Heat (37-13) at Celtics (29-22) 4/1

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Miami Heat (37-13) at Boston Celtics (29-22)
Sunday, April 1
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #52,  Home Game #27
TV:  ABC, CHCH-TV
Radio:  WEEI, ESPN Radio, WAXY
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups

Point Guard:  Rajon Rondo vs Mario Chalmers
vs

Shooting Guard:  Ray Allen vs Dwyane Wade
vs

Small Forward:  Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
vs

Power Forward:  Brandon Bass vs Chris Bosh
vs

Center:  Kevin Garnett vs Joel Anthony 
vs



Game Notes
This is the second meeting this season between these two teams.  Their first meeting was the second game of the season and the Heat won it 115-107.  Paul Pierce and Mickael Pietrus were both out in that game and
Sasha Pavlovic started in place of Paul Pierce.  Greg Stiemsma had yet to make his way into the lineup and Avery Bradley played just 3 minutes in mop up. 

Ray Allen has been close to coming back for the past 3 games.  He traveled with the team to Minnesota and has participated in the last 3 shoot arounds but just didn't feel ready for the game.  Once again he'll be a game time decision for the Celtics.   We probably won't know till game time whether Ray or Avery will be starting for the Celtics.  The only Heat injury is Mike Miller.

These two teams will meet twice more in April, once more on each court.  The Heat are fairly safely entrenched in second place in the East,  3.5 games behind Chicago and 6 games ahead of Orlando for the 3rd seed.  The Celtics are still battling for position.  They now sit 4th in the East, 1 game ahead of Philly and would drop back to 7th should they lose their lead in the Atlantic division.  They are also 1 game behind Atlanta for the 6th seed and 3.5 games ahead of New York for 8th.  Every game for the Celtics has playoff implications and the Celtics have got to show up for every one. 

Both teams are known for their tough defense.  The Celtics rank a little higher on defense, but the Heat are also ranked 3rd in scoring, which makes the Celtics defense even more important.    The Celtics have to be aggressive on both ends of the court and they have to play like they want it more.  This game will go a long way toward showing that they are indeed building toward the playoffs. 


Boston Reserves
Greg Stiemsma
Avery Bradley
Ryan Hollins
Sasha Pavlovic
Keyon Dooling
Marquis Daniels
JaJuan Johnson
E'Twaun Moore


Injured
Ray Allen (ankle) game time decision
Greg Stiemsma (feet,thumb) will play
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) out 
Mickael Pietrus (concussion)  out 


Miami's Reserves
Shane Battier
Ronny Turiaf
Terrel Harris
Norris Cole
Eddie Curry
Juwan Howard
James Jones
Dexter Pittman
Udonis Haslem

Injuries
Mike Miller (ankle)  out 

Team Connections
Mario Chalmers and Paul Pierce both attended the University of Kansas
Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers and Dwyane Wade both attended Marquette University…
Jermaine O’Neal played for the Heat during the end of the 2008-09 season and all of the 2009-10 season
Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal were teammates in Toronto during the 2008-09 season
Dexter Pittman and Avery Bradley were teammates at the University of Texas
Sasha Pavlovic and LeBron James were teammates in Cleveland from 2004-09
Keyon Dooling played for the Heat during the 2004-05 season
Juwan Howard and Ryan Hollins were teammates in Charlotte during the 2008-09 season
Ronny Turiaf and Mickael Pietrus both play for the French national team

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Mario Chalmers 
Rondo has been playing some of his best basketball in recent games. He definitely has the upper hand in this matchup.   Chalmers can hit big 3 pointers and so Rondo will have to stay on him on the perimeter. 

  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Joel Anthony
KG has the upper hand in this matchup as well.  He has been playing like it's 2008 in recent games and hopefully he continues that in this game.  He should have a big game if he remains focused and motivated. 

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
Ray Allen (or Avery Bradley) vs Dwyane Wade
Brandon Bass vs Chris Bosh
The key matchups are going to be at the positions other than Miami's 3 stars.  Pierce and James play each other very well.  Avery would be better defensively on Wade but Ray would make Wade have to work harder on the defensive end.  And Bass should be able to handle Bosh, especially after KG growls at him a couple of times.  The Heat's weakest spots are now the Celtics strongest at PG with Rondo and at center with KG and that will be key for the Celtics. 

Keys to the Game

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics must limit their turnovers as the Heat will turn them into fast break points.  Wade in particular is good at making teams pay for their turnovers.  The Celtics had 24 turnovers in the first meeting between these two teams.  They need to take care of the ball and avoid costly turnovers.   

Rebound - The Celtics have to limit the Heat's second chance baskets and fast breaks by crashing the boards.  The amount of effort put into winning the rebound battle often follows through to the other areas of the game.  In their first meeting the Celtics were out rebounded by 10.  They have to put out more effort on the boards and rebound as a team. 

Defense -  Both teams are good defensive teams.  The Celtics are 3rd in the league holding teams to 90.18 points while the Heat are 6th, holding teams to 93.8 points per game.  The Celtics keep opponents to 42% (2nd) while the Heat are 4th, keeping teams at 43%.   The Heat are 3rd in the league in scoring at 101.3 and shoot 48% while the Celtics are 27th scoring 91.6 points on 46% shooting (5th).  The Celtics won't win a shoot out so they have to turn up their defense if they want to get this win. 

Be Aggressive -  The Celtics must be the more aggressive team.  They can't settle for jumpers but have to drive to the hoop and either kick it to an open teammate, draw the foul or get the score.  They also have to be the more aggressive team on defense, grabbing rebounds and going after loose balls.  They have to play like they want it more. 

