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Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1) at Boston Celtics (1-0)
Round 2 Game 2qw
Thursday, May 8
7:00 PM, ESPN, CSN HD
TD Banknorth Garden Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Delonte West
Shooting Guard vs
Ray Allen vs Wally Szczerbiak
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
Power Forward vs
Kevin Garnett vs Ben Wallace
Center vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Key off the Bench vs
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Delonte West
Just as he did with Mike Bibby, Rajon Rondo out-played Delonte West by a big margin. When Rondo goes out, however, the ball movement seems to stop. We need Rondo to stay out of foul trouble and to stay on the court. He is vital to this team's success. As we saw when he was in Boston, Delonte is a streaky shooter. He wasn't hitting in the last game and may come out hitting everything in this game.
vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
This matchup didn't disappoint in the first game but instead of being an offensive duel, it was a defensive duel. Pierce shot just 4-14 and Lebron was 4-18. Whether it was because of their defensive efforts or just an off shooting night, we aren't likely to see both of these stars shooting this poorly 2 games in a row.
Honorable MentionKevin Garnett vs Ben Wallace (Joe Smith)
Kevin Garnett seemed to get anything he wanted on the court in the first game. For much of the game, KG was matched up against Joe Smith because of Wallace's limitations on offense and the free throw line. Wallace does a good job on KG defensively but with him in, KG can double off of Wallace on the other end. This is a matchup the Celtics should look to exploit.
to the gameDefense The first game was a defensive battle of epic proportions with the Cavs shooting just 31% and the Celtics shooting just 43%. LeBron was held to just 2-18 from the field which was a career low in field goal percentage. The Celtics' defense won this game for them when 2/3 of the Big 3 were a combined 2-18. The Celtics have to continue to play that swarming team defense as it is the key to winning.
Rebounding The Cavs are a very good rebounding team with 7'3" Ilgauskas leading the way. The Celtics need to crash the boards on the defensive end to keep the Cavs from getting 2nd and 3rd chances at the basket. They also have to go after offensive rebounds, especially if they shoot as poorly as they did in game 1.
Be Aggressive The Celtics need to be aggressive right from the beginning of the game. They have to be aggressive taking the ball to the basket and not settle for jumpers. They have to be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds as well. In game 1, once again they had a big lead after 1 and then slacked off when the starters went out and lost it. The bench has to be just as aggressive in taking it to the hoop, going after loose balls and rebounds and in swarming them on defense.
X-FactorBench Play The Celtics' bench must produce. They have to not let up on defense when they come in for the starters and they have to stay just as aggressive as the starters. Sam Cassell has to move the basketball and keep the offense going. It seems as though when Sam comes in the ball movement stops.