How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Hornets

Tip: 7PM Court: Time Warner Cable Arena Watch it: CSNNE Hear it: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Referees: Scott Foster, David Guithrie, Derek Richardson

Line: Bos: +2.5

The Matchup


Record: 7-12	Record: 5-15
On road: 2-5	At home: 4-7
Streak: Lost 1	Streak: Won 1

Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Green (19.8 ppg)	Buckets: Al Jefferson (19.6 ppg)
Boards: Sullinger (8.6 rpg)	Boards: Al Jefferson (7.8 rpg)
Dimes: Rondo (10.8 apg)	Dimes: Kemba Walker (5.6 apg)

For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 103.2 (19th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 98.2 (26th NBA)
Defensive Rating: 104.8 (21st NBA)	Defensive Rating: 106.2 (25th NBA)
Pace: 100.7 (1st NBA)	Pace: 94.1 (26th NBA)

Last time

In their last matchup Boston won an end of the year thriller 106-103. Al Jefferson had a monster game posting 32/10, but Phil Pressey stole the show with his 13 dimes and great defensive intensity. Neither Rajon Rondo or Kemba Walker played that game

This time

Get it to: Tyler Zeller/Jeff Green

BATTLE OF THE ZELLERS!! But seriously first time Tyler and Cody will be facing each others as starters of opposing teams. Though Charlotte is among the best in the league at defending in the paint (6th best in the league), I would attack Cody with Zeller early and often. The big brother mentality is real, and this is a game that I’m sure Zeller will be more aggressive and try to impose his will on his younger sibling, Look for the matchup early.

Also Celtics should look to attack Jeff Green early and often. With Lance Stephenson struggling to defend (or just unwilling to) Green should attack primarily in the post where he can get him in foul trouble.

Gotta stop: Al Jefferson

Al Jefferson seems to always have his way with the Celtics, and he’ll be looking for the same success tonight. With no real shot blocking presence the Celtics may need to utilize zones, but most likely will just try to play him straight up and contain everyone else.

The Wild Card: Lance Stephenson and Kelly Olynyk

Though Lance Stephenson has struggled mightily this year, when he’s on his game he’s a triple-double threat. Celtics will need to make him work on the defensive end, and force him to shoot perimeter (his shooting 38.5% from the field).

Kelly Olynyk like we know can be very productive and dangerous when his in the game, but also has the tendency to go ghost during games. If he can feed off his last game in which he played brilliantly with another good performance the Celtics will have a much better chance winning this game.