Spurs (37-14) at Celtics (30-22) 4/4

[FLCeltsFan]

 at  
San Antonio Spurs (37-14) at Boston Celtics (30-22)
Wednesday, April 4
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #53,  Home Game #28
TV:  CSN-NE, FSSW-SA, NBA-LP 754/755
Radio: WOAI, WEEI
TD Garden  




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Probable Starters
PG:   Rajon Rondo 12.6 PPG  10.7 APG 1.8 SPG
SG:   Avery Bradley 5.4 PPG  1.3 APG  .208 3P%
SF:    Paul Pierce 18.9 PPG  5.1 RPG  4.9 APG
PF:    Brandon Bass 13.3 PPG  6.5 RPG  1.1 BPG  
C:     Kevin Garnett 15.4 PPG  8.1 RPG  1.1 BPG  

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

Injured
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) out
Mickael Pietrus (concussion) out
Ray Allen (ankle) probable  
Greg Stiemsma (feet, thumb) probable  





Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG:  Tony Parker  19.3 PPG  8.0 APG   1.0 SPG
SG:  Daniel Green  8.4 PPG  1.3 APG   .387 3P%
SF:  Kawhi Leonard   8.2 PPG   5.4 RPG  0.9 APG
PF:  Tim Duncan   15.2 PPG  9.0 RPG  1.4 BPG
C:   Dejuan Blair  9.6 PPG   5.7 RPG   0.2 BPG  

Reserves
Matt Bonner
Manu Ginobili
Stephen Jackson
Gary Neal
Tiago Splitter
James Anderson
Boris Diaw
Patrick Mills
Cory Joseph

Injuries
None

Team Connections
Doc Rivers played for San Antonio during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons..
Boris Diaw and Mickael Pietrus both played for the same team in France before entering the NBA (Pau Orthez)
Stephen Jackson and Rajon Rondo both attended Oak Hill Academy in Virginia
Cory Joseph and Avery Bradley both attended the University of Texas
Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Mickael Pietrus have all played for the French national team
Ryan Hollins and Diaw were teammates in Charlotte during the 2008-09 season.

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Tony Parker
Rondo has been compared to Parker at times and this matchup will be a challenge for both players.    When Rondo is aggressive and focused, he can pretty much take on any point guard in the league, including Parker.  Rondo usually gets up for big games and this is a big one.  Hopefully the Rondo from Sunday is back for this one.  

vs
Brandon Bass vs Tim Duncan
Brandon will have his hands full in this matchup. Duncan still brings a lot to the table, especially defensively.  He is great at getting position for rebounds and tip ins and Bass and the other Celtics bigs need to concentrate on keeping him away from the basket.  

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs DeJuan Blair
KG has been playing very well and should be able to intimidate Blair enough to have a big game. Doc may switch Bass and KG to have KG cover Duncan, who is the bigger threat.   

Game Notes
As with several of the Western conference teams, the Celtics will only face the Spurs this one time.  Both teams are on win streaks with the Celtics having won their last 5 and the Spurs on an 8 game win streak.  The Spurs have won 9 of their last 10 while the Celtics have won 7 of their last 10.  The Celtics have been taking care of business at home with a 19-8 record at the Garden while the Spurs come in with a 16-10 record on the road.  

The Spurs are playing in back to back games on the road, having played the Cavs on Tuesday night. However they had a very easy 35 point win over the Cavs and their starters all played less than 25 minutes.   The Celtics have had a rare 2 days off since playing the Heat on Sunday.  They were even able to have an even rarer practice.  Six of the Spurs 14 losses came in the second game of back to back sets.  However they have also won 7 of the 2nd games in back to back sets.  Among their recent 7 game win streak are back to back to back wins against Dallas, New Orleans, and Philly.   

The Celtics are in the 4th spot in the East, 1.5 games ahead of Philly for the Atlantic division title.  They have also tied Atlanta for the 6th seed and are just 1.5 games behind the Pacers for the 3rd seed and 1 game behind slumping Orlando for the 5th seed.  .  The Spurs are the second seed in the West just 2  games behind the Thunder for the top spot and 4.5 games ahead of the Lakers, who are in 3rd.  The Spurs are playing this one for pride and I expect them to come out aggressively and the Celtics must match their aggressiveness and intensity.  

The Spurs have no injuries.  Ray Allen is expected to play but there are conflicting reports as to whether he'll start or come off the bench.  At first, Doc said that Ray would start but this morning's Globe said that Ray may come off the bench.    I have Avery in the starting lineup but Ray could very well get the start. It's hard to tell how the team will play if Ray returns. If he starts, will they miss Avery's defense on the first unit?  If Ray moves to the bench, will be be effective since he depends on the PG to get him the ball off screens and Rondo does that better than anyone in the league?  Either way the Celtics must be the more aggressive team and they have to play like they want it more.  

