Celtics (26-10) at Nets (3-34) 1/13

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (26-10) at New Jersey Nets (3-34)
Wednesday, January 13
7:30 PM ET
Game #37  Road Game #21
TV:  CSN-NE, YES HD, NBA-LP 755, 756
Izod Center


ProbableStarting Matchups
Point Guard
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris

Shooting Guard 
  vs 
Ray Allen vs Courtney Lee

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Chris Douglas Roberts 

Power Forward
  vs 
Brian Scalabrine vs Yi Jianlian   

Center
  vs 
Kendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez




Reserves
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Big Baby Davis
Tony Allen
Bill Walker
JR Giddens

Injuries:
Kevin Garnett  (knee)  out
Rasheed Wallace (foot)  out
Marquis Daniels  (thumb)  out 


Reserves
Josh Boone
Bobby Simmons
Trenton Hassell
Keyon Dooling
Tony Battie 
Jarvis Hayes
Shawne Williams
Kris Humphries
Chris Quinn

Injuries
Devin Harris (wrist)  probable

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris
The first time these two teams met this season, Harris was out with an injury.  Last season, Harris beat out Rondo for a spot on the All Star team and hopefully Rondo will remember that and be motivated for a big game instead of taking this team for granted because of their poor record.   Harris missed the Nets' game vs the Spurs with a sore wrist but with 3 days rest since their last game, he is expected to play in this one. 

vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez
Lopez has been one of the bright spots for the Nets in an otherwise dismal season.   Lopez is ranked 3rd among centers in scoring at 18.6 points per game and has 15 (20point, 10rebound) double doubles this season which is first among all centers. 

Honorable Mention
Brian Scalabrine vs Yi Jianlian
Assuming that Doc goes with Scal for the start again, he will be matched up against Yi Jianlian who has been playing very well lately.  Over the last 9 games, Yi has been averaging 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.  He plays mostly on the perimeter rather than banging inside and so it would seem that Scal would be the best available big man to guard him.

Team Connections
Brian Scalabrine played for the Nets from 2001-05
Josh Boone and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Eddie House played for the Nets during the 2006-07 season
Assistant Coaches Doug Overton (1999-2001) and Roy Rogers (1997-98) both played for the Celtics
Eddie House and Keyon Dooling were teammates with the Clippers during the 2003-04 season
Tony Battie played for the Celtics from1998-2004 and drove Paul Pierce to the hospital after he was stabbed in 2000
Trenton Hassell and Kevin Garnett were teammates in Minnesota from 2003-07
Marquis Daniels and Devin Harris were teammates in Dallas from 2004-06
Jarvis Hayes and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit during the 2007-08 season

Game Notes
• The C’s are leading the season series 1-0; Celtics swept the season series 4-0 against New Jersey in 2008-09
• Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 19.0 points per game last season
• Devin Harris averaged 16.3 points per game against the Celtics last season in four games
• The Celtics are currently on a nine game winning streak against the Nets which marks their longest winning streak against the Nets since an 11
game winning streak that spanned the 1980-81 and 1981-82 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 103-54 with the Celtics 55-24 at home

The Nets have won only 3 games so far this season but they shouldn't be taken for granted because they have some players who are capable of big games.   We remember Courtney Lee going off on the Celtics when he played for Orlando in last year's playoffs.  Yi and Brook Lopez have been playing well.  Devin Harris is an all star.  They also have Chris Quinn who can get hot from beyond the arc. 

The Nets are 1 -9 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 5-5, as they battle through a series of injuries and illnesses.  The Celtics are 15-5 on the road and the Nets are just 2-15 at home.  The Nets have been resting since losing to the Spurs on Sunday while the Celtics are playing in their 3rd game in 4 nights.   

While posting the Nets' roster, I kept thinking:  "He's still in the league?"  They have a nice starting lineup, but their bench is mostly expiring contracts waiting for the big 2010 free agent class.  But, in spite of all this, the Celtics can't overlook this team.    The Celtics have a game on Thurs vs the Bulls and it would be nice to put the Nets away early and get the starters some rest. 

Keys to the Game
Limit Turnovers  The Celtics must take better care of the basketball.  They have been turning the ball over at an alarming rate and must make better passes and keep their focus so as to limit these turnovers. 

Rebound  Rebounding shows the amount of effort and desire a team has.  The Celtics must bring both effort and desire and crash the boards on both ends.

Defense No explanation needed.   Defense is the key to winning.  Period.

Play 48 Minutes The Celtics seem to either be hot at the beginning and then let up at the end of games or they come out sluggish and have to play catch up the entire game.  They must come out focused and stay focused for the full 48 minutes.

X-Factor
Fatigue
The Celtics starters have been playing big minutes recently.  Key players have been out and Doc refuses to play the young guys and so Ray especially is logging 40+ minutes per game.  They are playing in the 3rd game in 4 nights along with travel after each game and so fatigue could come into play in this one. 

