Bobcats (3-4) at Celtics (4-4) Game 9 11/13

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Charlotte Bobcats (3-4) at Boston Celtics (4-4)
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #9 Home Game #4
TV: CSN-NE, SSO-CHA, NBA-LP 756(DTV)/753(XFinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFNZ, WBZ
TD Garden




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Jordan Crawford.....Avery Bradley....Jeff Green....Brandon Bass....Kelly Olynyk

Celtics Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Kris Humphries
Vitor Faverani
Phil Pressey
Courtney Lee
Phil Pressey
Keith Bogans
Gerald Wallace

Injuries
Rajon Rondo (ACL)out
Jared Sullinger (knee)  day to day





Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Kemba Walker....Gerald Henderson....Michael Kidd-Gilchrist....Josh McRoberts....Al Jefferson

Bobcats Reserves
Bismack Biyombo
Jeff Taylor
Cody Zeller
Ramon Sessions
Anthony Tolliver
Jeff Adrien
Ben Gordon
Jannero Pargo
James Southerland

Injuries
Brendon Haywood (foot)  out

Game Notes
The Celtics continue their 3 game home stand as the Bobcats come to town for the first of 3 meetings between these two teams.   Former Celtic Al Jefferson joined the Bobcats this off season and will start at center for them.

The Bobcats are 9-23 all time vs the Celtics and 3-13 all time in Boston.  They split the season series last year 2-2 but were unable to win at the Garden. 

The Bobcats return the same starting lineup as last season with the exception of Al Jefferson at the center position.  That should give them some continuity.  Bobcats coach, Steve Clifford returned for their last game just three days after he had two stents placed in his heart.  The Bobcats lost to Atlanta for their second straight defeat.

The Celtics are mostly new to each other and have a new coach but have come together and are playing as a team and have won 4 in a row.  They had 7 players in double figures in their last game and if they play like that again in this game,  they should win this one. 

Jared Sullinger has a bone bruise on his knee and is listed as day to day.  If he can't go, Kris Humphries has played well and will most likely get his minutes. 

Key Matchups
va
Jordan Crawford vs Kemba Walker
Walker leads the Bobcats with 16.6 points per game.  Crawford and Bradley must combine to slow him down and keep him from getting the team into their sets. 

vs
Kelly Olynyk vs Al Jefferson
Big Al is very good in the low post, although he is still getting into game shape after being out with a sprained ankle.  Kelly will need to play solid defense or he will get burned. 

Honorable Mention
Avery Bradley vs Gerald Henderson
Henderson is averaging 14 points per game this season, but he always seems to get up to play the Celtics.  He is averaging 20.0 points on 52.9 percent shooting over his last six games against the Celtics.

Keys to the Game
Team Play - The Celtics have been winning because they have been playing together and trusting each other.  They need to continue team play and working together.

Set the Pace- The Celtics have been setting the pace in games and running for whole games.  To quote Tommy, when they run,  good things happen.

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics win streak has coincided with a reduction in their turnovers.  They need to continue to take care of the ball and limit their turnovers.

Rebound - The Celtics have been holding their own on the boards.  They must crash the boards as a team. 

Defense- The Celtics have been playing very good defense and need to continue to defend as a team. 

X-Factors
Confidence and Team Play
The Celtics seem to be building confidence with every win.  Can they continue to play as a team and trust each other, or will they lapse into a half court game where it's each for his own?

[hwangjini_1]

Great game thread, thanks again.

I sense win number five of this young season. Hopefully sully can play tonight.

Gooooooo. Celtics!

[SHAQATTACK]

Whole lotta "Hump N".   In dis game


I think we see a lot more of Courtney Lee ,  his shot is on,  need to capitalize on this  for scoring punch  with Sully out . 


I think we CAN win this game at home without the BiG Bossman Sully .


Go Celtics

[Mazingerz]

GO CELTICS!

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Bold Predications: Marshon Brooks gets more minutes than Courtney Lee, Wallace to take 0 shots and have the game`s highest +/- rating. Faverani to put someone on a poster.

[letsgoblue86]

Really unsure of what happens in this game.  Without Sullinger it could be a close game...especially if Walker goes off.

But I think we're more talented and deep.  And we got the GOAT, Jordan Crawford.

C's take this one I think.

[D.o.s.]

Will be interesting to see our bigs guarding Big Al in the post--assuming he's healthy enough to play serious minutes.

Bold Predictions:

Bismack Biyombo records 4 blocks.

Kemba Walker records a double-double--assists + points

Marshon Brookes sees 10+ minutes of playing time.

Kelly Olynyk goes 3-5 from deep.

[Surferdad]

'Cats have some scoring punch on their bench with Sessions and Gordon...I don't see a lot of defense on that roster...will Big Al come out and defend Olynyk on the perimeter?  Need Bradley to defend Henderson or he could go off big time.  Should be #5 tonight but you never know...

[Who]

Big Al will be a good test for Bass defensively. A different type of offensive threat than Bass usually covers. Stick Olynyk out on McRoberts. He isn't much a threat. A very good passer but a lousy scorer.

[D.o.s.]

'Cats have some scoring punch on their bench with Sessions and Gordon...I don't see a lot of defense on that roster...will Big Al come out and defend Olynyk on the perimeter?  Need Bradley to defend Henderson or he could go off big time.  Should be #5 tonight but you never know...

Based on what I've seen and the analysis of people that are much more astute than I am, they should throw at least one pick and roll at Al Jefe every single offensive possession.

[Q_FBE]

Celtics have a slight edge at the two through five positions. Celtics have perhaps a decisive edge off the bench. THe history favors the Celtics. Celtics continue to build off their recent success and should get another comfortable home win. Good talent and good coaching can get good regular season results early on. It remains to be seen when the scouting is complete on the Celtics and the real NBA grind begins starting next month and picking up in January with the back half of the sked heavy on road games that are tough.

[SHAQATTACK]

Maybe our new coach is the edge . He seems to be learning fast.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Big game for Jordan Crawford---he's either gonna solidify his Legendary PG career---or fade into obscurity.

[TwinTower14]

Question - anyone know where we can get a live feed to the game?  My wife and I are in the hospital ( she is pregnant with twins ) on early bed rest and they have DirectTV in our room and I can't watch the game? Only follow it on gamecast....

[Monkhouse]

Question - anyone know where we can get a live feed to the game?  My wife and I are in the hospital ( she is pregnant with twins ) on early bed rest and they have DirectTV in our room and I can't watch the game? Only follow it on gamecast....

I'd like to watch it from the First Row. So who needs a computer?