Nuggets (47-23) at Celtics (45-25) 3/24

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Nuggets (47-23) at Celtics (45-25) 
Wednesday, March 24
7:00 PM ET
Game #71, Road Game #34
TV: ESPN, CSN-NE, ASE2, RTV
Radio:  WEEI, KCKK
TD Garden



Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 28.3
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 228

Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen/ Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Kendrick Perkins

Reserves
Glen Davis
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Tony Allen
Shelden Williams
Nate Robinson
Michael Finley
Brian Scalabrine 

Injuries:
None

D-League
Marcus Landry




Coach: George Karl
Average Age: 27.6
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 223

Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Chauncey Billups / Aaron Afflalo /Carmelo Anthony/ Nene Hilario/Johan Petro

Reserves
Anthony Carter
J R Smith
Malik Allen
Ty Lawson
Joey Graham
Chris Andersen 

Injuries
Kenyon Martin (knee) out 
Renaldo Balkman (back)  questionable

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Chauncey Billups 
Chauncey Billups is one of the top PGs in the league and he isn't known as Mr Big Shot for nothing.  Rondo has been playing very well and the Celtics will need him to continue his strong and aggressive play in this game, especially on the defensive end. 

  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Carmelo Anthony
This should be a very good matchup as both players are tough and play hard.  Both are strong and can hit the outside shot as well as take it to the hoop.   Melo has been playing very well and scoring in bunches.  Pierce's defense will be needed even more than his offense. 

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Nene
Nene has been playing very well this season and KG has been looking a lot better.   The Celtics will need a strong defensive effort to keep Nene in check. 

Team Connections
Kenyon Martin and Brian Scalabrine were teammates in New Jersey from 2001-04
Anthony Carter and Kevin Garnett were teammates in Minnesota during the 2004-05 season..
Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett were teammates in Minnesota from 2000-02
Chauncey Billups was originally drafted by the Celtics with the 3rd overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft
Arron Afflalo, Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit from 2007-09
Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit from 2003-08
Rasheed Wallace and Ty Lawson are former North Carolina Tar Heels
Johan Petro and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2005-07

Game Notes
 The Nuggets are currently leading the season series 1-0; The Celtics and Nuggets split the season series 1-1 during the 2008-09 season
 Ray Allen led the Celtics with 26.0 points per game last season
 Carmelo Anthony averaged a team-high 18.0 points per game against the Celtics last season
 The Celtics are 4-7 against the Nuggets since the 2004-05 season
 The Celtics are leading the all-time series 44-28 with the Celtics 29-7 at home

The Celtics return back home after a very tough and moderately successful road trip where they won 2 of 3.  The Celtics have had more success on the road this season than they have at home, but they are riding a 3 game home win streak into this game.  Those three wins were all blowouts, but they were also against sub-500 teams.  Denver on the other hand has a better record than the Celtics and is making a strong push to overtake the Lakers for first in the West.

The Nuggets are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have a .500 record on the road with 17 wins and 17 losses.  The Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have a 21-12 record at home.   The Nuggets are 5 games behind LA with the Lakers set to go on a tough road trip and so Denver would love to move up in the standings with a win in this one.  The Celtics are still tied with the Hawks for the 3rd spot in the East.  They missed a good opportunity to pull ahead when the Hawks lost to the Bucks on Monday.   The Celtics need to take care of teams in this upcoming 6 game home stand that begins with the Nuggets and ends with the Cavs, because they can't depend on the Hawks to lose many games down the stretch.   

The Nuggets are playing in the second of back to back games, having faced the Knicks in NY the night before.  The Celtics have had one day off after their tough road trip and so hopefully will be ready for this one.   The Celtics lost to the Nuggets 114-105 in Denver and so they should be looking to send a message that they can beat this team should they meet again in the finals.   

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics have won their last 3 home games and the first two games on the road trip with their defense.  They seem to have found the defensive urgency that has been lacking in many games this season.  They slipped up a bit in Utah and allowed them to hit way too many open shots.  They need to keep that defensive intensity as they being this stretch of home games.   

