Tip: 10:30PM Court: Staples Center Watch it: TNT Hear it: WEEI
Referees: Marc Davis, Eric Lewis and Tre Maddox
Get your tickets here: Boston Celtics Tickets
The Matchup
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| Record: 14-13 | Record: 22-6 |
| On Road: 5-8 | At Home: 13-3 |
| Streak: Won 1 | Streak: Won 14 |
| Leaders | Leaders |
| Buckets: Pierce (20.5 ppg) | Buckets: Blake Griffin (18.1 ppg) |
| Boards: Garnett (7.1 rpg) | Boards: Griffin (18.8 rpg) |
| Dimes: Rondo (11.9 apg) | Dimes: Chris Paul (9.5 apg) |
| For the Stat Geeks: | For the Stat Geeks: |
| Offensive Rating: 103.5 (16th NBA) | Offensive Rating: 110.3 (4th NBA) |
| Defensive Rating: 103.4 (10th NBA) | Defensive Rating: 99.8 (3rd NBA) |
| Pace: 91.8 (17th NBA) | Pace: 91.8 (15th NBA) |
Last time
The Celtics beat the Clippers, 94-85, in the only meeting last season. Paul Pierce (25 pts) and KG (21 pts, 8 rebounds) were the heroes. Chris Paul shot 3-12 with 4 TOs.
This time
Get it to: Paul Pierce
Caron Butler is a decent defender, but the Truth is red hot. He’s shooting 47% and averaging 5 rpg and 5 apg over his last ten games.
Gotta stop: Chris Paul
The Clippers have a multitude of weapons and role players, but Paul is still the head of this snake. He’s shooting 48%, 38% 3FG while averaging nearly 10 assists this season. On the bright side, Paul is 3-for-21 is his last two games vs Boston. Doc Rivers must hold some sort of CP3 antidote. Or maybe, Rajon Rondo simply plays to his defensive potential vs Paul.
The Wild Card: Jamal Crawford
Crawford leads a stellar bench that’s averaging a league best 42.7 ppg. Not only will the Celtics need Courtney Lee to suffocate Crawford, but Jeff Green and Co. must produce some points.
How we see it goin’ down
It doesn’t get much better than a nationally televised game against the team with the league’s best record. While we like to think the Celtics rise to the occasion in big games, they’re just as capable of laying a collective egg.
The Clippers have incredibly athletic front-court players. I’m curious to see if Doc Rivers will start Jason Collins against DeAndre Jordan. Will KG tire guarding Blake Griffin? Will Jared Sullinger be effective?
Predicting these match-ups and the Celtics play overall is nearly impossible. I have a better chance of predicting my ex-wife’s mood.
I’m going with the Celtics tonight for the sole reason that the Clippers winning streak has to end at some point. Why not tonight?
One other note, if the name of official Marc Davis rings a bell, it’s because he has a notorious history with the Celtics.
Celtics 101
Clippers 97
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