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BostonCeltics (9-4) at NY Knicks (3-9)
Sunday, November 22
1:00 PM ET
Game #14, Road Game #6
TV: MSG, CSN HD, NBA LP 753, 754
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden is known worldwide as one of the most popular arenas. For more than 125 years there have been four different Madison Square Garden’s in New York City. The first located at Madison Avenue and 26th Street was used for track cycling between 1879 until 1890. The second Madison Square Garden was constructed in 1890 on the same location as the first. It hosted many events but was demolished in 1925. Located at 50th Street and 8th Avenue, the third Madison Square Garden became the home of the New York Rangers (NHL) in 1926 and the New York Knicks in 1946
Probable Starting Matchups 
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Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon
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Ray Allen vs Toney Douglas
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Paul Pierce vs Danilo Gallinari
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Kevin Garnett vs Wilson Chandler
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Kendrick Perkins vs David Lee
Reserves Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Lester Hudson
JR Giddens
Brian Scalabrine
Injuries Glen Davis (thumb) out
Tony Allen (ankle) day to day
D-League Bill Walker
Reserves Larry Hughes
Nate Robinson
Al Harrington
Marcus Landry
Jared Jeffries
Darko Milicic
Cuttino Mobley
Eddy Curry
Jordan Hill
Injuries None
Key Matchups 
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Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon
Rajon Rondo is the engine that makes this team run. When Rondo is aggressive and drives to the basket and sets the pace of the game, the Celtics play so much better than when he is tentative. He needs to set the tone for the starters out of the gate so that they don't come out sluggish as they have in many of their games so far.
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David Lee is one of the bright spots on the Knicks and often is the reason that the Knicks are even in games at all. Perk will need to keep Lee from taking over and energizing the Knicks.
Team ConnectionsDoc Rivers played for the Knicks from 1992-95
Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach with New York from 1996-2002
Eddie House played for Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix during the 2005-06 season
Rasheed Wallace and Darko Milicic were teammates in Detroit 2003-06
Al Harrington and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Indiana during the 2006-07 season
Game Notes• Celtics won the season series 3-1 against New York in 2008-09
• Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24.0 points per game last season
• Al Harrington led the Knicks with 22.3 points per game last season against the Celtics
• The C’s are 16-4 against the Knicks since the 2004-05 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 266-169 with the Celtics 144-59 at home
The Knicks are playing in the second of back to back games, having beaten the NJ Nets on Saturday in New Jersey. They have also won 2 games in a row now. Normally, a visit to Madison Square Garden would mean an automatic win, but he Celtics have been struggling, having lost 4 of their last 5 games, and it's hard to tell which team will show up.
For one thing, it's an afternoon game and last season, the Celtics played terribly in almost all of their afternoon games. But, that is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what has been plaguing this team recently. Hopefully Doc had them watch every ugly minute of their last 3 losses and they will be ready to get back to playing Celtics basketball and begin another win streak.
Keys to the GameDefense The Celtics have been lax on playing defense in their recent losses. They have allowed way too many easy baskets and open shots. Defense is the key to every win and to this season for the Celtics.
Forget 3's - The Celtics have fallen in love with 3 pointers, but the infatuation isn't mutual. Against the Magic they shot 2-19 from beyond the arc. They need to forget about shooting 3's and take the ball inside where they can either score or draw the foul.
Work the Offense The Celtics have been settling for quick shots instead of working their offense and moving the ball to find the open man.
Rondo's Aggression As goes Rondo, so goes the team. Rondo must be aggressive and set the pace of the game and take the ball inside. He can't be tentative because that makes the whole team tentative.
Focus Many of the Celtics' recent problems have been caused by lack of focus on both ends of the court. They must get their focus back. They especially must come out focused so as not to dig themselves into a hole in the first quarter.
Topic: Celtics (9-4) at Knicks (3-9) 11/22 (Read 60922 times)