Focus for 48 Minutes - The Celtics can't afford to let up against a team like the Nuggets.  Any loss of focus against the Nuggets would open the door for them to make a big run.  The Celtics must come out strong and not let up until the final buzzer sounds. They have to come out in the 3rd quarter with more focus and urgency than they did in Utah. 

Rebound    The Nuggets have some very strong rebounders on their team and the Celtics have got to attack the boards in order to prevent second chance points and fast breaks by the Nuggets. 

Take Care of the Ball  Careless turnovers have been plaguing the Celtics, especially in the 3rd quarter.  They must take better care of the ball and avoid the sloppy passes that have been picked off on a regular basis in recent games.   

X-Factor
Back to Back on the Road
The Nuggets are playing in back to back games on the road.  Good teams are perfectly capable of winning in this situation.  The Celtics did it in Dallas on their recent road trip.  But it does open the door just a little bit for the home team.     

[ACF]

TP.

Let's get back on track, GO CELTICS!

[Donoghus]

Needless to say that we can't play the 1st quarter against these guys like we did last time.

Also, we need to do a better job on their bigs.  Birdman & Nene absolutely killed us last time.

[Rashi]

lol those are cute Celtz slippers


As for the game....this will be the last game I'll be watching before I go on my vacation....so come on C's...please get a win.


Should be a fun game tomorrow night....and Tp for the excellent write-up.

[Bahku]

TP, Fl. Still like what I see despite the loss ... the Boyz are playing more like the 2008 team. I think we're going to close out the regualr season in a big way. (Gotta get those fuzzy slippers )

[barefacedmonk]

(Mc)Nuggets for dinner...I'm lovin' it.

CELTICS HOORAH...CELTICS HOORAH...CELTICS HOORAH...1 2 3 Ubuntu!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqxIrERLYiI

(Thx, FL. TP)

[FLCeltsFan]

TP, Fl. Still like what I see despite the loss ... the Boyz are playing more like the 2008 team. I think we're going to close out the regualr season in a big way. (Gotta get those fuzzy slippers )

I actually have those slippers (the Celtics ones of course).  They were very comfy at first.  Now they are almost worn out so not quite so much. 

[celticinorlando]

i am going back to the reverse jinx. i went positive for the utah game. boston struggles vs the nuggs

[Evantime34]

i am going back to the reverse jinx. i went positive for the utah game. boston struggles vs the nuggs

If you say it's a reverse jinx, that jinx is negated. You have to say it then convince everyone that you are serious for that to work.

On a completely unrelated note I think the Nuggets will be too much for the C's to handle. C's get wafflestomped.

[Witch-King]

Lol I can't feel too bad losing to the Nuggets after the blowout they gave LA earlier this year and the game-winner that 'Melo dropped on LeBron up in Cleveland...well besides the fact that they let AI go and Chauncey was upstaging him in two different cities at the same time last season ::shudders:: Maybe we'll figure out how to guard Carmelo Anthony tommorow...

[FLCeltsFan]

BAD REF ALERT:   Tonight's refs are
Dick Bavetta (UGH!)
Marc Davis
Derek Richardson 

[LB3533]

Nuggets played last night, we should win this game.

I feel it will be close though.

[Bahku]

BAD REF ALERT:   Tonight's refs are
Dick Bavetta (UGH!)
Marc Davis
Derek Richardson 

It's too bad ... I used to like Dick Bavetta, but he's gone around the bend in the last couple of years, and has become one of the worst. Thank God Violet Palmer and Kenny Mauer aren't with him ... that would be the trio from hell.

[Redz]

i am going back to the reverse jinx. i went positive for the utah game. boston struggles vs the nuggs

If you say it's a reverse jinx, that jinx is negated. You have to say it then convince everyone that you are serious for that to work.

On a completely unrelated note I think the Nuggets will be too much for the C's to handle. C's get wafflestomped.

The real trick is that you have to convince yourself somehow that you did not consciously try to elicit a reverse jinx purposefully.  Very tricky business.  Reminiscent of Douglas Adams theory on How to Fly from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss...

The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it's going to hurt.

That is, it's going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground. Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.

Clearly, it is the second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties.

[RAcker]

BAD REF ALERT:   Tonight's refs are
Dick Bavetta (UGH!)
Marc Davis
Derek Richardson 

Aaaaaargh!