Bobcats (0-0) at Celtics (1-0) 10/28

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Charlotte Bobcats (0-0) at Boston Celtics (1-0) 
Wednesday, October 28
7:30 PM ET
Game #2,  Home Game #1
TV CSN HD, FSCR, LP 755,756
TD Banknorth Garden



Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 27.8
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 224
Probable Starters

PG:  Rajon Rondo
SG:  Ray Allen
SF:   Paul Pierce
PF:   Kevin Garnett
C:    Kendrick Perkins   

Reserves
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Lester Hudson
JR Giddens

Injuries
Tony Allen (ankle) day to day
Bill Walker (knee) out
Brian Scalabrine (ankle) day to day
Big Baby Davis  (thumb) out 




Coach: Larry Brown
Average Age: 26.2
Average Height: 6-7
Average Weight: 223

Probable Starters

PG: Raymond Felton
SG:  Stephen Graham  
SF:   Gerald Wallace   
PF:   Boris Diaw   
C:   Tyson Chandler

Reserves
Nazr Mohammed
Vladimir Radmanovic
DeSagana Diop
Gerald Henderson
Derrick Brown
Alexis Ajinca
DJ Augustin

Injuries
Raja Bell (wrist)  day to day
Flip Murray  (shin)  day to day

Key Matchups
  vs 
KG has a height advantage over Diaw and so, if healthy, should be able to exploit this matchup.  However, Diaw is quick and so KG needs to be able to get back on defense of Diaw will make him pay.   

  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Raymond Felton 
Rondo is playing for a big contract and needs to prove night in and night out that he is worth it. 

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce vs Gerald Wallace.   
Wallace always seems to play his best games against the Celtics.  Pierce will have to step up his defense as Wallace is one of the main cogs of the Bobcats offense.   

BOBCATS AND CELTICS CONNECTIONS:
· Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers played for Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown with the Clippers during the 1991-92 season. Celtics
forward Rasheed Wallace played for Brown in Detroit for part of the 2003-04 season and the 2004-05 season.
· Celtics guard Eddie House played 13 games for the Bobcats during the inaugural 2004-05 season.
· Bobcats guard Ronald “Flip” Murray and Celtics guard Ray Allen were teammates in Milwaukee and Seattle during the 2002-03 season
and in Seattle from 2003-06, where they also teamed with Bobcats forward Vladimir Radmanovic.
· Bobcats guard Raja Bell, Bobcats forward Boris Diaw and Celtics guard Eddie House were teammates in Phoenix in 2005-06.
· Bobcats center DeSagana Diop and Celtics guard Marquis Daniels were teammates in Dallas in 2005-06. Bobcats guard Stephen
Graham and Daniels were teammates in Indiana from 2007-09, where they were joined by Bobcats guard Ronald “Flip” Murray for part
of the 2007-08 season.
· Bobcats guard Ronald “Flip” Murray and Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit for the 2006-07 season and part of
the 2007-08 season.
· Bobcats guard Stephen Graham and Celtics guard Tony Allen were college teammates at Oklahoma State University in 2003-04.
CAROLINAS CONNECTIONS:
· Celtics assistant coach Kevin Eastman served as the head coach at UNC- Wilmington (1990-94) and Belmont Abbey College (1986-89).
· Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace played collegiately at the University of North Carolina.
· Celtics center Sheldon Williams played collegiately at Duke University.
· Celtics guard Ray Allen attended Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, SC. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett hails from Mauldin, SC. Celtics
assistant coach Clifford Ray is a native of Union, SC.

Game Notes
The Bobcats are one of those young and athletic teams that always seem to give the Celtics problems. The Celtics have had to scrap out every win they have gotten against this team over the past two seasons.  Hopefully they will be able to set the tone early in this one and get an easy win. 

The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games after beating the Cavs in Cleveland in their first game of the season.  This is the Bobcats' first game of the season.  So, fatigue may be a problem especially for KG who is still working his way into game shape.   

Keys to the Game
Start strong   The Celtics got off to a very slow start and were down 13-2 against the Cavs. It takes more out of them to have to play catch up and need to get off to a good start in this game.

Defense  Defense is going to be a key to every game this season and to winning  another championship.   They have said they want to be the best defensive team ever and will need to play better defense than we have seen so far if they want to accomplish that goal.

