How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Thunder

Tip: 7:30 PM Court: TD Garden Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI

Referees: Derrick Stafford, Eric Lewis and Derek Richardson

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The Matchup


Record: 6-6	Record: 9-3
At Home: 3-3	On Road: 3-1
Streak: Lost 2	Streak: Won 3

Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Pierce (19.3 ppg)	Buckets: Kevin Durant (25.4 ppg)
Boards: Garnett (7.0 rpg)	Boards: Durant (10.1 rpg)
Dimes: Rondo (13.3 apg)	Dimes: Russell Westbrook (8.4 apg)

For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 105.0 (12th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 110.1 (3rd NBA)
Defensive Rating: 107.2 (26th NBA)	Defensive Rating: 103.2 (14th NBA)
Pace: 91.8 (21st NBA)	Pace: 92.7 (11th NBA)

Last time

The Thunder swept the season series (2-0) last year. Russell Westbrook averaged 28.5 points against the Celtics in those games. Rajon Rondo missed one of the games due to a suspension for throwing a ball at an official.

This time

Get it to: Whomever Kendrick Perkins is guarding

We all know Perk’s strength is interior defense. The further away he gets from the basket, the less effective he becomes. Will the Celtics target him in pick-and-pop situations? Let’s hope Brandon Bass and KG have their jumpers working tonight.

Gotta stop: Russell Westbrook

Kevin Durant may be all-world, but penetrating guards like Westbrook are the main reason for the Celtics defensive woess. We’ve heard it many times, the bigs find themselves out of position when they are forced to help on dribble penetration. Rajon Rondo, Courtney Lee and Jason Terry (gulp) must work their asses off to keep Westbrook out of the lane.

The Wild Card: Kevin Martin vs ???

Martin is averaging 17.8 ppg off the bench for the Thunder. Who on the Celtics will match that output? Courtney Lee and Jeff Green have been disappointing, to say the least. If the Celtics are going to compete with OKC, somebody on the bench must score.