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[FLCeltsFan]

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Phoenix Suns (4-1) at Boston Celtics (6-0)
Friday, November 6
7:30 PM ET
Game #7  Home Game #4
TV:  CSN HD, My45 HD, LP 757
TD Garden 



64th Season
First Game Played November 2, 1946

Probable Starting Lineup
   
PG:  Rajon Rondo PPG 9.2 RPG 4.3 APG 9.7
SG:  Ray Allen PPG 15.0 RPG 1.8 APG 2.7

C: Kendrick Perkins PPG 9.2 RPG 5.5 BPG 2.3
 
SF:   Paul Pierce PPG 19.7 RPG 6.0 APG 3.3
PF:   Kevin Garnett PPG 11.3 RPG 7.5 BPG 1.7

Reserves
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Lester Hudson
JR Giddens
Brian Scalabrine

Injuries
Tony Allen (ankle) out
Bill Walker (knee) out
Big Baby Davis (thumb) out




41st Season
First Game Played October 18, 1968

 Probable Starting Lineup
 
PG:  Steve Nash    PPG 19.6  RPG 3.0  APG 10.8   
SG: Jason Richardson  PPG 12.3  RPG 3.0  APG 2.0

C: Channing Frye  PPG 14.6  RPG 8.6  BPG 0.6
 
SF: Grant Hill  PPG 14.0  RPG 8.8  APG 1.6   
PF: Amare Stoudamire PPG 19.2  RPG 8.6  BPG 1.4

Reserves
Jarron Collins
Jared Dudley
Goran Dragic
Louis Admunson
Alando Tucker
Earl Clark
Taylor Griffin

Injuries 
Robin Lopez (foot)  out
Leandro Barbosa (hand) day to day

Key Matchups
  vs
Rajon Rondo vs Steve Nash
Rondo gets a chance to show what he can do against one of the premier PG's in the league and a 2 time MVP.  He should have a speed advantage over Nash, but he will have to work on the defensive end as Nash can burn you from anywhere on the floor if you give him a step. 

   vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Amare Stoudamire
This is a battle of two of the league's best power forwards.  Hopefully KG will bounce back after a sub par defensive outing against Oleksiy Pecherov as he will need to come up big on the defensive end to keep Stoudamire from having a big game. 

Honorable Mention
Celtics Bench vs Suns Bench
The Suns have a very good starting five and the two starting units match up fairly well.  But, the talent falls off when the Suns' starters  go to the bench.  The Celtics should have an advantage when the second units are on the court.   

Team Connections
Eddie House played for Phoenix during the 2005-06 season
Grant Hill played for Doc Rivers in Orlando from 2000-04
Grant Hill and Shelden Williams are former Duke Blue Devils
Steve Nash and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Dallas during the 2003-04 season.

Game Notes 
• Celtics won the season series 2-0 against the Suns in 2008-09
• Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 27.5 points per game last season
• Steve Nash averaged 15.5 points per game in the two match-ups
• It marked the first time since the 2000-01 season that the Celtics had swept the season series.
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 61-47 with the Celtics 35-17 at home

Both teams are coming in with one day rest.  The Celtics are coming off a sub-par game and 2 point win over the Timberwolves.  The Suns are coming in off of their first loss, a 22 point blowout loss to the Magic. 

The Suns are a high scoring team, averaging 111 points per game.  However, like another high scoring team that the Celtics recently faced, they aren't known for their defense, allowing 108 points per game. 

Both teams get 2/3 of their points from their starters, however, the Celtics starters are doing it in approximately 130 minutes per game while the Suns Starters are averaging approximately 160 minutes per game. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - This is the key to every win this season and to a championship as well.  The Celtics lock down defense was nowhere to be found against the Wolves.  They won't beat the Suns unless they get back to their trademark defense. 

