Tip: 1:00pm Court: Verizon Center Watch it: CSN/NBATV Hear it: WEEI
Referees: Joe Crawford, Kevin Fehr, Violet Palmer
The Matchup
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| Record: 5-9 (3rd Atlantic, 9th East) | Record: 2-13(5th Southeast, 15th East) |
| On the road: 1-4 | On road: 2-7 |
| Streak: Lost 1 | Streak: Lost 1 |
| Leaders | Leaders |
| Buckets: Allen (15.5 ppg) | Buckets: Nick Young (16.2 ppg) |
| Boards: Garnett (7.3 rpg) | Boards: Javale McGee (9.9 rpg) |
| Dimes: Rondo (9.4 apg) | Dimes: John Wall (7.4 apg) |
| For the Stat Geeks: | For the Stat Geeks: |
| Offensive Rating: 100.3 (20th NBA) | Offensive Rating: 94.5 (30th NBA) |
| Defensive Rating: 101.8 (14th NBA) | Defensive Rating: 105.5 (24th NBA) |
| Pace: 88.6 (28th NBA) | Pace: 93.8 (4th NBA) |
Last time
Ray Allen hit 6 threes and scored 27, Paul Pierce added 21, and the Celtics beat Washington 100-92 in the back end of a home-and-home.
This time
Get it to: Ray Allen
It's time to get this guy more shots. Find this guy, get him going, get him hot again, and then feed off him to get the rest of the big 3 going.
I've had just about enough of this other stuff and playing Pierce and KG into shape. Let them get into shape by running up and down the floor. It's time to start adjusting to the Celtics strengths and those right now are (1) Rajon Rondo getting into the lane and (2) Ray Allen shooting. Well, option #1 is out… so let's get it to option #2
Gotta stop: John Wall
With Rondo and Keyon Dooling out, the starting nod will go to Avery Bradley again. And while he did do a good job with Steve Nash, the John Wall challenge will be entirely different. Nash's days of winning foot races are over. John Wall's are only just beginning. He might be the fastest guy in the league with the ball, and he's going to push it every chance he gets.
DO NOT let John Wall treat this game like one of those lockout "games" where he was doing chin up on the rim. Guard penetration (sing it with me everyone) is killing the Celtics.
The Wild Card: KG vs. Andray Blatche
Kevin Garnett does not like Andray Blatche. If KG can get keyed up, show some signs of life, and play Blatche like he did in the first matchup this season (KG had 24 & 9, Blatche had 10 & 3), then this will be an easy win. If KG struggle like he did the next night, which was a back-to-back situation (Blatche had 28 & 9, KG had 10/6/6) then this will be a tight one.
How we see it goin' down
The Celtics offense will struggle once again without Rajon Rondo. Avery Bradley is not a true point guard, he does not handle the ball well, and he's not the greatest passer in the world. The Celtics will have to make adjustments to get the offense going.
I think they make those adjustments. The Celtics are aware of their situation. They are aware that they need to step up. And they are aware that if they want their lives to continue in Boston, they're going to have to beat the Wizards. A loss to Washington accelerates the dismantling process.
Celtics 95 – Washington 87
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