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Boston Celtics (27-21) at Orlando Magic (20-25)
Sunday, January 31, 2016
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #49, Road Game #25
TV: NBA-TV, CSNNE, FSFL, NBA-TV Canada
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN 580 AM, Sirius 212
Amway Center
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Elfrid Payton
Shooting Guard 
vs
Avery Bradley vs Victor Oladipo
Small Forward 
vs
Jae Crowder vs Tobias Harris
Power Forward 
vs
Amir Johnson vs Aaron Gordon
Center
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Nikola Vucevic
Reserves Evan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Terry Rozier
James Young
Kelly Olynyk
Marcus Smart
Tyler Zeller
Head CoachBrad Stevens
InjuriesJordan Mickey (ankle) out
Reserves Dewayne Dedmon
Mario Hezonja
Devyn Marble
Shabazz Napier
Andrew Nicholson
Evan Fournier
Channing Frye
Jason Smith
Keith Appling
Injuries CJ Watson (calf) out
Head CoachScott Skiles
Game Notes The Celtics and the Magic complete the home and home set with a game in Orlando. The series sits at 1-1 with each team winning on their home court. The Magic won 110-91 on November 29 while the Celtics won 113-94 two days ago. They will meet one more time on March 21.
The Celtics are 13-11 on the road while the Magic are 12-11 at home. These two teams seem to be heading in opposite directions with the Celtics winning their last 5 games and the Magic losing 8 straight games. The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games while the Magic are 1-9 in their last 10.
The Magic started out strong going 9-6 in November and 10-5 in December. However, they are just 1-12 so far in January.
The Celtics remain in the 5th spot in the East, tied with Atlanta who are in the 4th spot. They are 1/2 game behind the Bulls, who are in 3rd. They are also 1/2 game ahead of Miami who are 6th. Orlando is in the 12th spot 3.5 games out of the playoffs. The Magic will always have a place in Celtics history. They beat the Celtics 95-92 in the last game played in Boston Garden on May 5, 1995.
In spite of their recent struggles, the Magic have many young and athletic players. They still have the same players who were playing among the best teams in the league at the end of December. They are going through a slump but they can snap out of it at any time and so the Celtics have to take them seriously. In spite of their win on Friday, they have to be ready for the Magic to come out strong in this one.
Key Matchups vs
Jared Sullinger vs Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is averaging 16.8 points and 8.7 rebounds and 1.08 blocks per game. He is an interior defender as well as a force on offense in the paint. Sully did a good job keeping him away from the basket in Friday's game and needs to continue that in this game.
vs
Avery Bradley vs Victor Oladipo
Oladipo is averaging 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.26 steals a game. In the Magic's November win over the Celtics Oladipo led the Magic with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. In Friday's game he was held to just 11 points and 2 assists. Avery's defense will be needed in this game to slow him down and keep him from having a big game.
Honorable Mention Jae Crowder vs Tobias Harris
Harris is averaging 13.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game and is capable of having a big game both in scoring and in rebounding. He was held to just 10 points and 6 rebounds in Friday's game. Jae needs to do more of the same in this game.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense wins games pure and simple. The Celtics' tough team defense has been instrumental in building their5 game win streak. The Magic are averaging 98.8 points per game but they have players who, if allowed to get hot, can put up a lot of points. Orlando is 7th in the league allowing just 99.4 points per game. The Celtics have to play tough team defense if they want to get a win in this one.
Rebound - The Celtics have to crash the boards in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to prevent the Magic from getting second chance points and fast breaks. The Magic out rebounded the Celtics 54-34 in their first meeting. In Friday's game, the Celtics out rebounded the Magic 46-41. The Celtics need to work to beat them on the boards once again.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team. They must be the first to loose balls and rebounds, and they have to be aggressive in driving to the basket and not always settling for jumpers. They must be aggressive on defense and set the tone for the game. They have to play like they want it more. They did that in Friday's game and need to do it again.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics have to move the ball and find the open man. But in moving the ball, they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy. The Magic average 16.8 points off of turnovers and so they will make the Celtics pay if they don't take care of the ball.
Set the Pace - The Celtics play best when they run on every possession and move the ball quickly. When they walk the ball up and over dribble, they struggle to hit shots. They need to run on every possession and get easy shots before the Magic can set up their defense. They also need to run on defense to keep the Magic from getting easy shots. The Celtics are 3rd in pace at 101.20 while the Magic are 23rd at 96.17. The Celtics benefit from forcing a quicker pace.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to get off to a good start and build a lead and then not let up until the final buzzer. They have to be ready for every Magic run and meet it with defense and then make their own runs as they did against the Nuggets on Wednesday and the Magic on Friday. They have to play from opening tip till final buzzer with no let up.
X-Factors Revenge Factor - The loss on Friday will still be fresh in the Magic players' minds. The Celtics need to be ready for them to come out strong looking to avenge that loss. The Celtics can't be complacent because of their big win on Friday and need to be ready for the counter punch from the Magic.
Officiating Factor - Officiating will be an X-Factor for every game. Every crew has their own way of calling the games and they have their own agendas. Will they call it fairly or in favor of one team or the other? Will they let them play or call every little minor contact? The way the game is called always has an effect on the players and the way they play.
Topic: Celtics (27-21) at Magic (20-25) Game #49 1/31/16 (Read 43394 times)