Blazers (23-14) at Celtics (30-6)

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Portland Trail Blazers (23-14) at Celtics (30-6)
Wednesday January 16
7:30 PM ET
Game #37, Home Game #20
TV: NBA LP ch 754, CSN HD, CSN ch 37
TD Banknorth Garden



Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo PPG 9 | APG 4.8 | SPG 1.6
SG: Ray Allen PPG 17.6 | APG 3 | 3P% .369
SF: Paul Pierce PPG 21 | RPG 5.7 | APG 5
PF: Kevin Garnett PPG 19.2 | RPG 9.9 | BPG 1.5
C: Kendrick Perkins PPG 6.9 | RPG 5.6 | BPG 1.2

Off the Bench
James Posey, Eddie House, Brian Scalabrine, Scot Pollard, Gabe Pruitt, Leon Powe, Big Baby Davis

Injuries
Rajon Rondo, back, questionable




Probable Starters

PG: Steve Blake PPG 7.8 | APG 4.7 | SPG 0.8
SG: Brandon Roy PPG 19 | APG 5.7 | 3P% .339
SF: Martell Webster PPG 11.1 | RPG 4.1 | APG 1.5
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge PPG 17.9 | RPG 7.5 | BPG 1.2
C: Joel Pryzbilla PPG 5 | RPG 7.2 | BPG 1.2

Off the Bench
Jarrett Jack, James Jones, Travis Outlaw, Canning Frye, Sergio Rodriguez, Raef LaFrentz, Taureen Green

Injuries
Darius Miles, knee, out
Greg Oden, knee, out

Key Matchups
vs
Ray Allen: PPG 17.6 RPG 4.00 APG 3.0 EFF + 15.27
Brandon Roy: PPG 19.0 RPG 4.60 APG 5.7 EFF + 19.03

vs
Kevin Garnett: PPG 19.3 RPG 9.90 APG 3.6 EFF + 26.47
LaMarcus Aldridge: PPG 17.9 RPG 7.50 APG 1.2 EFF + 18.16

Game Notes
The Blazers are one of the surprises this season. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win over the Nets on Monday. They are a young and athletic team and could give the Celtics problems. They are 6-11 on the road.

Rondo is questionable for Wednesday's game and it will be a game time decision. If he is unable to go, Doc has said that he will use Gabe Pruitt.

On draft night 2006, the Celtics sent Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau and their first round pick to Portland for Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff. That pick became Brandon Roy and after his Rookie of the Year season, he has been very impressive and has been leading this team.

Other Celtic ties are that the Blazers were the only team to beat the '86 Celtics at home. Nate McMillan coached Ray Allen in Seattle from '03-'05.

Keys to the Game
Play 48 minutes. Come out strong and don't let up. The Celtics have let down in the 4th in recent games and they need to keep playing hard until the end.

Be Aggressive The Celtics need to be agressive in going after loose balls and rebounds and in taking the ball to the hoop and not settling for outside shots.

Bench Play The Blazers have a very good bench and the Celtics will need to get some production from their bench to match up.

Ball movement The Celtics have gotten away from moving the ball and finding the open man. They aren't looking to go inside as much in recent games and need to get back to what made them so successful early.

[kofanis0880]

That pick was actually Randy Foye, who was later dealt for Brandon Roy.

[birdie]

that will be tough

[moreese]

Man I am excited about this game. The last 3 of 4 go out the window if we come into this game and blow Portland out. Portland is a very good team who plays on both ends, and is riding an amazing hot streak. These are the games that begin to matter for us at 30-6, as much as losing 2 straight to a clearly inferior wizards team hurts.

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

moreese said:

Man I am excited about this game. The last 3 of 4 go out the window if we come into this game and blow Portland out. Portland is a very good team who plays on both ends, and is riding an amazing hot streak. These are the games that begin to matter for us at 30-6, as much as losing 2 straight to a clearly inferior wizards team hurts.

I don't think we are going to blow Portland out. They got off to a bad start because they had a lot of early games on the road they lost. This 18 out of 21 game victory run they have been on is impressive and they could win the NW division outright.

Pierce and Garnett need big games to have a chance tonight. I am stuck with the night shift tonight and cannot watch this game. I am depending on FL and Loy to paint a positive mental picture.