Limit turnovers  One of the Celtics flaws is still allowing too many turnovers.  They need to take better care of the ball and not give away as many possessions.

Bench play  Against the Cavs, the Celtics bench brought energy into the game when the starters seemed to be lacking it.  It was the bench that brought the Celtics back from the 14 point deficit to take the lead.   This bench is going to be crucial in a lot of games this season because they are deep and talented and should be able to take advantage of most of the other benches they face. 

[Redz]

Your undefeated Boston Celtics!

[Edgar]

Mess with the best...


Die like the rest!!!!




thanks. for that jewel angelina

[celticsclay]

I wish we had wallace. He is the one guy on their team that I really really like. I still get puzzled every time I think about the Chandler for Okafor trade. What exactly did Charlotte get out of that? I think we win by about 15

[Tai]

End this one in 3 quarters, so our starters can have their nights end early.

Oh yeah..and I'm gonna need a stream for this...UGHHHHH.

[xmuscularghandix]

I'm siked for this game, with our bench made up the way it is it makes it impossible for these teams to go on big runs against us.

Lets say the starters come out soft, and we're down by 10 or even less against a team like the Bobcats, or the Nets. The bench will be sitting down watching and looking at where they can attack. Quis will post up there weak 2nd year guard that they still have on him, Eddie house will be coming free on screens becuase the other teams rookie backup PG has never played NBA defense, and Sheed will just be laughing in the face of whoevers covering him.

THEN... the starters will get fired up by the bench's good play and they'll dominate.

[ACF]

2nd GT TP 4 FL (whoa, that's a lot of abbreviations  )

[PosImpos]

You have Stephen Graham's picture up there but you have Raja Bell's name still listed as the starter at SG.

I think this should be an interesting game, they always give us a good one.  Although without Bell I'm really not very worried.

I want to see how their rookies, Henderson and Brown, play.

[lon3lytoaster]

I'm officially ready to do this again. Hopefully we can come out stronger than last night and jump on top early. Get the lead with our starters then push it even further with Sheed and Daniels out there.

The Bobcats always give us a run for our money, but without Emeka this new rendition of the Bobcats, it'll be interesting to see if that trend continues.

The bottom line is; the Bobcats have ugly jerseys, so the Celtics win by 91.

[FLCeltsFan]

You have Stephen Graham's picture up there but you have Raja Bell's name still listed as the starter at SG.

Thanks for pointing that out,  I had Bell in the starting lineup first and then changed it and forgot to change the name.  It's fixed now. 

[Kwhit10]

I'm glad we upped our bench.  For some reason this team gives us fits and generally plays us very well.  I'm hoping switching Okafor for Chandler will reduce this and the fact that our team is much deeper.

[Rondo2287]

Im kinda nervous of a let down game here.  We are playing an inferrior team, at home the night after a road game in Charlottes season opener.  I think they will be jacked up and we may be a little relaxed after last nights huge win. 

[Gemini]

Im kinda nervous of a let down game here.  We are playing an inferrior team, at home the night after a road game in Charlottes season opener.  I think they will be jacked up and we may be a little relaxed after last nights huge win. 

Maybe if it wasnt the home opener. I feel they croud will get them jacked up.

[Fafnir]

Im kinda nervous of a let down game here.  We are playing an inferrior team, at home the night after a road game in Charlottes season opener.  I think they will be jacked up and we may be a little relaxed after last nights huge win. 

Maybe if it wasnt the home opener. I feel they croud will get them jacked up.

Maybe that will keep their heads in tonights game, but I have my doubts. Especially considering how last season started off. A solid team win against the Cavs and then a unfocused loss to the Pacers.

[Rondo2287]

Im kinda nervous of a let down game here.  We are playing an inferrior team, at home the night after a road game in Charlottes season opener.  I think they will be jacked up and we may be a little relaxed after last nights huge win. 

Maybe if it wasnt the home opener. I feel they croud will get them jacked up.

Maybe that will keep their heads in tonights game, but I have my doubts. Especially considering how last season started off. A solid team win against the Cavs and then a unfocused loss to the Pacers.

And is it my imagination here or do the bobcats always seem to play us very tough?