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Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« on: February 12, 2017, 10:00:54 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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at
Boston Celtics (35-19) at Dallas Mavericks (22-32)
Monday, February 13, 2017
8:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #55 – Road Game #28
TV: CSN-NE, FSSW, NBA-LP 760(DTV)/ 756(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 103.3 FM ESPN
American Airlines Center



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard

vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Deron Williams

Shooting Guard
vs
Marcus Smart vs  Seth Curry

Small Forward

vs
Jae Crowder vs Wesley Matthews

Power Forward

vs
Al Horford vs Harrison Barnes 

Center

vs
Amir Johnson vs Dirk Nowitski

Celtics Reserves

Demetrius Jackson
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jonas Jerebko
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk

Injuries

Jaylen Brown (hip)  day to day
Jae Crowder (personal) will play
Avery Bradley (Achilles)  out
Gerald Green (illness)  questionable
Head Coach
Brad Stevens 




Mavs Reserves
Justin Anderson
Dorian Finney Smith
AJ Hammons
Salah Mejri
Dwight Powell
Yogi Ferrell
Nicolas Brussino
Devin Harris

Injuries

Jose Juan Barea (calf)  out
Andrew Bogut (hamstring)  out

Head Coach

Rick Carlisle

Game Notes

The Celtics close out their 4 game Western road trip with a stop in Dallas to take on the Mavericks.  Both teams come into this match on hot streaks.  The Celtics have won 2 straight and 9 of their last 10.  The Mavs have also won their last two games and 7 of their last 10 games.  They are also 6-1 in their last 7 games at home

This is the second and final meeting between these two teams. The Celtics won the first meeting 90-83 in Boston on November 16.  Both teams were battling injuries in that game.  Jae and Al were both out and Isaiah was playing with an injured finger that affected his shooting.  Dirk and Devin Harris both missed the game and Deron Williams played just 10 minutes in the first half. 

That November win stopped a 7 game win streak over the Celtics by the Mavericks.  The Mavs won the series 2-0 last season and have won 6 straight vs the Celtics at the American Airlines Center.  The Celtics are 16-11 on the road and Dallas is 14-13 at home.  The Celtics are 2-1 on their road trip and would love to finish it with a win.

Jae Crowder has missed the past two games for personal reasons and will play in this game according to reports.  Jae started his career in Dallas before being included in the trade for Rajon Rondo so naturally he would want to get a win over the team that traded him.    Avery Bradley is not with the team and will miss this game. Jaylen Brown left Saturday's game with a hip flexor and is expected to be out until after the All Star game.  Gerald Green is questionable with an illness.

Deron Williams returned from a toe injury on Saturday for the Mavs and should be available for this game.  JJ Barea is out with a calf injury .  Andrew Bogut is out with a hamstring injury.  Marcus Smart will more than likely start in Avery's place with Jaylen being out. The Mavs have a very energetic 6' point guard named Yogi Ferrell who has been playing very well for them and Marcus would be helpful to guard him.  Terry Rozier may get that assignment if Marcus does start. 

Brad Stevens has said that he may change the starting lineup according to matchups.  This would seem to be one of those cases.  I have listed Al and Amir starting as usual but it would seem that starting Al and Jonas might be a better decision against Barnes and Dirk.   That decision will probably be announced closer to game time if he does decide to make the change. 

Key Matchups
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Deron Williams
Williams played just 10 minutes in the first meeting between these two teams.  After missing time with a toe injury,  Williams returned to the Dallas lineup on Saturday to score 20 points and dish out 7 assists.  He is averaging 13.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists.  Isaiah will need to use his quickness to combat Williams' size and strength. 

vs
Al Horford vs Harrison Barnes 
Barnes is having a break out season with the Mavs, averaging 20.1points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists.  He led the Mavericks with 28 points in the first meeting between these two teams.  Al needs to limit his production in this one. 

Honorable Mention
Amir Johnson vs Dirk Nowitski
Dirk didn't play in the first meeting between these two teams because of an Achilles strain.  He is averaging 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season.   Dirk may not be as quick as he once was but he is still a very dangerous foe if given open looks at the basket. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense wins games.  The Celtics are allowing 105.8 points per game and that is too many for a team with as many good defenders as the Celtics have.  The Mavericks haven't been exactly locking down teams either, allowing 100.2 points per game but they are defending better than the Celtics.  The Celtics simply must work on playing tough team defense to get a win in this one. 

Rebound
- Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics  have to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards.  When they work hard on the boards, it usually follows through to the rest of the game as well.  The Celtics are averaging 41.4 rebounds per game while the Mavs are averaging 38.3 rebounds per game.  The Celtics out-rebounded the Mavs in their first meeting 53-32.  The Celtics need another good effort on the boards in this game.   

Be Aggressive
-  The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team in going to the basket, diving for loose balls, going after 50/50 balls, grabbing rebounds, and just playing harder in general.  They have to be the team that wants it more.  The effort was missing against the Kings and they lost but they showed great effort in their last two games and they need to continue to bring it in this game.   

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics need to move the ball and find the open man but they also need to make careful passes so as not to turn the ball over.   They turned the ball over 19 times to just 9 for the Mavs in their last meeting.  They have to keep their focus and avoid costly turnovers that could lead to easy points for the Mavs. 