[FLCeltsFan]

House is starting at the point tonight. Blazers win the tip. Aldridge hits a jumper. PP front rims a 3. KG gets the rebound and goes to the hoop for a strong 2 handed dunk. Roy takes it to the hoop and Perk blocks Roy's shot with 1 second on the SC. Blazers inbound but can't get a shot off. Celtics inbound after 24 second violation. KG misses a jumper from the FT line Pryzbilla rebounds. RA with a steal and he takes it all the way to the hoop for a layup. KG steps into the passing lane and gets a steal. Ray brings it up quickly and passes cross court to House who hits a jumper. Perk called for a foul on Aldridge. He misses the first and hits the second FT. Foul called on Perk setting a screen in the back court. Block by Perk from behind. KG is fouled and hits both FTs. Aldridge fumbles a pass out of bounds. PP fakes the 3 and drives to the hoop but misses the layup. Rebound goes off KG out of bounds. Roy hits a 3 from the top left of the arc. Perk spins in the lane and puts it too hard off the glass. Blazers rebound. Blake hits a jumper. Pryzbilla called for a foul on KG. He hits both FTs. Aldridge hits a jumper from the side. PP drives hard to the hoop along the baseline and misses a layup but gets the rebound and puts it in. Aldridge gets to the hoop quickly and lays it in. KG misses and Aldridge rebounds. Blazers miss and PP rebounds. House misses and Perk rebounds but his put back is blocked. Aldridge throws it away on a bad pass. PP drives baseline and kicks it out to KG who misses a jumper. Blazers rebound. Time out with game tied at 12 and 5:44 left in the first quarter

[FLCeltsFan]

Blazers inbound on the side. Roy hits a jumper over RA. RA misses a 3 and Aldridge gets teh rebound under the basket. Blake misses a jumper with 5 on the SC. Perk rebounds. Perk takes it to the hoop for a dunk. Webster misses a jumper and Celtics rebound. KG puts a short jumper in off the glass. Jack misses in the paint and House gets the rebound. PP misses a long jumper. Frye rebounds. Jack hits a jumper and is fouled by House. Posey comes in for KG. Tony comes in for House. He hits the FT. Pierce has it knocked away from behind and Celtics turn it over. Frye shoots an airball and PP is there to catch it. Tony drives into the lane and hands it off to Perk who is fouled hard by Frye as he goes up for a layup. Time out with Portland up 17-16 and 2:38 left in the first

[FLCeltsFan]

Perk misses both FTs. Blazers rebound. Roy drives to the hoop and gets a friendly bounce on the layup. RA misses a 3. Webster rebounds. Tony called for a foul. Pruitt and Davis come in for Perk and RA. Frye misses and Pruitt rebounds. He pulls up and hits a jumper. Blazers miss and Celtics rebound. Posey misses a 3 and Davis rebounds. Posey gets inside and is fouled. He misses the first FT. hits the second. Pruitt with pressure in the back court. Outlaw misses and Pruitt gets the weak side rebound. Celtics slow it down to look for the last shot. Tony passes up the shot and Celtics get a 24 second violation with 1.8 on the SC. Blazers don't get the shot off and Score at the end of 1 is tied at 19

[cfoo]

Good to see Gabe in there......

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

We have a small rebounding edge and better balanced scoring

[FLCeltsFan]

Celtics inbound to start the second. Pruitt misses from the corner. PP gets the rebound. PP's pass inside goes off his hands but he gets it back. He misses inside and Tony fights for the rebound and is fouled. PP misses a jumper. Blazers rebound. Pruitt with a steal. Davis called for a foul setting a screen. Outlaw hits a jumper on the baseline. Tony drives baseline and lays it down to Davis who lays it in. Outlaw is fouled by Posey. He hits the first. KG comes in for PP. He hits the second. KG misses from the corner and Blazers rebound. Jack hits a hook shot in the lane after the Blazers fumble the ball several times and recover. Pruitt back rims a jumper. outlaw rebounds. Travelling on Outlaw. Posey misses a 3. Davis gets the rebound and lays it to KG for a dunk. Jack misses a floater in the lane and Celtics rebound. Davis called for an offensive foul. Time out with Blazers up 25-23 and 8:18 left in the half

[FLCeltsFan]

Blazers inbound and bring it up. Outlaw hits a jumper. Davis is fouled as he takes it hard to the hoop. He misses the first. hits the second FT. Rodriguez misses from the corner. REbound goes out of bounds off Davis. Blazers inbound with 8 on the SC. Roy is back in for Rodriguez. Jack hits a 3 from the corner at the SC. Pruitt misses a 3 and Jones rebounds. Pruitt called for a foul. House comes back in for Pruitt. Pruitt did a good job. Pryzbilla misses a layup but gets the rebound and misses again. House rebounds. Posey takes it to the hoop and misses. Pryzbilla rebounds. OUtlaw hits a 3 from the top of the arc. Time out with Blazers up 33-24 and 6:17 left in the half. The Celtics are missing wide open shots and free throws. Their legs just aren't there under their jumpers.

[birdie]

we're so weak, I can't believe they will embarassed us

[FLCeltsFan]

RA hits a 3. Jack hits a 3 from the corner. House has it stripped in the lane and Celtics turn it over. Blazers miss a 3 and RA rebounds. RA hits a 3 from the top left of the arc. Roy has it slapped away but foul called on Posey. Starters back on the floor for the Celtics. Roy hits both FTs. RA drives into the lane and kicks out to House for a 3. Time out with Portland up 38-33 and 4:31 left in the half

[cfoo]

Is it just me or are teams grabbing at us an awful lot of late?