Post by FLCeltsFan on Feb 4, 2008 16:14:29 GMT -5
at 
Los Angeles Clippers (15-30) at Boston Celtics (36-8)
Wednesday February 6
Game #46, Home Game #25
TV: NBA LP ch 754, CSN HD, KTLA
Sirius 140, WEEI
TD Banknorth Garden
PG: Rajon Rondo- PER 14.74
Hollinger's Scouting report: Rondo is 6-1 but has insanely long arms that seem to constantly be poking the ball away. There's a cost for this -- he had a high rate of fouls -- but the positives far outweigh the negatives. He's great at back-tapping dribblers as they go by on the pick-and-roll, and is incredibly fast -- I actually saw him run down T.J. Ford on a fast break. He's still learning exactly what he can get away with in terms of gambling for steals, but he's already an ace and is going to get better.
Offensively he's a strong driver going to his right, but he can't shoot and because defenders play so far off him he's always driving into crowds. He's good in transition and draws a lot of fouls, but he needs to improve as a passer.
Most similar at age: Baron Davis
SG: Ray Allen - PER 16.5
Hollinger's Scouting report: Allen might have the best jump shot in the game, a quick, smooth stroke from over his head that he fires with textbook form. That's the strongest part of his game, as he's attempted eight 3-pointers a game the past two seasons, but there's plenty more. He's also a skillful dribbler who can handle the ball like a point guard, and a quality finisher in traffic who still can get to the rim at 32. His jumper is just as deadly off the dribble as it is on the catch, and the threat of it forces defenders to play him close and expose themselves to the drive.
Allen is a subpar defender who is undersized for the position and no longer moves well laterally. His effort level is also seriously lacking -- he'll make some incredibly halfhearted plays, especially in transition defense. While his lethargy was less transparently obvious in 2006-07 than it had been a year earlier, he's still an easy mark for opposing scorers.
Most similar at age: Mitch Richmond
SF: Paul Pierce - PER 19.09
Hollinger's Scouting report: Pierce is a deadly scorer because he can fill it up in such a variety of ways. His 3-point shot has to be respected, and he's strong shooting pull-up 2-pointers off the dribble as well, especially going left. But he also can score inside despite not having the most blazing of first steps. Instead, he utilizes quick spins to suddenly put his defender at a disadvantage and leans in to draw fouls.
Pierce is also a very effective in the post, where he might play more often this year now that Jefferson is gone. He murders defenders who try to front him in the post, walling them off and then scoring once the ball is reversed.
Historically, Pierce has been a good defender, but he hasn't seemed as motivated the past two seasons as he's watched the team around him crumble. One presumes he'll dial things back up this season now that Boston is expected to contend. He's not a brilliant one-on-one defender, but he can hold his own and is a more active help defender than many other stars. He's also an above-average rebounder.
Most similar at age: Vince Carter
PF: Brian Scalabrine PER - 5.54
Hollinger's Scouting report: Scalabrine's best asset is his defense. He's not great in one-on-one situations, but he's a good team defender who is active from the weak side and can help guards out in screen-and-rolls; though listed at 230 pounds he has a wide torso and can bang in the paint, at least until a shot goes up.
However, he's just about useless offensively. He's a good passer who ranked third at his position in assist ratio, but the latter number came about partly because he never shoots. Instead he leaves the other Celts to compete 4-on-5, because he won't let it rip unless he's totally unmolested.
Most similar at age: Keith Askins
C: Kendrick Perkins - PER 12.91
Hollinger's Scouting report: Perkins stayed in the lineup primarily because of his post defense. A bruising, physical defender with a warrior mentality, he makes up for a lack of height at the center position because of his wide body and intensity. Surprisingly, he also ranked 14th among centers in blocks per minute. However, a relatively high foul rate tends to limit his minutes, and slow feet hurt his pick-and-roll defense.
Offensively, he's a below-the-rim guy who has trouble finishing at the basket. His shooting range doesn't go much beyond five feet, as he can make short-range hook shots but nothing beyond. He's not a ballhandler either, and with the Celtics' additions this season they'll likely spend the year playing keepaway from him.
