Post by FLCeltsFan on Feb 4, 2008 10:56:15 GMT -5
at 
Boston Celtics (36-8) at Cleveland Cavaliers (26-20)
Regular Season Game #45, Road Game #21
Tuesday, February 5
7:00 PM ET
TV: NBA LP ch 752, FSOhio HD, CSN, SCORE
Quicken Loans Arena
Probable Starting Lineup
PG
Rajon Rondo PPG 9.1 | APG 5.2 | STL 1.58SG
Ray Allen PPG 19.6 | APG 3.5 | 3P% .375 SF
Paul Pierce PPG 22.2 | RPG 5.3 | APG 5.2 PF
Kevin Garnett PPG 20.9 | RPG 12.7 | BPG 1.5 C
Kendrick Perkins PPG 7.9 | RPG 5.3 | BPG 1.5 Off the Bench
Eddie House, James Posey, Brian Scalabrine, Scot Pollard, Leon Powe, Big Baby Davis, Gabe Pruitt
Injury Report
Tony Allen, thigh bruise, day to day (most likely won't play)
Ray Allen, ankle sprain, day to day, (plans to play if possible)
Probable Starting Lineup
PG
Larry Hughes PPG 10.3 | APG 2.3 | 3P% .322 SG
Ira Newble PPG 3.6 | RPG 2.4 | APG 0.3 SF
Le Bron James PPG 30.1 | RPG 7.9 | APG 7.2 PF
Drew Gooden PPG 11.5 | RPG 8.6 | BPG 0.6 C
Zydrunas Ilgauskas PPG 13.8 | RPG 9.7 | BPG 1.5 Off the Bench
Damon Jones, Dwayne Jones, Devin Brown, Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow, Donyell Marshall, Cedric Simmons
Injuries
Sasha Pavlovic, foot, out
Anderson Varejao, ankle, out
Key Matchup
vs 
Paul Pierce and LeBron James have had some battles over the past few years. Both had been the sole star on their respective teams and both had to play superior for their teams to win. Pierce now has help while LeBron is still the lone star on his team and still has to carry his team. He is averaging 30.1 points per game and is also leading his team in assists with 7.2. Instead of trying to outscore LeBron in this game Pierce can concentrate on trying to stop him and letting the others on the team pick up the slack on offense.
vs 
Rajon Rondo has been on a roll lately and will be going up against a 9 year veteran in Larry Hughes. Rondo has a speed advantage and should use that to gain the advantage in this matchup. Rondo needs to continue to be aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop. Although Hughes is listed as the PG, LeBron does most of the ball handling for the team. Hughes is primarily a defensive stopper and if he doubles off of Rondo, Rajon needs to make him pay.
Honorable Mention
Perk vs Ilgauskas. Ilgauskas is a center who can play away from the basket as well as in the paint. This is a tough matchup for Perk without KG to help on Ilgauskas when he goes outside.
Ray Allen vs Ira Newble
This should be a big mismatch in favor of the Celtics as Newble isn't a big offensive threat and he isn't a strong defender. If Ray's shot is on, he should have a big night.
Keys to the Game:
Contain LeBron. I don't know if you can ever stop LeBron, but they can hope to limit the damage he does. He is not only scoring 30 points a game, but dishing out 7 assists which makes him dangerous if you double him. If they can limit his effectiveness on the offensive end and make him work on the defensive end, we have a good chance to win this game.
Rebound. The Celtics have been out rebounded in several games recently. The key here is to get Scal out of the game as soon as possible as he is a liability on the boards and get Powe or Baby in there to grab the rebounds. Rondo grabbed 12 rebounds in the last game and without KG, his aggressiveness on the boards is needed.
Hustle and Energy The Celtics need to hustle for loose balls and for rebounds. They have to come out with energy and be the more aggressive team, especially going after offensive rebounds and on defense. They seem to have found that defensive energy again after playing lethargically for several games. They have to be aggressive, especially on the defensive end.
Game Notes:
It doesn't look like KG will be playing in this game and although no word as to who Doc will start in his place, my guess he is going to stick with Scal although he really hasn't contributed much in his previous 3 starts. I guess starting Scal is ok if he doesn't play him long and gets Leon in as soon as possible to play Gooden.
The Cavs are playing very well and are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win over the Clippers on Friday night. The Cavs are 14-7 at home so the Celtics will have to play well to beat them. Both teams will come in well rested as the Celtics have not played since Thursday and the Cavs have not played since Friday.
X Factor
Bench Play
The Cavs bench has been struggling without Varejao to give them energy. Marshall has been struggling with conditioning and they don't have a legit big coming off the bench. Damon Jones, Daniel Gibson and Devin Brown have played well for them, but their bench play may be their weakness. The Celtics bench has been maligned but the play of Posey, House, Tony Allen, Leon Powe and Big Baby has been very strong and has carried the team with their stars out or struggling.
