Home Sweet Home

25-35 @ 46-13
Friday, February 27, 2009
7:30 pm ET
TD BankNorth Garden (Boston, MA)

There's no place like home.

After a spread out, six-game west coast road trip in which the Celtics finished 3-3, the illustrious men in green have finally returned home to play in front of their fans for the first time since February 8.

This isn't quite the same team we saw the last time they laced 'em up at the TD BankNorth Garden. The C's have returned home with a couple of new faces. Sam Cassell and Patrick O'Bryant have moved on to different organizations, and Danny Ainge has replaced them with a pair of veterans to help fill out Doc's rotation.

The first addition is that of seven-foot energy guy Mikki Moore, who made his Celtic debut in Wednesday night's road loss to the Clippers. His first impression was a relatively positive one, as he set multiple screens and displayed constant activity, as well as his beautiful mid-range set shot. Moore might not be P.J. Brown, but for between eight and 15 minutes per contest, he can help this team.

Now onto the big addition that everybody is buzzing about, Stephon Marbury. The long-lasting soap opera with the Knicks has finally come to a close, and as of 10:00 am this morning, the two-time All-Star cleared waivers and became an official free agent. From there, he completed a physical, signed his veteran's minimum contract, and giddily joined his new teammates in Waltham.

Marbury will attend the team practice at roughly 5:00 pm ET tonight, and will subsequently discuss his new surroundings with the Boston media about 45 minutes later. With that in mind, along with the fact that Gabe Pruitt will be serving the first night of his two-game suspension, it is expected that Marbury will be dressed and ready to go tonight vs. Indiana.

Let the Stephon Marbury era begin. We have a new Employee #8 in town.

Projected Starters
G G F F C

Team Leaders
PPG: Danny Granger (25.0)
RPG: Troy Murphy (11.7)
APG: T.J. Ford (5.1)
SPG: Marquis Daniels (1.1)
BPG: Danny Granger (1.5)

Projected Starters
G G F F C

Team Leaders
PPG: Paul Pierce (20.1)
RPG: Kevin Garnett (8.8)
APG: Rajon Rondo (8.4)
SPG: Rajon Rondo (2.0)
BPG: Kendrick Perkins (1.7)

Key Matchup

Injury Report
Danny Granger (torn tendon in right foot – out)
Mike Dunleavy Jr. (sore right knee – out)
Kevin Garnett (posterior muscle strain – out)
Tony Allen (recovering from thumb surgery – out)
Brian Scalabrine (strained neck – out)
Gabe Pruitt (serving suspension – out)

Keys to Victory

• Ball Control
• Timely Closeouts
• Home Cookin'