Most similar at age: Jermaine O'Neal
PG: Sam Cassell - PER 16.62
Hollinger's Scouting report: Cassell has never been the most athletic of point guards, but his steady midrange shot and incredible smarts have allowed him to remain one of the league's most productive offensive players. He's great at using the dribble to go around a screen and then firing quickly, and also likes to take smaller defenders into the low left block for a turnaround over his right shoulder.
But what makes Cassell devilishly tough is that he knows just when to mix in shot fakes, frequently catching defenders off their feet and then leaning in to get himself two freebies. Despite hardly ever driving to the basket, Cassell annually has one of the better free-throw rates at his position because of this skill.
Defensively, Cassell is barely adequate, but again uses his smarts to get by. He's great at sniffing out plays, and he'll shade opponents to one side or another to take away their best move. At 6-3, he's also big for the position and can be an obstacle to shoot over. That said, he's all but useless on the help side and seems to commit most of his energy to the offensive end.
Most similar at age: Rod Strickland
SG: Cuttino Mobley - PER 12.3
Hollinger's Scouting report: Mobley is an unusual player because he's an undersized spot-up shooter, but he also likes to post up and can score fairly effectively from the right block against smaller defenders by using a fadeaway jumper. However, he's not nearly as good going one-on-one off the dribble as he used to be, which makes it more imperative that he focus on 3-point shooting.
Mobley is an adequate defender with long arms, but at 32 his catlike quickness is starting to slip. Nonetheless, he's the Clips' primary stopper whenever Quinton Ross isn't on the floor, and with his jumper he'll stay in the lineup as long as those skills don't fade.
Most similar at age: Blue Edwards
SF: Corey Maggette - PER 19.29
Hollinger's Scouting report: Maggette has an amazingly quick first step going to his right, and is so powerful once he gets moving that it's difficult to thwart him without fouling. But it's tough to overplay him for the drive because he's also a decent outside shooter. Maggette has tended to shoot too many contested jumpers in recent years, but last season he refocused on attacking the rim and ended up with an even greater free-throw bounty.
Maggette's drives rarely result in passes, however. He gets tunnel vision once he puts it on the floor and has earned a rep as a selfish player. That said, he did post a career-high assist ratio last season. As you might expect for a player who drives so much, Maggette also makes a lot of turnovers.
Maggette's defense was what landed him in Mike Dunleavy's doghouse last season. He's an explosive athlete, but not the kind of nimble, quick-footed one who makes for a good defender. As a result, he was out of the starting lineup for much of last season. He also resorts to fouling quite a bit, ranking 11th among small forwards in personals per minute. Some of those are offensive fouls on his drives, but many are reaches and grabs after he's beaten on D.
Maggette's other issue has been injuries. He played 75 games last season, and that was the most he'd played since his rookie campaign. With all the contact he takes around the rim, it's perhaps inevitable that he's going to be out of the lineup for 10 to 15 games.
Most similar at age: Paul Pierce
PF: Tim Thomas - PER 12.7
Hollinger's Scouting report: Though 6-10 and 240 pounds, Thomas is much more comfortable playing on the perimeter. He loves to spot up at the 3-point line and fire away, and those shots accounted for nearly half his output last year.
The Clippers also called a lot of isolations on the block for Thomas last season, which I didn't understand and which wasn't effective. Hopefully, they'll delete that from the playbook this season. Interestingly, Thomas fared very badly from the left side of the floor last season -- he made only 22.4 percent of his 2-pointers from there, the worst mark in the league by anyone with more than 100 attempts, and wasn't much better on 3s (33.1 percent).
Defensively, Thomas struggled to keep up when the Clippers played him at small forward -- something they did with shocking frequency. He lacks both the dexterity and desire to chase players through screens, resulting in a series of open looks off pin-downs for whomever he guards. He fares a little better when he can play power forward, especially if his opponent isn't physical.
