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Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« on: April 16, 2013, 10:18:29 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Boston Celtics (41-39) at Toronto Raptors (32-48)
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #81 – Road Game #41
TV: CSNNE, SNET1,  NBA-LP
Radio:  WEEI, CJCL 
Air Canada Centre





Probable Starters
PGSGSFPFC
PG:   Avery Bradley
SG:  Paul Pierce
SF:  Jeff Green
PF:  Brandon Bass 
C:   Kevin Garnett

Celtics Reserves
Jason Terry
Chris Wilcox
Shavlik Randolph
DJ White
Terrence Williams
Jordan Crawford
Courtney Lee
Fab Melo

Injuries
Rajon Rondo (knee) out
Jared Sullinger (back) out




Probable Starters
PGSG SF PFC
PG:  Kyle Lowry   
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Rudy Gay
PF:  Amir Johnson
C:   Jonas Valanciunas

Raptors Bench
Alan Anderson
Terrence Ross
John Lucas III
Aaron Gray
Quincy Acy
Mickael Pietrus
Landry Fields
Linas Kleiza

Injuries
Andrea Bargnani  (elbow, wrist)  out

Key Matchups
  vs 
Jeff Green vs Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay has settled in with the Raptors and has made them a much better team.  He is a dangerous scorer and Green will get a chance to display his defense in trying to slow down Gay, who is averaging 18.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. 

   vs   
 Paul Pierce vs DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is another dangerous scorer who can go off for big numbers on any night.  He is averaging 17.9 points per game for the year, but has stepped up his game as the year comes to a close, averaging 22 points over his last 5 games.     

Keys to the Game
Rebound -  The Celtics have got to crash the boards to prevent second chance points.  Rebounding takes effort and when they aren't winning the battle of the boards, they aren't putting the effort out in other areas either.  The Celtics may be ranked next to last in rebounding but they have proved that when they really want them, the Celtics can grab rebounds.

Defense -  The Celtics must make defense their first priority in each and every game of the playoffs and this would be a good time to gear it up.   They need to play tough defense and lock down the Raptors.  A nice blow out win would be a great way for the Celtics to close out the season. 

Run and Pass - The Celtics need to continue to advance the ball with the pass instead of walking it up the court.   They also have to continue to run and move the ball to get easy shots before the defenses can get set up.  But they also have to stay focused and make smart passes so that they don't turn the ball over. 

Be Aggressive and Stay Focused - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team in going after loose balls and rebounds and in going to the basket.   They have to keep their focus and their aggressiveness for 48 minutes and not let up. 

Game Notes
This is the 4th and final game between these two Atlantic Division rivals.  The Celtics lead the series 3-0 and are looking to close out the series with a sweep. 

The Raptors are playing in back to back games and had to travel from Atlanta overnight for this game.   Because the Celtics game was  canceled on Tuesday, they were able to travel on Tuesday and should be fresh and ready for this game.   

I'm going to guess that Doc will play the regular starters and try to test out his playoff rotation in this game since it is the final game of the season.  I don't expect the starters to play big minutes, however.  But I do think they will play.   

The Raptors are coming off an impressive win over the Hawks and have won 4 in a row.  The Celtics are looking for their second straight win and would like to go into the playoffs with some positive momentum. 

X-Factors
Focus on the Road
The Celtics have struggled on the road this season.  They need to come out focused and play their game and establish their rhythm going into the playoffs.  The Celtics are veterans and playing on the road shouldn't be a problem for vets.  They have to win on the road if they expect to get out of the first round of the playoffs.   

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2013, 10:24:48 PM »

Offline CelticConcourse

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Thanks FL for your 81st great job of the season! Let's finish this year with a season sweep of the Raptors and get some nice momentum going into the postseason!
Jeff Green - Top 5 SF

[Kevin Garnett]
"I've always said J. Green is going to be one of the best players to ever play this game"

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2013, 10:34:35 PM »

Offline bobbyv

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I'm not sure I like this starting lineup for the playoffs, but let's see how it does this game

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2013, 11:09:20 PM »

Offline timobusa

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I'm gonna see them tomorrow here in Toronto!

Let's go! Last game of the regular season!

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2013, 11:17:28 PM »

Offline CelticConcourse

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I'm gonna see them tomorrow here in Toronto!

Let's go! Last game of the regular season!

Have fun in Kannada! If we lose, I know who to blame :) :)
Jeff Green - Top 5 SF

[Kevin Garnett]
"I've always said J. Green is going to be one of the best players to ever play this game"

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2013, 01:11:54 AM »

Offline timobusa

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I'm gonna see them tomorrow here in Toronto!

Let's go! Last game of the regular season!

Have fun in Kannada! If we lose, I know who to blame :) :)

It's Canada, and If we lose, it's all your fault. Hahaha

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2013, 02:38:44 AM »

Offline SparzWizard

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My two favorite teams in the NBA, Boston being my most favorite.

The Raptors are probably not going to sit this one out. They want to finish 4th place in the Atlantic Division, sending Philadelphia 76ers to the last spot and 10th seed!


#JTJB (Just Trade Jaylen Brown)
#JFJM (Just Fire Joe Mazzulla)

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2013, 06:27:59 AM »

Online Who

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Quote
Toronto has taken plenty of heat for the Rudy Gay trade, but one point in the Raptors’ favor needs to be noted: Among NBA lineup combinations to log at least 300 minutes, Toronto’s top unit of Gay, Amir Johnson, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas ranks seventh in efficiency differential. That’s by far the best mark among lottery teams is comparable to some of the better lineups of the Heat, Pacers and Thunder. The fact that this Toronto lineup squeezes in just over the minutes threshold (308) makes me very leery of drawing many conclusions from the data. But of particular interest with that group is that it’s held opponents to just 90.6 points per 100 possessions, addressing some of the warranted concern over how such a lineup might defend.

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2013, 07:54:57 AM »

Online SHAQATTACK

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FREE FAB MELO  .. ;D

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2013, 08:24:28 AM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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once again, a great job flcfan. thanks for making the entire regular seasons games better for everyone here at cb.

now....


gooooooo celtics!!!!!  ;D
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
- Vandana Shiva

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2013, 08:39:13 AM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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once again, a great job flcfan. thanks for making the entire regular seasons games better for everyone here at cb.

now....


gooooooo celtics!!!!!  ;D

Thanks for the kind words!  Just like Jeff Green had the goal to play every game,  my goal was not to miss a game thread.  We both made it :) 

Now let's go get Banner 18

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2013, 08:53:57 AM »

Offline Lightskinsmurf

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once again, a great job flcfan. thanks for making the entire regular seasons games better for everyone here at cb.

now....


gooooooo celtics!!!!!  ;D

Thanks for the kind words!  Just like Jeff Green had the goal to play every game,  my goal was not to miss a game thread.  We both made it :) 

Now let's go get Banner 18 Beat the knicks

One series at a time!  ;D

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2013, 09:10:03 AM »

Offline AshyLarry

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FREE FAB MELO  .. ;D

Forreal!

I still need a double double from him, so I can change this danged picture!

*dream world*
My pic is now, and will be Fab Melo until he posts his first official NBA dbl-dbl. This may be permanent.

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2013, 09:49:05 AM »

Offline slamtheking

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TP for the making it through every game this year again FL.  great job as always

Re: Celtics (41-39) at Raptors (32-48) 4/17
« Reply #14 on: April 17, 2013, 10:42:51 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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Are the starters going to make token starts and play around 10-16 minutes?