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Orlando Magic (1-0,5-2) at Boston Celtics (0-1,4-4)Round 2, Game 2
Postseason game 9 Home game 6
Wednesday, May 6
8:00 PM ET
TV: TNT
Pre/Post Game: CSN HD 7:00 PM ET, After the Game
TD Banknorth Garden 
Probable Starting Matchups 
vs
Rajon Rondo PPG 19.4 RPG 9.30 APG 11.6 EFF + 30.14
Rafer Alston PPG 15.2 RPG 2.50 APG 4.8 EFF + 14.17
vs
Ray Allen PPG 23.4 RPG 3.10 APG 2.1 EFF + 20.29
JJ Redick PPG 5.8 RPG 1.30 APG 1.5 EFF + 6.00
vs
Paul Pierce PPG 23.1 RPG 6.90 APG 2.0 EFF + 18.86
Hedo Turkoglu PPG 11.8 RPG 4.70 APG 3.3 EFF + 10.83
vs
Glen Davis PPG 18.1 RPG 6.70 APG 2.6 EFF + 18.29
Rashard Lewis PPG 19.2 RPG 6.00 APG 3.5 EFF + 19.00
vs
Kendrick Perkins PPG 13.3 RPG 11.60 APG 1.3 EFF + 22.43
Dwight Howard PPG 24.0 RPG 15.80 APG 1.0 EFF + 34.00
Reserves Stephon Marbury
Mikki Moore
Eddie House
Gabe Pruitt
Bill Walker
JR Giddens
Brian Scalabrine
Tony Allen
Injured Kevin Garnett (knee) out
Leon Powe (knee) out
ReservesCourtney Lee
Tony Battie
Marcin Gortat
Adonal Foyle
Jeremy Richardson
Anthony Johnson
Mickael Pietrus
Tyronn Lue
Injured Jameer Nelson (labrum) out
Courtney Lee (fractured sinus) questionable - has been medically cleared
Key Matchups 
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Rafer Alston
This was a key matchup in game 1. Rafer Alston used his experience to lead his team and made big shots down the stretch when the Magic were faltering. Rondo came out flat and was not aggressive and appeared to be sleep walking through the first half. When he finally started playing the Celtics found themselves down 28 and clawing their way out of a hole. Rondo must come out aggressively from the start. He is the floor leader of the team and as goes Rondo, so go the Celtics.
vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Dwight Howard
Perk did a good job with single coverage on Dwight in the first game. Howard scored only 16 points, which is below his average and he left the game feeling frustrated. He did grab 22 rebounds, but then again, Perk got 16. Perk will need to step up just a bit more and keep Howard away from the basket. This is a very key matchup and Perk needs to focus on his role, because much of the offense and defense of the Magic goes through Howard. All this and stay out of foul trouble also. While we are at it, it would be nice to get Howard into a little foul trouble.
Honorable MentionJust about every position is key in this series.
Paul Pierce vs Hedo Turkoglu
Something looks off with Pierce. He just hasn't been playing like Paul Pierce is capable of. In game 1 he scored a team high 23 points, but was only 7-18 from the floor. He did limit Turkoglu to 6-16 shooting but then again, Turkoglu has been struggling in the playoffs so far. The Celtics are going to need Paul Pierce to start playing like Paul Pierce if the Celtics expect to win this series.
Ray Allen vs JJ Reddick
This was thought to be the Celtics biggest mismatch going into game 1 but it ended up being the other way around. Ray was just 2-12 from the field for just 9 points while Reddick had 12 points on 3-5 shooting. Ray struggled in the opening game of the first round and then bounced back to put up big numbers the rest of the series. We can only hope that this pattern holds true in this series. The Celtics need Ray to find his shot and knock down his shots.
Big Baby Davis vs Rashard Lewis
I am hoping that Doc takes a clue from game 1 that Big Baby just can't stay with Lewis who got off to a very hot start in game 1. Scal came in and covered him quite well and did a good job of fronting him. I'd like to see Scal start and match up with Lewis as long as he continues to play as well as he did in game 1. Guarding Lewis is the Celtics biggest area of concern.
Bench vs Bench
The Celtics' bench played well in game 1. Scal was big on both ends of the floor, hitting big shots as well as doing a much better job defending Lewis than Big Baby did. Stephon Marbury looked like the Starbury of old and hit some incredible shots and brought energy to the second unit. He also made some very impressive passes and if anyone on the team could have hit a shot would have had a lot more than 3 assists to go with his 8 points. Eddie House was just 2-5 and the Celtics really need him to bring offense to the second unit. Hopefully he will find his range in game 2 just as he did in game 7 of the first round.
Connections Doc Rivers coached the Magic from 1999-2004
Tony Battie played for the Celtics from 1999-2004
Mickael Pietrus, Adonal Foyle, and Patrick O'Bryant were teammates in Golden State
Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis were teammates in Seattle
Keith Bogans and Rajon Rondo are former Kentucky Wildcats
Keith Bogans and Eddie House were teammates in Charlotte
Anthony Johnson and Scal were teammates in New Jersey
Anthony Johnson played for Doc in Orlando
Clifford Ray was an assistant for the Magic and mentored Dwight Howard in his first years in the league.
Kendrick Perkins and Dwight Howard worked out together in their earlier years at Clifford Ray's Big Men's camp.
Keys to the GameStart Strong - The Celtics have had too many games where they come in looking sluggish and then have to play from behind. There is no reason that they can't play with energy and hustle right from the jump.
Don't Let Up - If the Celtics do play well from the start, they have to guard against the kind of let down the Magic had and not become complacent. In several games in the first round, the Celtics would get upon the Bulls only to let them come back and tie or go ahead. They need to play all out from start to finish.
Move the Ball - The Celtics must keep the ball moving. Rondo needs to push the ball up the floor and the team needs to pass the ball and find the open man. When players try to do too much on their own and we start seeing too many contested jumpers and iso's, the Celtics offense becomes non-existent. They also need to attack the basket and stop settling for jumpers, especially when they are not falling.
DEFENSE - The Celtics are capable of playing lock down defense but we have only seen it in game 3 against the Bulls and in spurts in the other games. The Celtics must commit to defense and make that type of lock down defense their priority from start of the game to the finish. They can't afford to depend on turning it on when they are behind because more often than not, that strategy will burn them.
Rebound - In spite of 22 rebounds from Dwight Howard, the Celtics out rebounded the Magic by 7, thanks in part to Perk's work on the boards and a team rebounding mentality. The Celtics must continue to crash the boards on the defensive end to limit the Magic's second chance points and on the offensive end to give themselves some extra possessions. However, they have to make the rebounds count by scoring off of them. In game 1 there was one sequence where they got 4 offensive rebounds on one possession and never scored. They must grab the rebounds and then get points from them.
X-FactorEnergy and Effort The Celtics brought no energy or effort to begin game 1. The finally woke up in the second half, but it was too late to dig out of the hole they got themselves into. The Celtics must bring energy and effort right from the start in game 2 and sustain it throughout the game, or they could find themselves down 0-2 going to Orlando.
Topic: Magic (1-0) at Celtics (0-1) Game 2 5/6 (Read 133733 times)