at 
Oklahoma City Thunder (45-28) at Boston Celtics (47-26)
Wednesday, March 31
7:30 PM ET
Game #74, Home Game #37
TV: KSBI, CSN-NE, NBA-LP 756,757
Radio: WEEI, WWLS
TD Garden



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

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

Injuries
Kendrick Perkins (knee) probable
Paul Pierce (shoulder)  questionable

D-League
Marcus Landry 




Probable Starters
PG Russell Westbrook
SG Thabo Sefolosha
SF Kevin Durant 
PF   Jeff Green
C Nenad Krstic 


Reserves
James Harden
Serge Ibaka
Byron Mullins
DJ White
Nick Collision
Eric Maynor
Kevin Ollie
Etan Thomas
Kyle Weaver 

Injuries
None 

Team Connections
 Nick Collison and Paul Pierce are former Kansas Jayhawks
Jeff Green was originally drafted by the Celtics with the 5th overall
pick in the 2007 Draft
Nick Collison and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2004-07
Kevin Ollie and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Kevin Ollie and Shelden Williams were teammates in Minnesota
during the 2008-09 season.

Key Matchups
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Kevin Durant
When we play against Durant there will always be thoughts of what might have been if the Celtics had landed the 1st or 2nd pick in that draft instead of the 5th.  Durant has blossomed into a star and is averaging an impressive 29.6 points per game along with 7.5 rebounds per game.  In the first meeting between these two teams this season, Durant put up 36 points.  Pierce will have his hands full trying to contain this young and athletic star. 

  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is a very good point guard who could give Rondo problems in this game.  He is averaging 6.2 points, 7.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Rondo outplayed Westbrook in their first meeting and so Westbook will likely be looking to even the score in this game.  Rondo needs to come out focused and be aggressive on both ends of the court. 

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Jeff Green
This is another of those what might have been matchups.  The Celtics picked Jeff Green with the 5th pick in the draft and then traded him to Seattle in return for Ray Allen and this was the trade that set the table for KG to come to Boston.   KG has been playing very well and has height and experience advantages while Green has youth and quickness on his side. 

Game Notes
  The C’s are currently leading the season series 1-0; Celtics won the season series 2-0 against the Thunder in 2008-09
 Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 23.5 points per game last season
 Kevin Durant led the Thunder with an average of 19.0 points per game against the Celtics last season
 The Celtics are 8-3 against the Thunder since the 2004-05 season
 The Celtics are leading the all-time series 66-50 with the Celtics 34-19 at home

The Celtics are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Spurs while the Thunder are coming off a heartbreaking home loss to Portland before their big win over the Sixers on Tuesday night. This team has a lot of confidence and are playing very well.  The Celtics would do well to take them very seriously!

  This game has playoff implications for both teams.  The Celtics are back to a tie for 3rd in the East after their loss to the Spurs and a win by Atlanta on Monday.  The Thunder are tied with Portland for the 6th spot in the West and just half a game ahead of the Spurs for that 8th spot and a first round matchup with the Lakers.  Needless to say, the Thunder would like to avoid that 8th spot and so every game is important to them. 

The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games and a disappointing 24-13 at home this season.  The Thunder are 6-4 in their last 10 games and an impressive 20 and 15 on the road.  The Celtics have had 2 days of rest while the Thunder are playing in the second of back to back games, having played in Philly the night before. 

The Celtics need to take this team seriously because they are for real.  The Thunder are the kind of young and athletic team that can give the Celtics problems.   The Celtics should be looking to redeem themselves after a terrible showing against the Spurs and hopefully will come out strong and take control of this game early. 

Keys to the Game
Defense   The team that plays the best defense is going to come out on top in this one.  Both teams can put up the points and the team that stops the other team will have the advantage.

Rebound  Rebounding is especially important when playing teams like the Thunder who will run on misses on the defensive end and who are athletic enough to get put backs on the offensive end.  The Celtics have got to put out more effort in going after rebounds. 

Play Team Ball The Celtics had gotten back to playing team ball and moving the ball and finding the open man recently, but against the Spurs, they fell back into bad habits of holding the ball too much and not looking for open teammates.   Ball movement and assists are very important to the Celtics' success.

Play 48 Minutes Once again, the Celtics played well in the first half and disappeared in the second half against the Spurs.  They can't come out flat in the 3rd quarter and expect to beat playoff teams.  They have to get back to coming out strong in the 3rd and dominating teams in the second half as well as the first. 

X-Factor
Youth vs Pride
The Thunder are a young team and so back to back games probably won't affect them as much as they would an older team.  The Celtics had their pride wounded against the Spurs but will recovering their pride be enough to overcome the youth and athleticism of the Thunder?