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Perk is a Beast
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Karma: 253 |  | Nets (4-44) at Celtics (31-16) 2/5
« Thread Started on Feb 4, 2010, 8:22pm » | |
![[image]](http://images.footballfanatics.com/productImages/_258000/FF_258624_s.jpg "[image]") at ![[image]](http://images.footballfanatics.com/productImages/_258000/FF_258350_s.jpg "[image]")
New Jersey Nets (4-44) at Boston Celtics (31-16)
Friday, February 5
7:30 PM ET
Game #48 Home Game #23
TV: CSN-NE, YES HD, NBA-LP 755, 756
TD Garden
![[image]](http://bestcollegiate.com/Web%20Folder/HoF---garden.jpg "[image]")
ProbableStarting Matchups
Point Guard
![[image]](http://assets.espn.go.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/4149.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/2382.jpg "[image]")
Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris
Shooting Guard
![[image]](http://assets.espn.go.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3080.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/3445.jpg "[image]")
Ray Allen vs Courtney Lee
Small Forward
![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/2367.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/1980.jpg "[image]")
Tony Allen vs Jarvis Hayes
Power Forward
![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/261.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/3214.jpg "[image]")
Kevin Garnett vs Yi Jianlian
Center
![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/2018.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/3448.jpg "[image]")
Kendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez
![[image]](http://www.insidearenas.com/eastern/pictures/td08900.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://nbcsportsmedia.msnbc.com/i/NBCSports/Components/Media/Team%20logos/NBA/2.gif "[image]")
Reserves
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Glen Davis
Bill Walker
Rasheed Wallace
Brian Scalabrine
Injuries:
Marquis Daniels (thumb) out
Paul Pierce (foot) out
JR Giddens (knee) out
![[image]](http://nbcsportsmedia.msnbc.com/i/NBCSports/Components/Media/Team%20logos/NBA/17.gif "[image]")
Reserves
Josh Boone
Bobby Simmons
Trenton Hassell
Keyon Dooling
Tony Battie
Jarvis Hayes
Chris Douglas Roberts
Kris Humphries
Chris Quinn
Terrence Williams
Injuries
Keyon Dooling (hip) questionable
Bobby Simmons (not with the team)
Key Matchups
![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/boston/RondoBos.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/nj/DevinNJ.jpg "[image]")
Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris
Last season, Harris beat out Rondo for a spot on the All Star team and this year Rondo beat out Harris for the All Star spot. This should be a good matchup of 2 very quick point guards. Hopefully Rondo will continue to play aggressively as he has in the Celtics last two games.
![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/boston/KPerkinsBos.jpg "[image]") vs ![[image]](http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/nj/LopezNJ.jpg "[image]")
Kendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez
Lopez has been one of the bright spots for the Nets in an otherwise dismal season. Lopez is the team's scoring leader at 18.9 ppg, in rebounds at 9.1 rpg and in blocks at 2.0 ppg. If Perk can slow down Lopez, this should be a fairly easy win.
Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Yi Jianlian
KG has been showing improvement with each game he plays. He should be able to win this matchup if he continues on that path of improvement.
Team Connections
Brian Scalabrine played for the Nets from 2001-05
Josh Boone and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Eddie House played for the Nets during the 2006-07 season
Assistant Coaches Doug Overton (1999-2001) and Roy Rogers (1997-98) both played for the Celtics
Eddie House and Keyon Dooling were teammates with the Clippers during the 2003-04 season
Tony Battie played for the Celtics from1998-2004 and drove Paul Pierce to the hospital after he was stabbed in 2000
Trenton Hassell and Kevin Garnett were teammates in Minnesota from 2003-07
Marquis Daniels and Devin Harris were teammates in Dallas from 2004-06
Jarvis Hayes and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit during the 2007-08 season
Game Notes
• The C’s are leading the season series 2-0; Celtics swept the season series 4-0 against New Jersey in 2008-09
• Paul Pierce is leading the C’s with an average of 20.0 points per game against the Nets this season
• Brook Lopez is leading the Nets with an average of 20.5 points per game against the Celtics this season
• The Celtics are currently on a 10-game winning streak against the Nets which marks their longest winning streak against the Nets since an 11
game winning streak that spanned the 1980-81 and 1981-82 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 105-54 with the Celtics 55-24 at home
The Nets have been suffering through a terrible season. They have won just 4 games so far this season, beating only Charlotte, Chicago, New York, and the Clippers. Needless to say, now that they have proved to be so dismal, teams will be putting out extra effort so as not to join the limited club of teams that have lost to the woeful Nets.
