Author Topic: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22  (Read 75100 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« on: January 21, 2010, 03:11:14 PM »

Online FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11832
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
  at 
Portland Trail Blazers (26-17) at Boston Celtics (27-13)
Friday, January 22
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #41 – Home Game #19
TV:  CSN-NE, CSN-Por, NBA-LP 759
Radio:  WEEI, KXTG
TD Garden





Probable Starters

PG:  Rajon Rondo
SG:  Ray Allen
SF:   Paul Pierce
PF:   Kevin Garnett
C:    Kendrick Perkins


Reserves

Rasheed Wallace
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker
 
Injuries:
Marquis Daniels (thumb)  out

D-League

JR Giddens   





Probable Starters
       
PG:  Andre Miller   
SG:  Jarryd Bayless
SF:   Martell Webster
PF:   LaMarcus Aldridge
C:    Juwan Howard

Reserves
Rudy Fernandez
Jerryd Bayless
Steve Blake
Jeff Pendergraph
Dante Cunningham

Injuries
Nicholas Batum (shoulder)  out
Greg Oden  (knee)  out
Travis Outlaw   (foot)  out
Joel Przybilla (knee)  out 
Brandon Roy (hamstring) out

D League
Patrick Mills 

Team Connections
Joel Przybilla and Ray Allen were teammates in Milwaukee from 2000-03
Rasheed Wallace played for the Trail Blazers from 1996-2004
Jeff Pendergraph and Eddie House are former Arizona State Sun Devils
Juwan Howard played for Doc Rivers in Orlando during the 2003-04 season.

  vs 
Ray Allen vs Jarryd Bayless
  The Blazers just announced that Roy will not be with the team when they play Boston. They will start Jarryd Bayless in his place.    This matchup becomes more key for the Celtics as hopefully not having to guard Roy will free Ray up to get back on track offensively.  (I know that the picture is still Roy but couldn't find a picture that size of Bayless) 

  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs LaMarcus Aldridge
I am going by faith that we will see Kevin Garnett in this game.  Just having KG back on the floor and on the bench will hopefully be enough to change the attitude that has invaded this team in recent games. 

Game Notes: 
• The Celtics split the season series with the Blazers 1-1 during the 2008-09 season
• Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 20.5 points per game last season
• LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 16.5 points per game against the Celtics last season
• The C’s are 8-2 against Portland since the 2004-05 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 56-39 with the Celtics 31-15 at home

The Celtics won't get much sympathy from the Blazers if they complain about their injuries.  The Blazers have been hit with one injury after another and come into this game with 4 key players out and their best player as a game time decision.    In spite of all their injuries, the Blazers have been playing very good ball and have built a respectable 26-17 record. 

The Celtics are expecting to get a boost this game from the return of Kevin Garnett.  He went through a full practice on Tuesday and suffered no soreness or problems the day after so he is expected to return for this game.  On the other side, Brandon Roy is questionable with a hamstring injury he suffered on Wednesday in their win over the Sixers. 

The Celtics' home court hasn't exactly been an advantage for them this season as they have more losses at home than they do on the road.  Friday nights at home have been particularly rough for this team.  Hopefully after having lost their 3rd home game in a row and 6 of their last 10 games overall, the team has regrouped and will come into this game focused.  The return of KG should help their focus as well. 

UPDATE:  Roy left the team to return home for another opinion.  He will not play against the Celtics.  Not sure who will start in his place. 

Keys to the Game
Play 48 Minutes    The Celtics have been giving up big leads recently.  The third quarter used to be their time to put other teams away but recently, the Celtics have been the team getting put away in the third quarter.  They must maintain their focus in the second half of games.

Defense  The Celtics have been losing their defensive focus and are playing defense in spurts.   They seem to forget all about defense in the 3rd and 4th quarters as evidenced by the fact that they allowed Dallas to shoot over 80% in the 3rd quarter. 

Rebound    The Celtics have been getting out-rebounded in their recent losses. Much of rebounding is effort and focus and the Celtics have shown little of either in recent games.  They have to grab the rebounds to prevent fast breaks and second chance points. 

Focus    Many of the Celtics problems are the result of a lack of focus.  Whether they are blaming injuries or whatever, they haven't been following the game plan.  There has been way too much individual play and not enough team play.   They must get back to ubuntu and focus on playing as a team once again on both ends of the court. 

