Celtics (42-12) at Clippers (19-34) 2/25

[FLCeltsFan]

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Boston Celtics (42-12) at Los Angeles Clippers (19-34)
Monday, February 25
10:30 PM ET
Game #55, Road Game #28
TV: NBA LP ch 755, FSN Prime Ticket HD, CSN HD
Radio: Sirius 125, WEEI
Staples Center



Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo- PPG 10.7 RPG 4.40 APG 4.7 EFF + 14.45

SG: Ray Allen - PPG 18.7 RPG 4.00 APG 3.1 EFF + 16.29

SF: Paul Pierce - PPG 20.5 RPG 5.60 APG 4.8 EFF + 20.28

PF: Kevin Garnett PER - PPG 18.8 RPG 9.90 APG 3.7 EFF + 25.82

C: Kendrick Perkins - PPG 7.1 RPG 5.50 APG 1.0 EFF + 10.65

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

Injury Report
Brian Scalabrine, groin, probable




Probable Starters

PG: Brevin Knight - PPG 4.2 RPG 1.80 APG 4.2 EFF + 7.88

SG: Cuttino Mobley - PPG 13.3 RPG 3.20 APG 2.9 EFF + 12.44

SF: Corey Maggette - PPG 22.0 RPG 5.90 APG 2.6 EFF + 20.05

PF: Tim Thomas - PPG 13.1 RPG 5.10 APG 3.0 EFF + 13.58

C: Chris Kaman - PPG 16.2 RPG 13.30 APG 1.9 EFF + 23.87

Off the Bench
Al Thornton, Dan Dickau, Josh Powell, Quinton Ross, Aaron Williams,

Injuries
Sam Cassell, wrist, questionable
Paul Davis, ACL, out
Elton Brand, Achilles, out
Shaun Livingston, knee, out

Key Matchups
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. Maggette had 33 points and 8 rebounds when the Celtics beat the Clippers in Boston. Let's hope Pierce can contain him a bit more in this game.

vs
Kevin Garnett 6'11" PPG 18.8 RPG 9.90 APG 3.7 EFF + 25.82
Tim Thomas 6'10" PPG 13.1 RPG 5.10 APG 3.0 EFF + 13.58
Ordinarily this matchup would be the one for the Celtics to exploit as KG has the advantage in skill, experience, and size, but KG is still shaking off the rust and hopefully he can still get the better of this matchup.

Honorable Mention
Perk vs Kaman
Chris Kaman is having a very good season being 3rd in the league in rebounds at 13.3 and blocks at 3.0. Kaman has 29 double doubles and among centers, only Dwight Howard has more. Perk is also still shaking off the rust from his injury but he needs to have a strong game defensively and keep Kaman off the boards.

Game Notes
Clipper Connections: In the second matchup between these two teams last season, 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 11-17 at home and are 9-14 against the Eastern Conference teams. The Celtics are 19-8 on the road. The Clippers are 5-5 in their last 10 games and are coming off a 113-95 loss to the Lakers. The Celtics played on Sunday while the Clippers had the day off.

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.

Rumors continue to swirl around Clippers PG Sam Cassell who is probably out for this game with a sprained wrist. Reports are that he will be bought out. He had said at one time that he wanted to play for the Celtics but the Cavs have expressed interest and are offering the starting job there.

The Celtics finally snapped out of their slump and put offense and defense together. Hopefully, they can build on this and come out strong in this game as well. Maybe it was just a big case of jet lag and it took 3 games for their game to catch up with them. I expect the Celtics to continue where they left off in Portland and have a good game in this one.

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 Mobley and Maggette.

Be Aggressive The Celtics need to be aggressive in going after rebounds and loose balls and in taking it to the basket instead of settling for outside shots. They have to take control early and keep the pressure on until the end.

Focus The Celtics need to keep their focus and not let the refs or the crowd take them out of the game. They also need to keep their focus at the line and be sure to hit their free throws. If they had hit their freebies in the first 2 games they could be 2-1 on this trip instead of 3-0.

X-Factor
Fatigue - The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and the final game of a 5 game Western road trip and so fatigue may be a problem. Doc will need to depend on the bench and the bench will need to come through in order to keep the starters fresh for 4th quarter.

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Being at the back end of a road trip - five grueling games in seven nights, energy will be a problem. The Celtics had to fight their way out of a seventeen point hole last night in Portland. They took care of business from the middle of the 2nd qtr and on going on a 67 to 30 run. I look for BBD, Powe, House and Posey to step up tonight off the bench. Pierce and Allen were on fire last night. Perkins and Garnett are not 100% but have enough character to make a contribution. I am not going to miss these 9:30 pm starts, that's for sure. I think the Celtics have all their games east of the MTZ the rest of the way. Need to gear up for the TX-LA trip next month. Hope to have live reports from Texas next month.

[sexyscottish]

In the first game against LA in Boston, they damn near doubled us up at the FT line if I remember correctly, maybe even doing so. Hopefully it's not another one of those night, YEAH RIGHT. Wishful thinking I know. I think based on talent alone, we will win this game going away. No Cassell hurts this team A LOT. The Clippers will play with energy for a little while but we will end up winning by 15+.

