Lakers (36-11) at Celtics (29-15) 1/31

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Los Angeles Lakers (36-11) at Boston Celtics (29-15)
Sunday, January 31 
3:30 PM ET
Game #45, Home Game #21
TV:  ABC
Radio:  ESPNR,  WEEI,  KSPN
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo  13.9  PPG  9.6  APG  2.4 SPG
Derek Fisher  7.1 PPG 2.7 APG 1.1 SPG

vs
Ray Allen   15.9 PPG 2.8 APG .349 3P%     
Kobe Bryant  28.2 PPG 4.7 APG  .314 3P%

vs
Paul Pierce   19.1 PPG 4.7 RPG  3.5 APG
Ron Artest   11.2 PPG 4.7 RPG 3.2 APG

vs
Kevin Garnett    14.7 PPG 7.3 RPG  .9 BPG
Pau Gasol   17.6 PPG  11.0 RPG 1.6 BPG

vs
Kendrick Perkins   11.8 PPG   8.4 RPG 2.0 BPG
Andrew Bynum    15.5 PPG  8.3 RPG  1.6 BPG





Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 28.3
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 226

Reserves
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Eddie House
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker
Rasheed Wallace
Shelden Williams

Injuries:
JR Giddens (knee)  out
Marquis Daniels (thumb)  out



Coach: Phil Jackson
Average Age: 27.6
Average Height: 6-7
Average Weight: 228

Reserves
Lamar Odom
Sasha Vujacic
Josh Powell
Jordan Farmar
DJ Mbenga
Luke Walton
Adam Morrison
Shannon Brown

Injuries
Kobe Bryant (finger) probable
Sasha Vujacic  (hamstring)  probable
Luke Walton  (back)  probable

Team Connections
Lakers Assistant Coach Brian Shaw was originally drafted by the Celtics with the 24th pick in the 1988 Draft
Ron Artest and Shelden Williams were teammates in Sacramento during the 2007-08 season
Marquis Daniels was teammates with DJ Mbenga in Dallas from 2004-06
Josh Powell and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Dallas during the 2005-06 season and in Indiana during the 2006-07 season.

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Derek Fisher
There has been a lot of talk on the Lakers boards of late about Fisher's inability to stop opposing PG's.   Rondo must be aggressive in this game and exploit that weakness.  On the other side of it, Fisher is capable of hitting big shots and Rondo can't forget to play defense.

  vs 
Kendrick Perkins vs Andrew Bynum
Perk and Bynum are both centers who love to bang in the paint.  For the Lakers, Bynum gives them a little muscle inside to help counteract their soft image.   Perk must have a good game and keep Bynum out of his comfort zone.   


  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Pau Gasol
There is no denying that KG hasn't looked quite himself in the past two games.  Gasol is playing very well and the Celtics need the tough defensive KG back.  If KG isn't able to stay with Gasol, this could end badly. 

Game Notes
• The Lakers won the season series 2-0 against Boston in the 2008-09 season
• Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 20.5 points per game last season against the Lakers…he also averaged a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game
• Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with an average of 26.5 points per game
• The Celtics are 4-10 against the Lakers since the 2004-05 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 151-119 with the Celtics 77-44 at home

This is the game that every Laker and every Celtic and all their fans have had circled since the schedule came out.  Both teams should come into this game motivated and knowing that this is a very big game.  The Celtics are at home, but that hasn't always helped them all that much this season so far.   The Fakers are on an extended road trip and have won their last 3 games on the trip.   The Celtics are playing on a brutal stretch of 4 games in 5 days and in 4 different cities.  They have already lost to 2 key rivals in back to back games vs Orlando and Atlanta.   A win in this game would go a long way toward getting the Celtics back on track.

Keys to the Game
Contain  Kobe -  This is close to an impossible task, but with the finger injury, if pressed, teams can force him to lose his handle.  If the Celtics can limit Kobe, they have a much better shot at getting a win. 

Defense - Both in the Paint and on the Perimeter The Celtics must get their defensive focus and trust back and play the team defense that has made them so tough to beat in the past.  We have only seen this defense in spurts lately.  We need to see it for 48 minutes.   

Rebound -  The Celtics have been allowing teams to out-rebound them.  Rebounding is effort and desire.  The Celtics need to put out more effort and crash the boards to prevent the Lakers from getting second chance points and fast breaks off the rebounds.

Bench Needs to Step Up - Against the Hawks, the starters did well, but when the bench came in, they lost the momentum.  The second unit struggled to score and allowed the Hawks to go on runs.   The bench must step up and do their part. 

Keep their Focus  The Celtics have to come out strong and stay focused for 48 minutes.  They can't play in spurts and expect to win against the top teams.   

X-Factors
Fatigue and  Focus
The Lakers are 6 games into an 8 game road trip.  The Celtics are in the middle of a brutal stretch of games.   Fatigue could affect both teams.  The team with the best focus, especially on the defensive end will get the win.

[Donoghus]

[GreenFaith1819]

Yep...just like Donoghus said.

[#24]

let's hope it's a great one.. btw, GO LAKERS !

[ejk3489]

This was at the parade in 08'...lets show them that we can still BEAT LA!

[Drucci]

TP FL!

Time to kick the Fakers' butts and start a winning streak!!

I feel good about this one, the C's will be pumped like we are and they will play good to great basketball for 45-46 minutes, enough to secure a win.

Go Celtics, beat L.A!!

PS : fortunately the game starts at 9:30pm in Europe, which is very rare, and cool since it's against the Fakers!

[Rtpas11]

We'll beat L.A. because they're not young, athletic and quick (i'm still trying to figure out how we won the Memphis game) lol. The Lakers have 1 key guy that if we take out the game, or even force him to beat us on his own they'll still lose. They Key for today's game "RAJON RONDO". He can not let Derek Fisher reserve energy on the defensive end. Put the Pedal to the Medal Rajon!!!

[makaveli]

LA won't be able to stop Paul and Rajon...that's what I'm counting on 

[celticinorlando]

just get a win..we need it

[Redz]

Have to go to a surprise party for a husband of a co-worker of my wife's 

TIVO to the rescue.  I'll have to use the the old "keep blind until I get home" method.

GO C's

[GreenFaith1819]

let's hope it's a great one.. btw, GO LAKERS !

Haha..welcome LA Fan. It will be a Great Game (For Us ). Let me give you your first TP.

[Chief]

Rondo's jumper has been a little shaky as of late. I hope the Laker's don't put roaming Kobe on him again.

[WeMadeIt17]

At work till 5! So mad will catch the end or the 3rd and probably all of the 4th. but BEAT L.A.! I really hope we win. Will install some confidence in me and probably the rest of this team. I just woke up and I have a weird feeling Kobe Bryant is gunna get hurt in this game just a weird feeling I had thinking about the game!

[GreenFaith1819]

Rondo's jumper has been a little shaky as of late. I hope the Laker's don't put roaming Kobe on him again.

I think if they did that, then Rondo should/would punish them and run him into the ground.

Just hoping that he'd take advantage of that.

[Kiorrik]

This is it.

Either way, I'm hoping for a blowout.

Whether it's in our favor or not, it's good. If we blow them out; statement made. If they blow us out; we get to be underrated and can maybe surprise people in the playoffs.

Ugh. I hope we blow them out.