celtics are 26th (91.13). The Celtics, however are more efficient with a field goal percentage of 46% (7th) while the Bucks are shooting 43% from the field (25th). On the defensive end, the Celtics rank 3rd, allowing 90.6 points per game on 43% shooting, while the Bucks rank 23rd, allowing 98.4 points per game on 45% shooting. The Bucks aren't a great rebounding team, ranking 20th at 41.7 rebounds per game while the Celtics are still ranked last with 38.3 rebounds per game.
The Bucks six game win streak is impressive. The Celtics are just hoping to win their second in a row and 4th on the road trip. If the Celtics move the ball and run their offense instead of lapsing into hero ball and if they crash the boards and take care of the ball, they should get the win. But all of those are big ifs with this inconsistent Celtics team.
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings
Jennings is a good young PG who is working to make a name for himself in the league. Rondo should remember Jennings spouting garbage at KG as they walked down the tunnel after a Bucks win last season and let him know who is in charge right from the start.
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Drew Gooden
Both teams are playing in back to back games and both KG and Gooden are both a bit long in the tooth, with KG being a bit longer. KG has been playing very well and has carried the team at times. Gooden was named Eastern Conference player of the week last week. We should see a lot of wrestling going on between these two.
Honorable MentionRay Allen vs Monta Ellis
Monta can put up points in a hurry, but then again so can Ray Allen. In his debut for the Bucks against his old team, Ellis scored 18 points on 6-15 shooting. This is his 3rd game with his new team and he is still learning their system. He isn't known for his tough defense and so hopefully we will see Ray get some open shots in this game.
Keys to the Game Work the Offense - The Celtics must move the ball and make the extra pass and find the open man. Against the Hawks, when Pierce was on the bench they went on a run and much of that run was due to the good ball movement that resulted in finding players open for good shots. When Pierce came back in, he dribbled the ball until the clock ran down and then he passed to a player with no chance to score. 3 possessions of that and the Celtics big lead was almost gone. Hopefully we won't see that in this game. They must move the ball and run the offense. No more hero ball. The long scoreless droughts that we have seen recently have got to go away if they want to win on a consistent basis.
Defense - Defense is a key to a win in every game. The Celtics must play defense and get stops. They aren't going to outscore any team if they get into a shoot out. They have to concentrate on playing tough team defense and lock the Bucks down.
Focus and Energy - The Celtics must stay focused and play with energy for 48 minutes. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket and chasing loose balls and crashing the boards. They can't continue to pour it on at the end and hope to pull it out. They have to establish the tempo and play hard from start to finish. Every game recently, the Celtics will make a run and then they get sloppy and make 3 or 4 turnovers in a row. They must keep their focus and avoid those costly turnovers. They can't lose their focus and give the Bucks extra points by making careless passes and turnovers.
Rebound - The Celtics must crash the boards to prevent the Bucks from getting second chance points. Rebounding is all about effort and when the Celtics put out the effort on the boards that effort seems to carry over into all the other areas of their game. They did much better on the boards against the Hawks and they need to reproduce that effort here.
X-Factor Rest and a Sense of Urgency
The Celtics have had 2 days rest coming into this game. In the past they have played very well with 2 days rest and hopefully they will be rested and energized for this game. With every game having an effect on their playoff position, they must approach each game with a sense of urgency and play with energy and focus.