Celtics (24-8) at Heat (17-15) 1/6

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (24-8) at Miami Heat (17-15) 
Wednesday, January 6
7:30 PM ET
Game #33, Road Game #18
SunSpM HD, CSN HD,  NBA TV 756-757
American Airlines Arena   
    Although the Miami Heat has only existed for two decades they have already called two arenas home. The expansion Miami Heat began playing at the Miami Arena in 1988-1989 during their inaugural year.  For over a decade they played here along with the Florida Panthers (NHL). With a seating capacity of just over 16,000 both the Heat and Panthers wanted new modern facilities to play at.
In 1996, voters approved a bond for the construction of a new arena for the Heat. At a cost of $213 million, the Heat contributed $50 million to the project while hotel taxes were increased to fund the project. American Airlines purchased the naming rights for $42 million over 20 years to have the arena named after their company.
    American Airlines Arena was constructed along Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami. The Miami Heat played their first game at the arena on January 2, 2000. From the exterior American Airlines Arena features a sleek modern design. This design is also found inside where views of the city skyline and bay can been seen from the concourse. Nearly 20,000 fans can watch the Heat play from three levels of seats that enclose the court. The arena has five configurations that can be arranged to see 5,000 to 20,000 fans.


ProbableStarting Matchups
Point Guard
  vs 
Rajon Rondo  vs Carlos Arroyo 

Shooting Guard 
  vs 
Ray Allen vs Dwyane Wade 

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce  vs Quintin Richardson   

Power Forward
  vs 
Rasheed Wallace vs Michael Beasley 

Center
  vs 
Kendrick Perkins  vs Jermaine O'Neal     




Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 27.9
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 224

Reserves
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Bill Walker
Lester Hudson
Brian Scalabrine
Glen Davis

Injuries
Paul Pierce (knee) probable
Kevin Garnett (knee)  out
Rajon Rondo (hamstring)  game time decision
Marquis Daniels  (thumb)  out 
Eddie House (flu)  out
Kendrick Perkins (flu like symptoms)  probable


Coach: Erik Spoelstra
Average Age: 26.6
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 222

Reserves
Daequan Cook
Udonis Haslem
Mario Chalmers
Joel Anthony
Yakhouba Diawara
Jamaal Magloire
James Jones
Dorell Wright

Injuries
Chris Quinn (hamstring) day to day
Jermaine O'Neal (hip)  Day to Day

Team Connections
Bill Walker and Michael Beasley were teammates at Kansas State
Mario Chalmers and Paul Pierce are former Kansas Jayhawks
Jamaal Magloire and Rajon Rondo are former Kentucky Wildcats
Eddie House was originally drafted by the Heat with the 37th pick in the
2000 NBA Draft
Dwyane Wade and Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers both attended Marquette
James Jones and Eddie House were teammates in Phoenix during the 2005-06 season
Jermaine O’Neal and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Indiana from 2006-08

Key Matchups
vs
Ray Allen  vs Dwyane Wade
Wade is once again in MVP talks and will be tough to cover for the depleted Celtics.    Tony should see time guarding Wade to save Ray's energy for the offensive end. 

vs
Rasheed Wallace vs Michael Beasley
Michael Beasley is playing very well and is averaging 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.  He is capable of getting to the hoop if the defense gives him an opening and can also hit the jumper.  Sheed needs to come to play defensively and limit Beasley's effectiveness. 

Honorable Mention
Kendrick Perkins vs Jermaine O'Neal 
This matchup may or may not materialize.  O'Neal is listed in their starting lineup in their game notes, but he has been out with a hip injury and is listed day to day.  He did not play against the Hawks on Monday night.  If O'Neal can't go, look for Joel Anthony to get the starting nod.   Perk should be able to get inside and get some easy baskets against either player. 

Game Notes
• The C’s are currently leading the season series 1-0; Celtics won the season series 3-1 against Miami in 2008-09
• Ray Allen led the Celtics with 25.0 points per game last season in three games played against Miami
• Dwyane Wade led the Heat with an average of 29.3 points per game against the C’s last season
• The Celtics are 11-8 against Miami since the 2004-05 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 50-35 with the Celtics 26-15 at home

It's hard to tell who the Celtics will have available for this game.  Originally, we thought Paul Pierce would be back to start this road trip, but he didn't practice on Monday and so as I put this together, it doesn't look like it.  Likewise, neither Rondo nor KG practiced on Monday and Doc said that KG is about 10 days away.   Doc practiced on Monday with the same lineup  he used against the Raptors and so that is what I went with in this game thread.  On the other side, Jermaine O'Neal is listed as day to day for the Heat although he is in the starting lineup on their game notes. 

UPDATE
Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo went through a full practice on Tuesday and both seemed to be moving well.   Doc upgraded their condition to probable for Pierce and possible but game time decision for Rondo.  I went ahead and put them both into the starting lineup but if Pierce's knee swells overnight or Rondo's hamstring acts up after the practice, they could both be out once again.     Also, Eddie House and Kendrick Perkins both missed practice with flu-like symptoms.   Perk made the trip but Eddie stayed home with a fever. 

The Heat have been slumping having lost 3 in a row before Monday night's 92-75 win over the Hawks, so they may be snapping out of it with that win.   The Celtics are 11-4 on the road while the Heat are 11-9 at home.   The Heat are playing with 1 day off while the Celtics have been off since Sunday. 