X-Factor
Players Coming and Going
The X Factor in this game will be whether KG does indeed play and whether Brandon Roy will be able to play as well. 
« Last Edit: January 21, 2010, 05:27:05 PM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2010, 03:13:45 PM »

Offline Mike-Dub

  • Ray Allen
  • ***
  • Posts: 3578
  • Tommy Points: 28
Just to tell you FLCeltsFan you put a picture of Pierce as Ray and as you probly know now J.R. is down at the Red Claws.
"It's all about having the heart of a champion." - #34 Paul Pierce

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2010, 03:48:11 PM »

Online FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11832
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
EEK!  Thanks for the heads up on that.  Getting all these pictures in the right spot is tough sometimes.  TP for letting me know

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2010, 03:55:24 PM »

Offline celticinorlando

  • Paul Pierce
  • ***************************
  • Posts: 27950
  • Tommy Points: 637
  • MASTER OF PANIC
just get a win...please

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2010, 04:08:19 PM »

Offline Mike-Dub

  • Ray Allen
  • ***
  • Posts: 3578
  • Tommy Points: 28
EEK!  Thanks for the heads up on that.  Getting all these pictures in the right spot is tough sometimes.  TP for letting me know

Np FLCeltsFan... You do a great job with your game threads and TP to you for that!
"It's all about having the heart of a champion." - #34 Paul Pierce

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2010, 04:10:11 PM »

Offline ejk3489

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2233
  • Tommy Points: 215
Well, I'm going to this game tomorrow night. Since the Big 3 era, I have yet to see them lose (including playoffs), so hopefully I will bring good luck to them. They definitely need some :P

Also excited to see KG back... it seems like its been an eternity.

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2010, 07:14:57 PM »

Offline Rtpas11

  • Jayson Tatum
  • Posts: 803
  • Tommy Points: 76
I will appreciate the win, but i'm absolutely more concerned with how we play. Win or Lose I hope the C's give an all out effort for 4 quarters and not just 1 half. can't wait to watch.

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2010, 07:24:17 AM »

Offline Drucci

  • Global Moderator
  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7223
  • Tommy Points: 439
I will appreciate the win, but i'm absolutely more concerned with how we play. Win or Lose I hope the C's give an all out effort for 4 quarters and not just 1 half. can't wait to watch.

Agreed. I don't even know what to expect of the games anymore, I feel like the first half means othing and I'd rather see us down at halftime so we can bring it on in the second half and get a win...

Regardless, I want to see big effort and intensity tonight, and I sure want to see KG back. TP FL and let's go C's!

It's time to make the Garden a feared place once again.

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2010, 07:35:27 AM »

Offline xmuscularghandix

  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7620
  • Tommy Points: 280
Rasheed Wallace needs 1 point to pass Dennis Johnson and get into the top 100 NBA scorers. How fitting it is that it will be tonight against the Trailblazers.

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2010, 08:07:30 AM »

Offline makaveli

  • Ray Allen
  • ***
  • Posts: 3138
  • Tommy Points: 320
  • The Truth
It's so weird, at the start of the season we had problems the first 10 minutes and now we have "great" starts but terrible first 10 minutes of the 2nd half.
If or should I say when we put together four good/great quarters of basketball we'll be winning games by 20 and that's against any team.
Good luck to KG coming back, I think it will mess things up for 4-5 games just like the the other times he came back from injury but I think we'll be fine.
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2010, 03:45:31 PM »

Offline celticinorlando

  • Paul Pierce
  • ***************************
  • Posts: 27950
  • Tommy Points: 637
  • MASTER OF PANIC
no brandon roy tonight for portland per the globe

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2010, 04:39:01 PM »

Offline Neurotic Guy

  • Dave Cowens
  • ***********************
  • Posts: 23319
  • Tommy Points: 2509
I don't know about all of you but I have a different kind of anxiety for this game.  I know never to make too much of one game, but a solid game tonight and I think I'll exhale a little bit.    Another bad game tonight and I may need to go back to my relaxation strategies.

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2010, 04:59:55 PM »

Offline Bankshot

  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7540
  • Tommy Points: 632
I'm so scared!

What if they still play terrible even with KG? ???

Just trying not to get my hopes up.
"If somebody would have told you when he was playing with the Knicks that Nate Robinson was going to change a big time game and he was going to do it mostly because of his defense, somebody would have got slapped."  Mark Jackson

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2010, 05:02:51 PM »

Offline Drucci

  • Global Moderator
  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7223
  • Tommy Points: 439
3 hours before the game, Ray is already in the Garden, for his usual shooting routine.



The guy is a worker.

As for tonight... I try not to have expectations at all not to be disappointed, but I know I'm expecting a win with KG's return. Tricky feelings. :P

We'll see but I'mp pumped up to see the Ticket back, and hopefully some intensity from the entire team!

Re: Blazers (26-17) at Celtics (27-13) 1/22
« Reply #14 on: January 22, 2010, 05:44:42 PM »

Offline muzza1971

  • Open Roster Spot
  • Posts: 3
  • Tommy Points: 1
How about something different tonight boys, instead of being up 12 in the 2nd then falling apart in the 3rd and 4th, come out in the 3rd and put them away.