Tip: 7:30pm Court: TD Garden Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI
Referees: Jason Phillips, Tony Brown and Haywoode Workman
The Matchup
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| Record: 13-10 (2nd Atlantic, 7th East) | Record: 3-21 (5th Southeast, 15th East) |
| At home: 9-6 | On road: 1-13 |
| Streak: Won 4 | Streak: Lost 11 |
| Leaders | Leaders |
| Buckets: Pierce (18.6 ppg) | Buckets: Gerald Henderson (15.0 ppg) |
| Boards: Garnett (7.3 rpg) | Boards: Corey Maggette (6.2 rpg) |
| Dimes: Rondo (9.5 apg) | Dimes: DJ Augustin (6.6 apg) |
| For the Stat Geeks: | For the Stat Geeks: |
| Offensive Rating: 102.1 (19th NBA) | Offensive Rating: 94.4 (30th NBA) |
| Defensive Rating: 97.6 (2nd NBA) | Defensive Rating: 109.2 (29th NBA) |
| Pace: 88.8 (27th NBA) | Pace: 92.1 (13th NBA) |
Last time
These teams split the 2010-12 season series. In their last meeting, Charlotte rallied from a 13-point, fourth quarter deficit to beat the Celtics, 83-81, in Boston.
This time
Get it to: Ray Allen
Reggie Williams – labled a "subpar defender with poor lateral movement and athleticism" by ESPN – will be the guy chasing Ray Allen. Get the ball to Ray.
Gotta stop: Kemba Walker
Walker has reached the 20-point mark in two of his last 5 games. He's quick and can get to the basket. How many times have we heard Doc Rivers say the Celtics weak perimeter defense screwed the bigs? Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley need to keep this dude out of the paint.
The Wild Card: The "overlook" factor
With only 3 wins, the Bobcats might be the worst team in the NBA. That could be viewed as a positive in this match-up, because the Celtics have a tendency to play down to the level of their opponent. The Celtics might also be looking past the Bobcats to Thursday's match-up with the Lakers. Do you remember last year's 83-81 loss to Charlotte at the Garden? Doc Rivers was pissed at the team's attitude.
How we see it goin' down
How bad is Charlotte's offense? 83 ppg over their last 11 games. Even with a 75% effort, I think the Celtics can stifle the Bobcats. I like the energy and focus I'm seeing from the Celtics. I don't think they'll let us down tonight.
Prediction: BOS 94 – CHA 79
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