Keys to the Game  
Defense - The Celtics must make defense a priority in this game.
The Spurs are having one of their best offensive seasons in franchise history. They are 3rd in the league in scoring, averaging 101.4 points per game.  On the other hand, the Celtics are 27th in scoring, averaging 91.6 points per game.   On the other hand, their defense has slipped a bit as they allow 96.5 ppg (17th) and 45.6% FG% (22nd).  The Celtics are ranked first in the league, allowing teams to shoot just 42% against them and they are 3rd in points allowed giving up just 89.8 points per game.  The Celtics must lock down the Spurs on defense because they won't win a shoot out against them.

Focus - With the Spurs in town, the Celtics must keep their focus from the opening tip to the final buzzer.   The Spurs are very capable of taking advantage of any lack of focus on the Celtics part.   The Celtics need to put in a strong effort for 48 minutes.    The Spurs won't let up and neither can the Celtics if they want to win this one.    Keeping their focus also includes taking care of the ball and not committing unforced turnovers.  

Rebound The Spurs are a good rebounding team (ranked 13th)  and the Celtics are still ranked last, so they need to concentrate on crashing the boards. They have been doing much better being aggressive on the boards during their win streak and they must keep that up and go after every rebound as a team.  

Be Aggressive  When the Celtics are aggressive in going after loose balls, taking the ball to the hoop and playing in your face defense, they are very tough to beat as they proved against the Heat.  When they get lazy and allow teams to beat them to loose balls and rebounds and when they settle for jumpers and don't go to the basket, they are very beatable.  They must stay aggressive and that starts with Rondo.  Hopefully he comes out aggressively in this game as he did against the Heat.  

X-Factor
Ray's Return and Aggressiveness
Ray Allen is expected to play but it's still up in the air whether he will start or come off the bench.   They have been on a roll with Avery in the starting lineup.  We won't know how his return to the team will affect their play until he comes back.    Also, when they are aggressive they win but some games, they just seem to come out and play so sluggish.  When they aren't aggressive they struggle.  Hopefully we see the same aggressive mindset we saw against the Heat and that will begin with Rondo.  

[CelticG1]

TP

I predict a Celtics win. Spurs have never scared me since we've had the Big 3.

Key match ups are Rondo-Parker but Definitely KG-Duncan as well.

There is no way Duncan and KG won't be matched up against each other

[Evantime34]

I wonder if the national pundits will hurt themselves jumping off the bandwagon if we lose this game.

[letsgoblue86]

I just worry about the matchup of the benches.  But besides that I think we match up well with them.

[azzenfrost]

I hope the Cavaliers tire them out.

[Celtics18]

I like our chances to keep this run rolling at home against the Spurs on two days rest.  There are no easy ones for quite a while, so these guys have to stay focused for every game.

[Who]

Spurs will need to be careful with that starting lineup.

Big advantage for Boston there. San Antonio will need to get Ginobili in there quickly. Damage limitation. They could find themselves in a pretty big hole to open each half otherwise.

The Spurs should really move Danny Green to the bench and start Manu or Jacks in his place.

[jdz101]

Gotta keep Parker under control.

I predict a large game for him.

[hwangjini_1]

thanks for the thread flc. another tp for you.

also, everyone is looking at the parker-rondo matchup as important. actually, i hope that doc decides to have AB cover parker. nothing in the nba rule book mandates that only a pg can cover a pg.

i think AB would have a better chance of containing parker, or, perhaps alternate rondo and AB on parker.

go celtics!!!! 

[CelticG1]

Gotta keep Parker under control.

I predict a large game for him.

If anybody can keep him under control I'd say it's Rondo/Bradley

[azzenfrost]

One man full court press on Parker? Sounds good.

[j804]

thanks for the thread flc. another tp for you.

also, everyone is looking at the parker-rondo matchup as important. actually, i hope that doc decides to have AB cover parker. nothing in the nba rule book mandates that only a pg can cover a pg.

i think AB would have a better chance of containing parker, or, perhaps alternate rondo and AB on parker.

go celtics!!!! 

Yea if I remember right last game Rondo had trouble staying in front of Parker didn't he go off on us?

[apc]

its amazing how good the Spurs are with 2 guys i honestly never heard of in their starting five.

[apc]

How is this game not on national TV?

[celticslove]

i like our chances here specially since SA is playing back to back. keep the winning streak going guys!