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Boston Celtics (23-20) at Denver Nuggets (24-20)
Saturday, March 17
9:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #44 Road Game #20
TV: CSNNE, SNET1, ASE, LP 757-758 (DTV)
Radio: WEEI, KRWZ
Pepsi CenterProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Ty Lawson
Shooting Guard vs
Ray Allen vs Arron Afflalo
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs Danilo Gallinari
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass vs Kenneth Faried
Center vs
Kevin Garnett vs Timofey Mozgov
Celtics ReservesMickael Pietrus
Greg Stiemsma
Keyon Dooling
Sasha Pavlovic
Marquis Daniels
Avery Bradley
JaJuan Johnson
E'Twaun Moore
InjuriesJermaine O'Neal (wrist) out
Chris Wilcox (heart) out
Pierce (ankle) probable
Denver's Reserves Al Harrington
Andre Miller
Kosta Koufos
Rudy Fernandez
Corey Brewer
Chris Andersen
Julyan Stone
Jordan Hamilton
New PlayersJaVale McGee (will play pending physical)
Rony Turiaf (will play pending physical- possibly waived)
Injuries None
Team Connections Jordan Hamilton and Avery Bradley both attended the University of Texas
Ray Allen played for George Karl in Seattle from 1998-2003
Andre Miller, Keyon Dooling and Chris Wilcox were teammates on the LA Clippers during the 2002-03 season
Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari and Chris Wilcox were teammates on New York during the 2008-09 season
Chris Andersen and Brandon Bass were teammates in New Orleans from 2005-07
Al Harrington and Mickael Pietrus were teammates in Golden State from 2006-08
Jermaine O’Neal and Al Harrington were teammates in Indiana from 2000-04 and during the 2006-07 season.
Game Notes This is the only time these two teams will meet this season. While the Celtics stood pat at the trade deadline and have chemistry intact, the Nuggets traded their starting center, which could affect their chemistry. They are coming off a big loss to the Thunder.
The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games and won 2 in a row on this road trip before dropping one to the Kings. While the Nuggets are 6-4 in their last 10 and lost their last game to the Thunder. The Nuggets are 13-11 at home while the Celtics are just 7-12 on the road.
The Celtics kept pace with the Sixers who lost to Miami and remain 1.5 games behind them for the 4th seed. Atlanta won, moving the Celtics from half a game back of the 6th spot to 1.5 games back. Denver is in the 8th spot in the West in a virtual tie with Houston, who owns the tie breaker. They are 2 ahead of Minnesota for the 9th spot.
Fatigue could be a problem in this game. But no matter how tired they are, they can't play worse than they did against the Kings. They played no defense and couldn't stop the Kings all night long. Their offense was also anemic, missing wide open shots and layups. Hopefully they can get back on track and get a win in this one.
Key Matchups vs
Kevin Garnett vs Timofey Mozgov
With the trade of Nene at the deadline, Mozgov has been thrust into the starting lineup. In his first game against Perk and the Thunder, Mozgov had just 2 points and 2 rebounds. It's possible McGee may have his physical and may be given the starting nod but he would be thrust into a new system. Either way, KG has a big advantage. Hopefully he will take full advantage of it.
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Ty Lawson
Rondo needs to control the tempo and be aggressive in getting into the paint and either scoring or kick out to an open teammate. With the trade deadline over, Rondo should be able to fully concentrate on getting his team the win. Rondo didn't fare very well against Isaiah Thomas in the last game. He needs go get his focus back and take over this game.
Honorable MentionBrandon Bass vs Kenneth Faried
Several articles lately have documented Bass' progress and improvement in the Celtics' system. Faried is strong and very athletic and will be a handful for Bass on both ends of the court.
Keys to the Game Defense - I may sound like a broken record, but Defense is the key to every game. If they come into every game with the mindset to make defense a priority, they stand a good chance of winning every one. When they slack off on defense, it affects every part of their game. Denver is first in the league in scoring at 103.8 points per game and third in FG% shooting 46.7%. The Celtics are 26th in scoring at 91.3 points per game and 7th in FG% at 45.6%. On the other side, the Celtics are 3rd in points allowed at 90.07 and 2nd, allowing teams to shoot just 42.3%. The Nuggets allow 101.5 points per game. The Celtics played absolutely NO defense vs the Kings. Defense will be crucial for the Celtics in this one as they won't outscore the Nuggets.
Rebound - Since much of rebounding is effort and desire, the effort that the Celtics show on the boards usually indicates how much the team really wants the game. With the Celtics short on bigs, everyone on the team needs to make rebounding a priority. The team that wins the battle of the boards usually comes out on top because the effort needed to out rebound the other team carries across all other areas of the game. The Nuggets are a very good rebounding team, ranking 5th with 43.6 rebounds per game. The Celtics are still last, pulling down only 38.6 rebounds per game. The Celtics were out rebounded 45-28 by the Kings and it showed in the final score. The Celtics have got to make an effort to crash the boards as a team.
Be Aggressive The more aggressive team usually gets more calls and taking the ball to the hoop usually ends in either a basket or a foul or a kick out to a wide open teammate. The Celtics can't settle for jumpers, especially on the road. They have to be aggressive in going to the hoop. They also must be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds. Against the Kings they settled for outside shots and stood by while the Kings out hustled them to loose balls and rebounds. The Celtics simply have to snap out of their trance and be more aggressive.
Move the Ball- When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man, they are very tough to beat. When the ball movement slows and players try to do too much, it usually ends in a loss. But the Celtics must be careful with their passes as the Nuggets are 5th in the league, forcing 15.9 turnovers a game. Several times against the Kings Rondo dribbled up the court and still had the ball with 10 seconds on the clock. They have to run and they must move the ball.
X-FactorsThin Air and Fatigue
The Celtics will be playing at a higher altitude than they are used to, while the Nuggets (other than the new players just coming in) are used to it. Hopefully it won't affect the Celtics too much. Also, the Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and had to travel overnight. Fatigue could come into play as well as the altitude.