X-Factors
Effort and Focus
- The Celtics can't get complacent.  They have to play hard, be aggressive, run and move the ball.  They also have to keep their focus and overcome the distractions that playing on the road brings.   If the effort and focus are there, they have a good chance to win this game. 

Win it for Jae - Every player likes to get a win over the team that traded them.  Although Jae has been very complimentary of his time with the Mavs, he will still want to get the win over his former team and his teammates should play hard to help him get one. Jae missed the first game against the Mavs and hopefully he will play in this one and make the Mavericks sorry they traded him. 


Officiating
- Officiating is always an x-factor.  How the refs call the game has a big influence on how the teams play.  Will they let them play or call every little bit of contact?  Will they call it evenly or will they favor one team or the other.  Will they be influenced by the home crowd?  However the refs call the game, the Celtics need to play through it and not let the officials take their focus off of playing their game. 
« Last Edit: February 13, 2017, 01:33:45 PM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Celtics (35-9) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2017, 10:05:19 PM »

Offline max215

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Go Celts!!!!
Isaiah, you were lightning in a bottle.

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Re: Celtics (35-9) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2017, 10:07:39 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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TP to max215 for being the first to post in the game thread!

Gooooooooooooooooo Celtics!!!!! 

Re: Celtics (35-9) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2017, 10:17:10 PM »

Offline Phantom255x

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3rd! As in going for that 3rd straight win!!!

TP FLCeltsFan!

Going 3-1 on this road trip would be HUGE.

Oh and the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead  :laugh:

Btw WOW I'm surprised we are 35-9! We could actually challenge Golden State for the Title  :laugh:
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2017, 10:28:13 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Btw WOW I'm surprised we are 35-9! We could actually challenge Golden State for the Title  :laugh:

Ooops  :)  Fixed.  But let's not let that stop us from challenging Golden State for the title!  I'm up for it!  :D 

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2017, 10:55:45 PM »

Offline saltlover

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Looking for a big game for Smart as he returns home to Dallas.  Last time he played in front of family and friends he went for 20/8/3 on 8-13 from the floor.

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2017, 11:00:11 PM »

Offline mr. dee

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Mavs are one of the hottest teams right now despite their record. I hope they put an end to American Airlines Center win drought.

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2017, 11:05:43 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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This will be one more Celtic victory before a much needed break for the team to rest and recovery.

Great thread flc, as ever. And another tp, as ever.

Goooooooooooooooo Celtics!  ;D

P.s. Flc, I love your optimism about the Celtics and golden state.
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 (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2017, 11:12:47 PM »

Offline trickybilly

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This will be one more Celtic victory before a much needed break for the team to rest and recovery.

Great thread flc, as ever. And another tp, as ever.

Goooooooooooooooo Celtics!  ;D

P.s. Flc, I love your optimism about the Celtics and golden state.

Not really, they gotta fly back to Boston to play the sixers on Tuesday, then fly to Chicago the following day.

Agreed all-star break is badly needed though.
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2017, 11:17:33 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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This will be one more Celtic victory before a much needed break for the team to rest and recovery.

Great thread flc, as ever. And another tp, as ever.

Goooooooooooooooo Celtics!  ;D

P.s. Flc, I love your optimism about the Celtics and golden state.

Not really, they gotta fly back to Boston to play the sixers on Tuesday, then fly to Chicago the following day.

Agreed all-star break is badly needed though.
Dang!! I could have sworn this was their last game before the break. I must of left my brain in the closet today.  :P

Thanks for the correction. A tp to you for knowing the schedule, unlike me.  ;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 (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2017, 11:22:35 PM »

Offline hodgy03038

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This is one of those trap games after a big win. Don't let this one get away. Hopefully Jae is back and ready to go.

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2017, 11:35:12 PM »

Offline trickybilly

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This will be one more Celtic victory before a much needed break for the team to rest and recovery.

Great thread flc, as ever. And another tp, as ever.

Goooooooooooooooo Celtics!  ;D

P.s. Flc, I love your optimism about the Celtics and golden state.

Not really, they gotta fly back to Boston to play the sixers on Tuesday, then fly to Chicago the following day.

Agreed all-star break is badly needed though.
Dang!! I could have sworn this was their last game before the break. I must of left my brain in the closet today.  :P

Thanks for the correction. A tp to you for knowing the schedule, unlike me.  ;D

It feels like in previous years there was a bigger rest period before the weekend. I could be wrong about that.
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2017, 12:02:14 AM »

Offline MattyIce

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This will be one more Celtic victory before a much needed break for the team to rest and recovery.

Great thread flc, as ever. And another tp, as ever.

Goooooooooooooooo Celtics!  ;D

P.s. Flc, I love your optimism about the Celtics and golden state.

Not really, they gotta fly back to Boston to play the sixers on Tuesday, then fly to Chicago the following day.

Agreed all-star break is badly needed though.

wednesday

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2017, 01:50:20 AM »

Offline greece66

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13th!

Re: Celtics (35-19) at Mavericks (22-32) Game #55 2/13/17
« Reply #14 on: February 13, 2017, 03:55:26 AM »

Offline BE-Celtic

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14th !

Shut down Barnes and this becomes an easy win. I don't mind if Horford has low offensive numbers if he does that.

Easy win, don't blow this.

Go C's !