Ball Movement - At times during the Wolves game, the ball stopped moving.  Paul Pierce, in particular, tried driving into triple teams several times instead of playing team ball.  The Celtics need to move the ball and find the open man in order to stretch the Suns weak defenses. 

Crash the Boards - The Celtics were out-rebounded by the Wolves and that shows a lack of effort and desire on the Celtics part.  Rebounding is mostly desire and effort and the team that wants it most will win the rebounding battle. 

Quick Start -  The Celtics starters have started the game slowly in most of their games, getting into a hole and then having to play their way back.  They need to set the tone early and get off to a quick start so that the bench comes in with a lead instead of a deficit and can build from there.   

X-Factor
Bench Play
The Celtics should have an advantage when the second units are in and this could be the difference in this game if the Celtics reserves play up to their capabilities. 

[xmuscularghandix]

TP FL.

This is gonna be a fun game, i can't wait to knock this team off their horse and hold them to like 80.

[Amager Celtic Fan]

TP. Go Celtics!

[Donoghus]

We should definitely be able to score on these guys.  It comes down to our defense.  Will it show up?  It should.

Once again, I think the depth of our bench will shine through and be the main difference maker. 

It'll be good to see Dudley again.  He had a great outing last night.

[RAcker]

This Phoenix team has a nice starting 5 offensively speaking, but we should get to the hole at will.  When you look at their bench, it is not exactly awe inspiring.

So, I have to think that with a day of rest, we can dominate this game if we play like we have on defense thus far.  And after last night's 50% plus field goal percentage performance by the Timberwolves, I would think our guys are upset with themselves for being sluggish and will want to dominate this one.

Bring on 7-0.

[Tai]

The Suns may not be able to defend (supposedly), but they can score in bunches. Our defense needs to show up, and if it does, our offense should take care of itself.

[Drucci]

TP FL!

This is going to be a fun game. Run & gun versus great defense.

Hopefully it will be a blowout because the C's have a back to back in New Jersey tomorrow. But I can't wait to watch this game, Rondo will probably destroy Nash once again! I hope our defense will be there, especially on the fastbreaks (the Suns' greatest strength), otherwise it could be a difficult game. Frye should cause problems to Perk on defense because he stretches the floor. But Perk will get the most out of him on offense.

Go Celtics!

[Kwhit10]

TP FL!

As many have said we should have no problem scoring on these guys.  I hope they just don't rely on outside shooting especially if the FG% is a bit low.  You can drive on the Suns all day.  Amare and Frye are no defensive threats, heck Frye barely even rebounds.  I'm not worried about our interior defense that is one thing that pretty much will always be there.  We just need to keep up the perimeter D and keep their FG% down.

[Birdbrain]

Similar to Toronto not a very good match up for the C's.  I'm expecting to see a lot of Giddens, Hudson, and Scals.  I'm actually more worried about the NJ game.  That will be game 8 in 12 days on the road coming off a 3rd back to back during that span. Although NJ is so bad that the C's could start their bench and win.

[RockinRyA]

Im looking forward to see Scal on Amare 

[moiso]

Starters vs starters will be fun.  Our bench vs their bench is an absolute joke.

[Spilling Green Dye]

Believe it or not, I'm hoping Scal plays at least 10-15 min in this game.  He did a terrific job on Amare last year (holding him to 3 points) and is a low turnover guy.

Once again the bench will probably win it for the Celtics.  The suns starting 5 does look good, and unfortunatly Ray is probably going to get burned when he's playing D. 

The pace of the game is right up Rondo's alley, so I'm anticipating he has a big game.

[moiso]

Is it me, or does Amare seem to decline a little bit every year?  I know the injuries contribute.

[celticsclay]

I think he is actually doing a lot better this year then last year. Its probably attributed more to the fact that shaq is not clogging the post then actual improvement. However, regardless the cause I would say its tough to say he is declining this year.

[BuckeyeCelt]

I want this win...my brother is a suns fan, and I want to continue to put distance between us and the Lebrons!!!