[cfoo]

I think you are right although Rondo beat up on old man Cassell pretty good last game for 24 pts.. Sam couldn't stay with him.

Hey how come Tommy doesn't do the games any more? Is he getting too old or something? Now they just have him as an analyst during the pregame and halftime stuff like every game.

[FLCeltsFan]

Clippers feed tonight. I sure will be happy when the Celtics get back home so I can get to see Mike and Tommy again!!! I sure do miss them. Although the last game was pretty entertaining with those guys whining about every call and calling the Celtics thugs and wishing that Paul Pierce got knocked out. Almost game time. I will be glad to get back to normal time games. These late one are killing me.

[FLCeltsFan]

cf00 said:

I think you are right although Rondo beat up on old man Cassell pretty good last game for 24 pts.. Sam couldn't stay with him.

Hey how come Tommy doesn't do the games any more? Is he getting too old or something? Now they just have him as an analyst during the pregame and halftime stuff like every game.

Last year when Tommy had back surgery, he stopped going on the long road trips. I think the travel is too hard for him. He will be back with Mike for this week's home games.

[FLCeltsFan]

Celtics win the tip. Maggette called for a quick foul. Celtics inbound on the side. PP misses a 3 and Clippers rebound. Thomas misses a jumper and Celtics rebound. Celtics miss and Clippers rebound. KG with a block and Ray comes away with it. PP drives to the hoop and is fouled by Knight. I hate it when announcers chit chat and don't call the game. PP hits both FTs. Maggette misses a 3 and Perk grabs the rebound. Rondo misses a jumper and Clippers rebound. Knight hits a jumper from the top of the key. KG with a pass inside to Pierce for an easy layup. Thomas drives at KG and lays it in. Rondo takes it to the hoop and misses a layup. Knight hits a jumper. KG hits a long jumper off the catch. Maggetti misses and RA rebounds. KG's jumper goes in and out and Clippers rebound. Clippers miss and KG rebounds. KG hits a baseline jumper. Clipers turn it over and then Celtics turn it back over and Clippers get a layup. RA gets the ball inside for a layup. PP with very good defense causes a turnover. KG misses a jumper and Maggette grabs the rebound. Thomas misses and Pierce called for a foul on the rebound. Time out with Boston up 10-8 and 5:56 left in the first

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Q at the 6 minute mark - Kind of a slow start by both teams - Half court play on both sides.

Not too much energy expended.

[FLCeltsFan]

Clippers miss a jumper and Kg rebounds and outlets to Rondo. RA misses a tough jumper at the SC. Clippers rebound. Maggette's shot is blocked by Pierce. Rondo hits a jumper quickly at the other end. Clippers miss a jumper and KG rebounds. Rondo takes it to the hoop for a layup. Knight comes back and lays it in. KG hits an elbow jumper over Thomas. Clippers miss and Mobley beats KG to the rebound. Thomas hits a jumper from the corner at the SC. PP drives and is fouled. He misses the first. hits the second. Clippers turn it over. Rondo hits a jumper. Perk called for a foul inside. Time out with Celtics up 19-12 and 2:15 left in the first

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Q at the 2:15 mark 1st Qtr - THe Celtics are getting a very favorable pace so far as the Clippers are not really make much of an effort to speed the game up. Clipps are short handed and may be slowing it down by design. That is OK by Boston, I believe. Rajon Rondo and Garnett are carrying the scoring load so far.

[FLCeltsFan]

Maggette misses the first. Hits the second. KG spins on the basline and Clippers get the weak side rebound. Powell gets to the hoop and lays it in. PP drives to the hoop and Powell is called for a goal tend. Thomas misses a jumper. Rondo rebounds. Pierce misses a 3 and Powell gets the rebound inside. Clippers miss and Celtics rebound. Perk hits a jump hook over the defender. Maggette misses and Rondo goes to the floor when he goes for the rebound. Thomas and Tony bump knees going for the loose ball. Clippers inbound on the side. Knight takes it hard to the hoop and lays it in to end the quarter. Score at the end of 1 is Boston 23 and LA 17

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Q at the Qtr - Brevin Knight appears to be trying to do all the work himself to get the Clippers back in the game. Lets see Glen Powe and Leon Davis in the game. We want Posey and House and get some 2nd qtr energy.

[FLCeltsFan]

Clippers inbound to start the second. Baby called for a foul. Powell misses the first FT. Hits the second. House, PP, Tony, Posey and Baby on the floor. PP drives down the lane and misses the layup. Thornton rebounds. Clippers miss and House rebounds. Celtics turn it over. Thornton misses and Tony rebounds. Tony gets inside. He loses the handle but stays with it and lays it in. Dickau hits a jumper as the SC winds down. House misses a jumper and Clippers rebound. Clippers turn it over on a bad pass. Ross called for a foul. Celtics inbound on the side. Ray is in for PP. Posey hits a 3 from the top right of the arc. Baby called for a foul. Time out with Celtics up 28-20 and 8:54 left in the half.

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Got the bench out there but no Leon Powe. That is discouraging. We just gave the Clipps a triple Posey as that elderly British Golf announcer Peter Alyss would say. The energy level of this game is such that Peter Alyss could call this game.

[cfoo]

I think the c's could actually take a nap while playing this game and still beat the clippers.