[Bahku]

A must-win, in my opinion ... simply for morale reasons. We need a shot in the arm right now, and some momentum to cover the bleak landscape between now and KG's return. Great set-up, Florida ... as usual ... and ditto on the x-factor. (TP)

[Rtpas11]

a must win indeed, but honestly I have a bad feeling about this game. I think we just may lose the awful Nets.

[Drucci]

Must win, yeah, but definitely a trap game!

I feel that these games are really dangerous because losing to such a bad team would be a shame so the fact that they suck badly may cause you trouble.

Anyway, I'm hoping for an easy blowout and some rest for the starters, they need it from these past few days, and we have another back to back tomorrow against Chicago...

TP FL and let's go C's!

[celticinorlando]

a loss to the nets would confirm a lot of the fears celtic fans have right now...they must win this one

[UGotRondod]

Scal HAS TO stay out of foul trouble tonight.  He played superb D the other night agains Smith.  If he can keep Yi Ji in check tonight I think the C's will be fine.  He is probably their hottest player right now.  Hopefully Big Red can shut him down, and keep draining those 3s!

[jadams5214]

In light of talks about negative posts I have come up with a more positive outlook on tonight's game -

The Celtics are playing the absolute worst team in the NBA that is on pace to finish with the worst record in NBA History!  Think about this --- if me and 4 other guys from this forum had a team and played 37 games in the NBA we would have only THREE fewer wins!  That is almost mind boggling to even think about.  This Nets team has had losing streaks of 18, 10 and the current 5 game streak. 

The Celtics will be motivated to play hard tonight after the Atlanta loss.  Also they know not to take this team lightly as the previous game against these Nets was close all the way until the last couple minutes. There is no doubt that the Celtics will post a comfortable win tonight.  Tonight they will get their usual large second quarter lead but manage to hold onto to it which has been difficult lately.  The starters will get some much needed rest with another game looming tomorrow.

All of the facts and logical conclusions point to a comfortable win tonight against possibly the worst team in NBA history.  This will make viewing the game and commenting a real pleasure as it's always nice to have a relaxing, easy game during the tough NBA season.  Positive comments will be flowing tonight I can feel it!

Now on the other hand if the Celtics somehow manage to lose this game.............

[Kiorrik]

a must win indeed, but honestly I have a bad feeling about this game. I think we just may lose the awful Nets.

Don't you dare saying that darnit >_<

[Kiorrik]

In light of talks about negative posts I have come up with a more positive outlook on tonight's game -

The Celtics are playing the absolute worst team in the NBA that is on pace to finish with the worst record in NBA History!  Think about this --- if me and 4 other guys from this forum had a team and played 37 games in the NBA we would have only THREE fewer wins!  That is almost mind boggling to even think about.  This Nets team has had losing streaks of 18, 10 and the current 5 game streak. 

The Celtics will be motivated to play hard tonight after the Atlanta loss.  Also they know not to take this team lightly as the previous game against these Nets was close all the way until the last couple minutes. There is no doubt that the Celtics will post a comfortable win tonight.  Tonight they will get their usual large second quarter lead but manage to hold onto to it which has been difficult lately.  The starters will get some much needed rest with another game looming tomorrow.

All of the facts and logical conclusions point to a comfortable win tonight against possibly the worst team in NBA history.  This will make viewing the game and commenting a real pleasure as it's always nice to have a relaxing, easy game during the tough NBA season.  Positive comments will be flowing tonight I can feel it!

Now on the other hand if the Celtics somehow manage to lose this game.............

TP, I'm with you...

... on that team with 3 fewer wins than the Nets that is.

[jadams5214]

[/quote]
TP, I'm with you...

... on that team with 3 fewer wins than the Nets that is.
[/quote]

Seriously think about how fun that would be --- making millions of dollars, traveling around the country, having women in every city.  There would be no pressure after each loss we could say "Hey we are only 3 games behind the Nets."  To the disgruntled fan base we could say "Hey we are only 3 games worse than the Nets."  And since the team would be in the lottery anyways why not go all way and lose every game!  This Nets team might win 10 games this year what good is that?  I say go all the way and lose every game make it memorable!

[Chief]

Scal, we need you to have a big game. Prove the Nets wrong for not resigning you and putting us through years of misery.

[GreenFaith1819]

Thanks for post, FLCeltsFan and TP for you!

This game does in fact scare me. We are more vulnerable now than we were the last time we played the Nets and they almost beat us.

I expect that they Will blow them out as long as they come to play. The Nets won't roll over and die though.

[Celtics18]

The most intriquing part of this game will definitely be the Lopez v. Perkins matchup. 

That kid is big, he's tough, and he's got alot of skills, to boot.  I'd love to see Perk really frustrate Brook tonight. 

Right now, I gotta say that the other "big matchup", Rondo/Harris, looks overwhelmingly like a mis-match in our favour. 

Go Celts!  Please, don't allow the Nets to hang around in this one. 

[celticinorlando]

why do i feel that boston is going to be in a dogfight tonight?

[buellj814]

ive got to be honest the most intriguing part of this game is Bill Kennedy officiating this game.. and this is definitely not a good intrigue!! Salvatore to Kennedy.. one word YUCK!