Team Ball -  The Celtics need to play team ball.  When they move the ball and make the extra pass and find the open man and play as a team,  they are tough to beat.  When they revert to hero ball and there is little ball movement and they settle for quick shots, they rarely win.  Rondo is a big part of keeping the ball moving and setting up the offense and he he has been doing this in the Celtics recent win streak.  They have to play team ball, run the offense, and make the Heat play defense. 

Bench Play - The Celtics bench has been depleted by injuries.  Bass has moved into the starting lineup.  Avery may very well still be starting if Ray still can't go.  Pietrus is out.  Wilcox is out.  O'Neal is out.  The Celtics have a very short rotation and need to get quality play the subs to give the starters a rest.  The Heat's bench got much better with the signing of Turiaf and Battier is another player who gives them a boost off the bench.  The Celtics need their reserves to play well. 

X-Factors
Home Court and Officials
The Celtics will be at home and hopefully their crowd will be loud and give them a boost.  The Heat have struggled recently on the road and we can only hope that they continue to do so.   The Heat tend to get a lot of calls their way.  Hopefully the officiating will be fair in this one but that's a lot to hope for. 

[Q_FBE]

The Celtics have played well on Sunday afternoons and I expect this will be no different. I think you can throw away the early season result because Paul Pierce was not available. Still we were able to make a late run until Norris Cole killed us with two three pointers in the closing two minutes. I thought Ray Allen would steal it for us. I think you let Paul Pierce and Lebron James duke it out. Have Ray Allen and Avery Bradley grind on Dwayne Wade. Let KG and Steamer punish the big fellas. The benches will be important for both sides. Rony Turiaf and Udonis Haslem can do a lot of damage to us against our back up bigs. Oh wait we don't have any!

I would like to begin the Celtics Amen Corner Week with a win over Miami on national TV to demonstrate that the Celtics will be heard from this upcoming playoff season.

[SHAQATTACK]

Pietrus would have come in handy to wear on Wade , and Wilcox handle Bosh .  As usual we are always undermaned due to injuries.

Heat are a ruff bunch and dirty players,  I expect us to suffer more injuries .  Oh how I wish Perk was here for just this game

[aporel#18]

TP, FL.

Go Celtics!!

[hwangjini_1]

and so it starts....the next two weeks will tell me whether this celtics team will be a real threat in the playoffs. even a .500 record in the next two weeks will be me hope that the celtics can play with the "big boys" once again.

miami is an outstanding team in terms of talent. the celtics will have to play a great game, especially on defense. force lebron to make jump shots, make wade work on defense, and KG and bass have to attack the basket every chance they get.

bosh cant stop those two around the basket.

go celtics!!!!!!! 

and tp once more for a great game thread.

[Eddie20]

Perimeter players Chalmers (36% FG), Cole (38% FG), and Battier (33% FG) were atrocious in March. This bodes well for our defense, especially when we go into our 2/3 zone.

[CelticG1]

there's absolutely no doubt that Bosh will be on KG and vice versa

[Eddie20]

there's absolutely no doubt that Bosh will be on KG and vice versa

I'm not so sure about that. They'll probably employ a cross matchup and have Anthony on KG. This will help conserve Bosh's energy on the offensive end, while he has the length to give Bass' jumper some issues defensively.

[j804]

I think to win this game we HAVE to get to the line which will say how aggressive we are. We've been the agressors but if we let them turn us to a jump shooting team forget about it.

Let's take care of home and get this one.

[mr. dee]

LOL @ the shirt of heat. A win for this game is a MUST so we can make a statement.

[jdz101]

All I can say is good luck

[Tgro]

The last 2 games against the Heat have been ugly times for our Celtics. Of course, last season in the playoffs, the Heats scored what was it..?....The last 16 points of the game to close out the series and our season after they had previously took our last ray of hope away in an earlier game by dislocating Rondo's elbow. Then we got to watch Lebron celebrate like he just won the title and the crowd going nuts.

And then last time in game 2 of the season they were pretty much blowing us out until we went into a zone defense and quite literally nearly pulled it out until Cole sealed the deal for them and they won it late. I don't know about you guys, but both games left a very bad taste in my mouth and both games were played in Miami.

This time, we're at home. We've been playing really well lately. When we play like a team I think we give anyone a run for their money. KG has been on fire! And the rest of the team has been playing pretty strong. We've seen a LOT more good Rondo than bad Rondo lately. And the young guys have been turning into real contributors and players for us. This will give them a great playoff feeling and atmosphere and a real taste of Celtics Pride and Celtic's Fan's passion.  

I'm expecting us to come out with our game faces on and our fans to be fired up and acting like this is a playoff game. This game could prove a lot to both teams psychies. I would be disappointed if the Celtics didn't come out and act like they really wanted this game bad.

I will be disappointed if we don't win.

I think we can beat these guys tomorrow.

Maybe even embarrass the Heat.

I will be glued to my tv!!!

GO CELTICS!!!!!

[bruinsandceltics]

Please win this one and show people we have one more run in us.

[ManUp]

This game will give us a feel of where this team really is. Are we just looking good against bad teams or is the team catching it's stride. This is the start of a tough stretch and I think we're going to find out what this team is really about.

[Celtics18]

I'm jacked for this game!!  A little nervous, and very excited.
Let's go, Cs.  You can beat these sons of Miami Beaches.