Keys to the Game
Defense We saw in the last game that when the Celtics buckle down on defense, even with all the injuries,  it is hard for any team to stay with them.  They need to continue to make defense a priority.

Rebound The Celtics need to crash the boards to prevent the Heat from getting second chance baskets and also to be limit the fast break opportunities on missed baskets. 

Run the Offense
When the Celtics move the ball, make the extra pass and find the open man, the offense is on track.  They have to avoid the do it myself mentality that they might be tempted to try with the key players out.  They did a great job of this in the Raptors game and need to do the same thing in this one. 

Be Aggressive The Celtics need to be aggressive on both ends of the court.  They have to come out strong and keep the pressure on throughout the game.  The Heat will take advantage of any let up by the Celtics. 
X Factor
Injuries
Depending on which players can play and which are out, the complexion of this game may change dramatically. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Jermaine O'Neal are all game time decisions. 

 [/center]

[ManUp]

If it wasn't for Wade our starting lineups would probably be a decent matchup. Miami isn't exactly scary with depth either. If Wade decideds he's not going to jump all over us we have a decent chance.

Oh and first to Tp FL  .

[Edgar]

I am  scared of the sheed beasley matchup for some reason I hope i am wrong

after all he scored a pretty decent 22 points today and appearing as a very good second option for miamis

[WeMadeIt17]

Will be at this game Go Celtics!!! look for me behind the Celtics Bench Blond hair kid with Spanish girl!Look for us I will be in a KG t-shirt!!! Let me know if you spot me!

[Bahku]

I am  scared of the sheed beasley matchup for some reason I hope i am wrong

after all he scored a pretty decent 22 points today and appearing as a very good second option for miamis

I agree, Edgar ... that match-up may be key. But if Sheed concentrates on his post game and he's not in his "lazy-shoot-three-pointers-and-nothing-else" mood, I think he can use his larger body to be very effective on Beasley at both ends. Here's hoping.

[Atzar]

Sheed can't stop Beasley, he's far too quick.  With that said, Sheed is far too big for Beasley and can burn him alive in the post.

I'd like to see Doc do a few things differently in this game.  On paper, we don't match up with them with our three best players out.  So take a few chances.  Don't play Scal, he's just not a net positive for us this year.  Play TA for 40+ minutes if he's looking good, we need his defense and scoring ability.  Unleash Lester.  Don't make him pretend to be a PG, let's see how many points this kid can score - that's what he's good at.  Throw Giddens the ball and tell him to score a couple of times, just to see what happens - do the same with Walker if he gets any burn.  I hate to be pessimistic, but I really get the sense that we'll need to catch lightning in a bottle to win.

And for the love of God, THROW THE ROCK TO RAY! He should get 20+ shots tonight, he's the only bigtime scorer on the team.

And if we lose by 20... so what?  As long as we leave everything on the court, nobody can fault us for losing with our three best players out, and the game doesn't mean much anyway.  I'd just like to see Doc try some things, rather than going with the low-risk options (like Scal).

[xmuscularghandix]

Last year against the heat Doc put Walker on Beasley for a decent amount of minutes... perhaps we'll see that again.

14mins. 8pts. 1reb. 2ast. 2stl. 2-3FG. 4-6FT. 1to. 4pf

Personal fouls is my theory for why he continues to lack playing, he believes in the "no easy baskets" but he has yet to realize that if you just do a better job defensively he won't get by you in the first place.

[Chief]

That picture is not Carlos Arroyo. This is though.

[Spilling Green Dye]

It should be an entertaining game, and one that is very winnable. 

The matchup I don't like is Ray on Wade.  Pierce's defense on Dwayne Wade was significantly better than Ray's, and I don't think that Ray's feet on defense can keep up with Wade.  I really do hope Tony does the majority of defending Wade. 

I think the Celtics are really going to miss Rondo in this game, since the tempo and lack of good interior defense by the heat would have been ideal for him.

It feels like forever since the Celtics have played! lol

[FLCeltsFan]

I've updated the thread.  According to several reports, Pierce and Rondo had a full practice today and Pierce is listed as probable for tomorrow.  Rondo is still game time decision but is possible.   On the other hand, Eddie House and Perk missed practice and House didn't travel with the team while Perk did and is more than likely a game time decision as well.   

[RAcker]

Let's hope that whatever pieces we can scrap together will get us a win regardless of how we have to get it.  I would assume that the uglier this game is, the better it is for us.

[Birdbrain]

Should be a fun game with Peirce and Rondo back.  Hopefully this is start of a long run.

[Drucci]

This game can be a tough one but I'm looking forward to the returns of Paul and Rajon. They might be a little out of sync and not in rythm but they will be a huge boost for us and should make things easier.

I hope Perk will play, and maybe Lester will get some minutes to replace Eddie!

TP FL and let's go C's!

[Kiorrik]

TP FL.

Michael Beasley. I dig that guy. There's quite a few teams in the NBA that I really like, besides of course the Celtics. The Suns, Cavs (shoot me) and the Heat are the (semi)contenders that I like best.

It's obvious what there is to like, I guess, but lemme state the obvious just one more time: Dwayne Wade is awesome. Michael Beasley is his perfect sidekick, sort of in a Jordan/Pippen kind of way.

Well, I'm looking forward to this game. Let's have some fun, once again.

Really going to try to see as much games as possible these two months because I'm afraid I won't be able to watch too many anymore within a month or so. Meh. Let's go Celtics!

[celticinorlando]

tough stretch starting tonight...need to take care of a good heat team