at
New Jersey Nets (0-2) at Boston Celtics (1-1)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
1:00 PM ET
CSN HD
TD Banknorth Garden
ProbableStarting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris
Shooting Guard 
vs
Ray Allen vs Terrence Williams
Small Forward 
vs
Paul Pierce vs Chris Douglas Roberts
Power Forward 
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Yi Jianlian
Center 
vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez
ReservesEddie House
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Shelden Williams
Tony Allen
Brian Scalabrine
Lester Hudson
Michael Sweetney
Injuries:Bill Walker (knee) out
Tony Allen (ankle) probable
Paul Pierce (back) will play
ReservesJarvis Hayes
Rafer Alston
Josh Boone
Sean Williams
Bobby Simmons
Bennett Davis
Brian Hamilton
Tony Battie
Trenton Hassell
Will Blalock
InjuriesEduardo Najera (back) out
Courtney Lee (foot) questionable
Keyon Dooling (hip) out
Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris
Rondo has alternated between looking impressive and struggling so far in the pre-season. We saw a very confident pull up jumper in the first quarter against the Knicks but was just 3-7 from the field. He also had just 3 assists to 2 turnovers. Harris had just 5 points but dished out 8 assists to just one turnover in his last game. In this matchup, Rondo will be playing against the PG who beat him out for a spot on the All Star team last year and I expect him to try to make a point.
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Yi Jianlian
Every game will be key for KG as he regains his conditioning and proves to everyone that he is truly pain free. But, this is also a matchup of what is vs what might have been. Danny was set to take Yi in the draft and might have if he had kept the draft pick and not made the trade for KG. I don't think there will be any Celtics fans who will be wi
Edited. Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.l about what might have been what might have been.
Honorable MentionKendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez
Perk came into camp in great shape and it is showing in his game. He is more mobile and will be able to stay with the quicker centers in the league that he had problems with in the past. He is also looking for his offense more this season. Brook Lopez is one of the best young centers coming up in the league and this should be a good matchup for both teams.
Game Notes
Doc increased his starters' minutes from the teens to around 20 in the last game and it will be interesting to see if he holds them around 20 minutes again or gradually increases their minutes game by game.
The Celtics defense is definitely ahead of their offense thus far in the preseason. They held an offensive minded Knicks team to 37% but only shot 44% themselves. I am sure that as the preseason goes on, the offense will start clicking and we will see a blow out or two.
The Nets are traditional rivals of the Celtics as we think back to the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals where the Nets defeated the Celtics in a hotly contested 6 game series. The Nets have fallen on hard times and this season are just marking time until they can make a play for LeBron or some other big free agent in 2010. Their ownership and even location are up in the air at this point and that can't make for a very stable club. The Celtics should win this one easily.
Topic: Nets (0-2) at Celtics (1-1) 10/11 (Read 26797 times)