Most similar at age: Danny Ferry
C: Chris Kaman - PER 18.13
Hollinger's Scouting report: Kaman is a righty who plays like a lefty. He prefers to post up on the right block and flip a short hook with his left hand, or he'll spin left from the other side and go under the basket for a reverse lay-in.
Kaman is a nonfactor from the outside and has reined in his tendency to launch from 15 feet. Some of his other early-career bad habits, like the desire to bring the ball upcourt after a rebound, also seem to have been tamed. Nonetheless, he's usually good for one or two "What were you thinking?" plays a night and could stand to improve his mental game.
Defensively, Kaman has the size to make waves but it looked to me as if he played softer last season than in the past. Maybe it was the sore hammys, but it got Dunleavy upset enough to yank him 1:46 into the second half in a game against Miami. Kaman has short arms but great timing and instincts on shot blocks, so he's a factor off the ball. Additionally, he's an above-average rebounder for a center.
Most similar at age: Lorenzen Wright
Injury Report
Kevin Garnett, abdominal strain, day to day
Scot Pollard, ankle, day to day
Corey Maggette, flu, probable
Chris Kaman, flu, probable
Elton Brand, achilles, out
Shawn Livingston, knee, out
Paul Davis, ACL, out
Key Matchups
vs 
Rajon Rondo 6'1" PPG 9.7 | APG 4.6 | SPG 1.8
Sam Cassell 6'3" PPG 13.2 | APG 4.5 | SPG 0.7
I am sure that both Rondo and Cassell have heard the rumors of the Celtics wanting to add Cassell to the team. This should be an interesting matchup with the young up and coming PG vs the wise veteran PG. Rondo should be able to use his quickness to get past Cassell but also needs to keep his focus as Cassell is a very smart player and has a 2" height advantage over Rondo.
vs 
Paul Pierce 6'6" PPG 20.3 | RPG 5.7 | APG 4.9
Corey Maggette 6'6" PPG 20.9 | RPG 5.9 | APG 2.7
Interesting that Hollinger gives Pierce as the player most like Maggette. They have similar stat lines and similar games and if both have a good game, this could be a very good matchup. I expect to see both driving to the basket and drawing fouls as well as hitting open shots. Pierce is the better defender of the two and may be able to keep Maggette at bay.
Honorable Mention:
Perk vs Kaman
Chris Kaman is having a very good season being 3rd in the league in rebounds at 13.9 and blocks at 3.0. Kaman has 29 double doubles and among centers, only Dwight Howard has more. Perk needs to have a strong game defensively and keep Kaman off the boards.
Game Notes
The Clippers swept the season series with the Celtics last year and in their second matchup on February 2, Rajon Rondo got his first career start. Doc played for the Clippers in the 1991-92 season. Dan Dickau, who played 19 games for the Celtics in the '05-06 season before tearing his achiles, is coming off the bench for the Clippers.
The Clippers are 6-15 on the road and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. They lost 2 in a row that they played without Kaman or Maggette who were out with the flu. Both were back for the game against the Knicks, which the Clippers won 103-94.
The Celtics and Clippers are 2 of only 5 teams in the league without an international player. New York, Indiana and Charlotte are the other 3.
Long time Clippers announcer, Ralph Lawler, has put out his Lawler's Law that says that the first team to 100 points wins. The Clippers are 25-0 this season when they are the first team to reach 100 points. This brings me to the...
Keys to the Game
Defense When they are the first team to reach 100 points in a game, the Clippers are 25-0. The Celtics need to defend both inside and on the perimeter. They need to keep Kaman off the boards and limit drives from Cassell and Maggette.
Rondo's Speed The Celtics can use Rondo's speed to their advantage and push the ball up the court on every opportunity. Rondo also has to remain aggressive driving to the hoop.
Team Play With KG still out the Celtics need to play team ball and team defense. They need to pass the ball and find the open man. They need to help on defense and play aggressively on both ends of the floor.
X-Factor
Fatigue - The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and so fatigue may be a problem especially if Ray Allen has played big minutes the night before. Doc needs to monitor the minutes on his club both nights to prevent the Celtics from running out of steam in this game.
