Tip: 7:30PM Court: TD Garden Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI
Referees: Zach Zarba, Scott Bolnick, John Goble
Get your tickets here: Boston Celtics Tickets
The Matchup
 |
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| Record: 12-12 | Record: 5-21 |
| At Home: 8-4 | On Road: 2-13 |
| Streak: Lost 3 | Streak: Lost 4 |
| Leaders | Leaders |
| Buckets: Pierce (19.6 ppg) | Buckets: Kyrie Irving (23.7 ppg) |
| Boards: Garnett (7.0 rpg) | Boards: Anderson Varejao (14.4 rpg) |
| Dimes: Rondo (12.5 apg) | Dimes: Irving (5.7 apg) |
| For the Stat Geeks: | For the Stat Geeks: |
| Offensive Rating: 103.3 (19th NBA) | Offensive Rating: 102.0 (26th NBA) |
| Defensive Rating: 104.3 (12th NBA) | Defensive Rating: 108.6 (27th NBA) |
| Pace: 92.0 (14th NBA) | Pace: 91.6 (17th NBA) |
Last time
The Celtics took 2 of 3 from the Cavs last year. Ray Allen led the C’s in scoring twice. Kyrie Irving was the leading scorer for the Cavs all 3 times, and Anderson Varejao had a 20-20 game in a loss
This time
Get it to: Kevin Garnett
He really has been the most consistent Celtic this season. I’d love to see the Celtics offense run through him a little more and get him passing out of the post in addition to scoring.
Gotta stop: Kyrie Irving
He’s THE threat on the Cavs. I’m going to bet Courtney Lee, and not Rajon Rondo, draws this assignment. It’s IMPERATIVE to keep this kid out of the paint. For God’s sake, will the Celtics guards PLEASE limit dribble penetration??
The Wild Card: The Bench… again.
Hey bench guys… Nate Robinson outscored you last night. That’s embarrassing. When are you guys going to start taking these types of performances personally? Wake the fuck up.
How we see it goin’ down
Both teams are coming off back-to-backs, so there’s no advantage for either team there. The Cavs just lost to the Raptors, but they do have wins over the Clippers, Hawks, 76’ers and Lakers. After last night’s loss to the Raps, Irving said:
“I’m not trying to make excuses, but when we play the lower-echelon teams we don’t come out as we want to. When we’re playing against the Lakers and New York, we’re in the game. We have to come with a more focused attitude.”
Meanwhile, the Celtics are struggling, they flew to Boston TODAY, making this the first time since 2008 they’ve had to fly and play the same day. The Cavs have two things that kill the Celtics: a great point guard in Irving, and a fierce rebounder in Varejao.
However, the Cavs are horrible, and there’s a slight chance Varejao will be limited by a bruised knee suffered last night. Regardless, I have faith, however misguided, that the Celtics bench will find itself revived with better matchups. I have faith, however misguided, that Jason Terry WILL take it personally, and will himself provide a spark off the bench. I have faith, however misguided, that Courtney Lee is going to continue to find his way.
And as much faith as I have, I also have eyes. I do expect the Celtics to win, but I expect them to struggle doing so.
Celtics 101
Cavs 95
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