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Cleveland Cavaliers (48-12) at Boston Celtics (48-14)
Friday, March 6
8:00 PM ET
Game #63, Home Game #31
TV: ESPN, CSN HD, FSN Ohio
TD Banknorth Garden
Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 27.3
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 222Probable Starters
PG: Rajon Rondo PPG 11.6 RPG 5.40 APG 8.5
SG: Ray Allen PPG 18.2 RPG 3.40 APG 2.8
SF: Paul Pierce PPG 20.1 RPG 5.70 APG 3.7
PF: Glen Davis PPG 5.4 RPG 3.50 APG 0.8
C: Kendrick Perkins PPG 7.9 RPG 8.00 APG 1.2
Reserves Stephon Marbury
Mikki Moore
Eddie House
Leon Powe
Gabe Pruitt
JR Giddens
Bill Walker
Injuries: Tony Allen (thumb) out
Kevin Garnett (knee) out
Brian Scalabrine (head) out
Coach: Mike Brown
Average Age: 27.1
Average Height: 6-7
Average Weight: 227Probable Starters
PG: Mo Williams PPG 17.7 RPG 3.30 APG 4.1
SG: Delonte West PPG 12.4 RPG 3.10 APG 3.5
SF: LeBron James PPG 28.5 RPG 7.30 APG 7.0
PF: Anderson Varejao PPG 8.2 RPG 6.90 APG 1.0
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas PPG 13.5 RPG 7.70 APG 1.2
Reserves Daniel Gibson
Tarence Kinsey
JJ Hickson
Darnell Jackson
Jawad Williams
Lorenzen Wright
Sasha Pavlovic
Wally Szczerbiak
Joe Smith
Injured Eric Snow (knee) out
Ben Wallace (fibula) out
Matchups to Watch
vs
The matchup between Paul Pierce and LeBron James is always an entertaining one and is one of the best matchups in the league. The Celtics need Pierce to step up with KG still expected to be out for this game. Both of these players know the importance of this game and so we should see another classic game between these two.
vs
Rondo outplayed Williams in their first matchup on opening night but Williams outplayed Rondo in their second meeting. Both point guards have been playing very well and the Celtics will need Rondo to be aggressive and to play very well if the Celtics are to have a chance in this game.
Honorable Mention Ray Allen vs Delonte West
Since returning from his wrist injury, West has been playing very well and he had 8 steals in the Cavs win over the Bucks on Wednesday. Delonte is a very good defender and will make it difficult for Ray to get open and so it will be important for the Celtic's bigs to set good screens to get Ray some open shots. Delonte has a chip on his shoulder against the Celtics for trading him and he will do his best to help his team win this one.
Keys to the Game Defense, Defense, Defense The Cavs have taken a page from the Celtics' book and are winning with defense. They rank first overall in poits allowed at 90.6 per game. Boston is 2nd, allowing 92.3 per game. The Cavs are 2nd to Boston in field goal percentage allowed holding teams to 42.8%. The Celtics have struggled with their defense since KG went out. The Celtics allowed the Nets to score 111 points. It is fairly certain that the Cavs won't allow the Celtics to shoot 60% and if the Celtics allow the Cavs over 100 points, they won't have much of a chance in this game. Defense will be the key to winning this game.
Limit Turnovers The Cavs are one of the best teams in the league in converting turnovers into points. The Celtics are one of the worst teams in the league at turning the ball over. It sounds like a formula for disaster. If the Celtics don't take better care of the ball, the Cavs will make them pay for it.
Rebound Rebounding numbers indicate effort and desire and the team that works hardest on the glass will likely be the team that wants this game more. The Cavs are 3rd, behind Boston and Portland in opponent rebounds allows, holding teams to just 38.6 rebounds per game. They must limit the Cavs second chance efforts and at the same time they have to get offensive rebounds to give themselves more opportunities to score.
Focus The Celtics have lost focus, especially in the 4th quarter, of games recently. They have lost leads in the 4th and were fortunate to come out of New Jersey with a win after blowing a big lead. When teams press them, when their shots stop falling, they seem to lose their focus and start tossing up jumpers instead of looking for the extra pass or taking the ball inside. And, worst of all, they tend to lose their defensive focus. They need to focus on team ball and not allow teams to take them out of their game.
Game NotesThis is the 3rd meeting between these two teams with the series tied 1-1. The Celtics beat the Cavs 90-85 in Boston on opening night. The Cavs returned the favor by beating the Celtics 98-83 at the Q in January. They have one more meeting in the final week of the season.
The Cavs have moved 1 game in front of the Celtics for the best record in the East and don't appear to have any weaknesses. They were a little thin up front after Ben Wallace went down but with the signing of Joe Smith, they took care of that. And, unlike the Celtics' new acquisitions, it won't take much for Smith to be integrated into the system since he played in it last season. The Cavs also never missed a beat when Ilgauskas and West both went out with injuries earlier in the season. This is a very important game for both teams but the Celtics are at a disadvantage with KG still out against a Cavs team almost at full strength. They have Ben Wallace out, but you could argue that they are a better team with him out as Varejao is an upgrade over Wallace in the starting lineup. The Celtics are definitely not a better team without KG.
X-Factor Home Court
The Celtics are playing at home. The Cavs have been 1986 Celtics good at home, losing only 1 game there all season so far. But, they are 21-11 on the road and the Celtics are 25-5 at home. The Celtics need to take advantage of being at home and even though they are without KG, they need to step up and get this win to try to secure home court advantage for the playoffs.
Topic: Cavs (48-12) at Celtics (48-14) 3/6 (Read 89060 times)