Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2016 22:33:08 GMT -5
at 
Boston Celtics (38-25) at Cleveland Cavaliers (43-17)
Saturday, March 5, 2016
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]64, Road Game [HASH]32
TV: CSNNE, FSOH, NBA-LP 750(DTV)/751(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 1100 WTAM
Quicken Loans Arena
Probable Starters
PG: Isaiah Thomas................... SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder........... PF: Amir Johnson......... C: Jared Sullinger
Celtics Reserves
Evan Turner
Marcus Smart
Jonas Jerebko
Terry Rozier
James Young
RJ Hunter
Tyler Zeller
Jordan Mickey
Injuries
Kelly Olynyk (shoulder) out
Rookies (Red Claws) possible
James Young (calf) day to day
Head Coach
Brad Stevens
Possible Starters
PG: Kyrie Irving ................ SG: JR Smith
SF: LeBron James................. PF: Kevin Love ............... C: Timofey Mozgov
Cavs Reserves
Iman Shumpert
Tristan Thompson
Richard Jefferson
Mo Williams
James Jones
Matthew Dellavedova
Sasha Kaun
Channing Frye
Injuries
Head Coach
Tyron Lue
Game Notes
The Celtics completed their 5 game home stand and head out on the road for the 3rd and final game with the Cavaliers this season. The series stands at 1-1 with the Celtics winning in Cleveland and the Cavs winning in Boston. The Cavs have the best home record in the East at 25-5 but one of those losses came at the hands of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are 16-15 on the road.
I'm sure the Cavs still clearly remember their last meeting on February 5 when Avery Bradley hit the game winning 3 pointer as time expired despite a game high 30 points from LeBron James. They will come into this game with revenge on their minds while the Celtics will be looking to continue their march toward respect in the league. The Celtics have won 5 straight games while the Cavs have won their last 2.
Both teams are playing in back to back games. The Cavs easily beat the Wizards at home on Friday night, holding the Wizards to just 83 points. Their starters played around 30 minutes. The Celtics just barely got past the Knicks at home on Friday night and had to travel after the game so that would put them at a slight disadvantage. The Celtics are 10-4 on the second night of back to back games but only 2-2 when the games are home-road. They pride themselves on giving an extra effort to win on the second night of back to backs, though.
The Celtics remain 3rd in the East, but are just 1.5 games ahead of the Heat, who beat the Suns and the Sixers back to back. The Heat have one of the easier schedules remaining while the Celtics have one of the tougher schedules remaining. The Celtics are 4 ahead of the Hawks, who are in the 5th spot. They are also just 4 games behind the Raptors.
Kelly Olynyk will miss this game with the shoulder injury that has kept him out since February 10. James Young (calf) is listed as day to day. RJ Hunter was assigned to the Red Claws on Thursday. Mo Williams is out for the Cavaliers with a knee injury. Kevin Love was rested on Friday and so didn't play.
Key Matchups
vs Jae Crowder vs LeBron James
As always, Jae will have the job of guarding the opponent's toughest player and in this case, it is none other than LeBron James. James is averaging 24.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists. LeBron loves the Celtics and in 40 regular season games against them he is averaging 29.7 points, the second highest against any opponent. The only team he averages more against is the Thunder (29.73). In the Celtics win in February, LeBron had 30 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
vs Amir Johnson vs Kevin Love
Love may still be looking for some revenge against the team that ended his playoff run last season. He is averaging 15.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists and needs to be covered both on the perimeter and in the paint. He rested against the Wizards on Friday and should be ready to go in this game.
Honorable Mention
Isaiah Thomas vs Kyrie Irving
Irving missed the first meeting between these two teams finished the second game with 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists. He is averaging 19.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He will be a tough matchup for Isaiah.
Keys to the Game
Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is key to winning every game. The Celtics let their defense slip for a bit but seem to be getting back to playing tough team defense once again. The Cavs are averaging 102.9 points per game this season and allowing 97.2. The Celtics are averaing 106.1 points per game and allowing 101.7. The Celtics have to match the defensive intensity of the Cavs if they have any hope to win this game.
Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball. They must crash the boards as a team to prevent the Cavs from getting second chance and fast break points. They also need to rebound to give themselves extra possessions and to fuel their running game. The Celtics are averaging slightly more rebounds (45.1) than the Cavs (44.7) and they need to put extra effort into beating the Cavs to the rebounds in this one.
Run, Run, Run - The Celtics need to run on every possession in order to get some easy points before the Cavs defense sets up. When the Celtics walk the ball up and slow the game down they struggle. They have to run and they have to move the ball. The Cavs are a good defensive team and so the Celtics need to try to beat their defense up the court.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to beat the Cavs to every loose ball and win the 50/50 balls. They have to be aggressive on the boards and in driving into the paint and to the basket. They have to be the team that works harder and the team that wants it more.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to play hard from the opening tip to the final buzzer. They can't afford to let the Cavs get a big lead because the Cavs are a very good defensive team and it won't be easy to dig out of a hole against them. They also can't let the Cavs back in it if they can manage to build a lead. They must play all out for all 48 minutes.
Move the Ball - The Celtics need to move the ball and find the open man. When they stop moving the ball and try to do too much individually, they struggle. They have to keep the ball moving but at the same time, they have to make good passes and not allow the Cavs to force turnovers.
X-Factors
Officiating - As always, the officiating is an x-factor. Every crew officiates differently and teams never know what to expect. Sometimes they let them play and other times they call a foul on every possession. Some games they call evenly and others they favor one team or the other. It's like Forrest Gump's box of chocolate... you never know what you are going to get. In most games against the Cavs, however, the Cavs seem to get the benefit of way too many calls.
Revenge Factor - The Cavs will definitely be looking to avenge that 104-103 loss to the Celtics in their last meeting. The Celtics need to keep that chip on their shoulders and look to avenge the 4 game sweep in last year's playoffs.
Road and Fatigue Factor - The Cavaliers play very well at home with just 5 losses there this season. The Celtics are above .500 on the road, but not anywhere as dominant on the road as the Cavs are at home. Hopefully the Celtics can overcome any distractions that come up on the road and focus on getting a win. Both teams are playing in back to back games and hopefully the Celtics' depth and youth will give them the advantage.
