Tip: 6PM Court: TD Garden Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI
Referees: Tony Brothers, Olandis Poole and Eddie F. Rush
Spread: BOS -2.0
The Matchup
 |
 |
| Record: 26-23 | Record: 33-18 |
| At home: 18-9 | On road: 11-15 |
| Streak: Won 6 | Streak: Won 9 |
| Leaders | Leaders |
| Buckets: Pierce (18.6 ppg) | Buckets: Danilo Gallinari (17.1 ppg) |
| Boards: Garnett (7.3 rpg) | Boards: Kenneth Faried (9.7 rpg) |
| Dimes: Pierce (4.1 apg) | Dimes: Ty Lawson (6.9 apg) |
| For the Stat Geeks: | For the Stat Geeks: |
| Offensive Rating: 102.6 (25th NBA) | Offensive Rating: 109.5 (5th NBA) |
| Defensive Rating: 102.7 (7th NBA) | Defensive Rating: 105.2 (13th NBA) |
| Pace: 91.4 (18th NBA) | Pace: 95.0 (2nd NBA) |
Last time
The Nuggets out-hustled Boston, 98-91, in their only meeting last season. Kenneth Faried (18 points, 16 rebounds) torched the Celtics with his high-energy game. Denver has lost 18 of their last 21 in Boston.
This time
Get it to: Kevin Garnett
KG is averaging 18.4 ppg over his last 7 games. For all his hustle and ferocity on the boards, the 6-8 Kenneth Faried struggles defending the post. Kosta Koufos is better at defending the pick-and-roll, but is just as weak in the post.
Gotta stop: Ty Lawson and Andre Miller
If the Celtics want to keep Denver from running, they’ll have to clamp down on Denver’s point guard. These two have drastically different styles. Lawson is a lighting quick penetrating guard, while Miller is the crafty veteran who can score on the block.
The Wild Card: Denver fatigue vs Boston’s time off
The Nuggets are a high octane offense that loves to run and crash the offensive boards. But will they have any gas left after playing last night in Cleveland and arriving in Boston at 1 am? The Celtics last played Thursday night, practiced Friday and had Saturday off. Too much time off isn’t necessarily a good thing for the Celtics.
How we see it goin’ down
The Nuggets may be the hottest team in the league, but only two of those 9 consecutive victories came on the road. I can’t see them coming into Boston and winning on the second night of a road back-to-back. Not the way the Celtics are playing.
Celtics 109
Nuggets 99
Good luck to anyone attending the game. It’s a bitch getting around the city.
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