The Nets are 1-24 on the road and 1-9 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 14-8 at home and 4-6 in their last 10. The Nets are on a 4 game losing streak while the Celtics are on a modest 2 game win streak.
The Celtics seem to be getting back on track as they get healthier. They are expected to be without Paul Pierce again in this game but with the way Tony has been playing, he should be able to once again fill in for the injured Captain. On the other hand, the Nets appear to have given up on the season and are looking forward to the John Wall sweepstakes.
While posting the Nets' roster, I kept thinking: "He's still in the league?" They have a nice starting lineup, but their bench is mostly expiring contracts waiting for the big 2010 free agent class. But, in spite of all this, the Celtics can't overlook this team. There are 4 teams in the Nets loss column who prove this. The Celtics should win this one easily as long as they come in focused and not take the Nets for granted.
Keys to the Game
Limit Turnovers The Celtics must take better care of the basketball. They have been turning the ball over at an alarming rate and must make better passes and keep their focus so as to limit these turnovers. They improved somewhat against the Heat and need to continue to make this a priority.
Rebound Rebounding shows the amount of effort and desire a team has. The Celtics must bring both effort and desire and crash the boards on both ends. They out rebounded an opponent for the first time in several games against Miami. They need to continue to put out effort on the glass.
Defense No explanation needed. Defense is the key to winning. Period.
Play 48 Minutes The Celtics seem to either be hot at the beginning and then let up at the end of games or they come out sluggish and have to play catch up the entire game. They must come out focused and stay focused for the full 48 minutes.
X-Factor
Trap Game
As bad as the Nets have been, it would be easy to look past them to the Magic on Sunday. But that would be a mistake because the Nets have played teams hard but just can't seem to finish. If the Celtics let up, they might just be surprised by a team who decides to try a bit harder to beat a division rival.
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jrmzt
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LARRY BIRD. TRULY LEGENDARY
Joined: Nov 2009
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Posts: 4,688
Karma: 78 | | Re: Nets (4-44) at Celtics (31-16) 2/5
« Reply #1 on Feb 4, 2010, 8:26pm » | |
This is the ultimate can't lose game. Those 4 teams who lost to the Nets should be ashamed of themselves and as a playoff/championship contender, losing this would definitely make headlines. Sportswriters would talk about this for days..As if we haven't had enough doom predictions already.
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THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!! |
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jrmzt
SUPERSTAR GREENIAC!
member is offline
LARRY BIRD. TRULY LEGENDARY
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Gender: Male
Posts: 4,688
Karma: 78 | | Re: Nets (4-44) at Celtics (31-16) 2/5
« Reply #2 on Feb 5, 2010, 10:06pm » | |
2nd game in a row where Ray has performed very well in Pierce's absence.
and Rajon adds on to his multitude of double double performances. Definitely proving any and every critic he once had to be wrong.
Nearly got me worried there for a second when they were ahead of us after the half time break. Good to see we finished strong and pulled away.
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THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!! |
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FLCeltsFan
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Rabid Celtics Fan
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Perk is a Beast
Joined: Dec 2005
Gender: Female
Posts: 22,209
Location: Florida Panhandle
Karma: 253 | | Re: Nets (4-44) at Celtics (31-16) 2/5
« Reply #3 on Feb 5, 2010, 10:35pm » | |
Eddie Pulled it out for us. All 10 of his points in the 4th quarter along with a key steal and a couple of key rebounds. He cracked me up when he was hovering behind the refs while they were reviewing that one 3.
With its loss and Boston's win, Orlando drops to percentage points behind the Celtics for the East's 2nd-best record. This sets up a big game on Sunday with Orlando.
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jrmzt
SUPERSTAR GREENIAC!
member is offline
LARRY BIRD. TRULY LEGENDARY
Joined: Nov 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,688
Karma: 78 | | Re: Nets (4-44) at Celtics (31-16) 2/5
« Reply #4 on Feb 5, 2010, 10:59pm » | |
Positioning no longer matters for us. Health is the main priority and if we fall to the third seed and are unable to get into the second round of the playoffs, then obviously we don't deserve to even get into the Conference Finals or the Finals.
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THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!! |
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