at
Boston Celtics (0-0) at Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0)
Tuesday, October 27
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #1, Away Game #1
TV: TNT
Quicken Loans Arena 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Mo Williams
Shooting Guard 
vs
Ray Allen vs Anthony Parker
Small Forward 
vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
Power Forward 
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Anderson Varejao
Center
vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Shaquille O'Neal
ReservesRasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Big Baby Davis
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Lester Hudson
JR Giddens
Injuries Tony Allen (ankle) questionable
Bill Walker (knee) out
Brian Scalabrine (ankle) questionable
Ray Allen (eye) will play
ReservesDaniel Gibson
Daniel Green
JJ Hickson
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Darnell Jackson
Coby Karl
Jamario Moon
Jawad Williams
InjuriesDelonte West (personal) day to day
Leon Powe (knee) out
Key Matchups
vs
This is one of the premiere matchups in the league. Playing LeBron seems to bring out the best in Pierce and he covers LeBron about as well as anyone in the league. This matchup is always entertaining and should continue to be so in this game.
vs
This is it! The first real game for KG since he went down last season. He is ready to go and although his minutes may still be limited, expect KG to go all out in this game when he is finally unleashed.
Honorable MentionKendrick Perkins vs Shaquille O'Neal
Perk is one of the few players in the league who has been able to stand his ground vs Shaq. Now that he lost weight over the summer, he is more mobile and can outrun Shaq up the floor, but it may hinder his ability to muscle Shaq inside.
Team ConnectionsLeon Powe and Delonte West are former Celtics
West was drafted by the Celtics with the 24th overall pick in the 2004 Draft
Powe played for the Celtics from 2006-09
Paul Pierce and Darnell Jackson are former KansasJayhawks
Daniel Green, Jawad Williams and Rasheed Wallace are former North Carolina Tar Heels
Shaquille O’Neal and Glen Davis both attended Louisiana State.
Game NotesThe Cavs are one of the Celtics top rivals in the Eastern Conference and both teams will be looking to make a statement in this game as they try to stake their claim as the team to beat. The Celtics beat the Cavs in the final preseason game, but that really doesn't indicate how this game will go as neither team ran their regular sets and KG and Ray didn't even play.
The Cavs are still trying to find their chemistry and the newer players are still learning the plays. Injuries and the flu kept the team from putting their starting lineup on the floor together until the final game of the preseason. With 2 new players in the starting lineup, they may have some growing pains to start the season.
The Celtics will be looking for their first win in Cleveland since 2004. For some reason, they just haven't been able to get a win there. I'm sure the Celtics remember their last visit to the Q when LeBron and the Cavs danced and cavorted and basically taunted the Celtics with their behavior.
Keys to the Game1 Defense, Defense, Defense -Defense wins games and it wins championships. We have heard enough talk about how this team wants to be the best defensive team ever and this is the time to begin proving that it's not all talk.
2. Take care of the basketball - Last season, one of the problems that they had was too many turnovers. This team has to take better care of the ball and not give away possessions.
3. Move the ball and find the open man- The passes and ball movement in the preseason was very good and fun to watch. Hopefully they will continue to move the ball as the regular season gets underway.
4. Team first - There are a few players on the Celtics who are going to be looking for a contract next year. Reports are that ubuntu got lost last season as some players were playing for themselves rather than the team. This team can be something very special if they remember ubuntu and all play toward the one goal of another championship.
Topic: Celtics (0-0) at Cavaliers (0-0) 10/27 (Read 159741 times)