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Orlando Magic (33-17) at Boston Celtics (32-16)
Sunday, February 7
2:30 PM ET
Game #49, Home Game #24
TV: ABC
Radio: WDBO, WEEI, ESPNR
TD Garden 
Probable Starters
PG: Rajon Rondo PPG 14.4 APG 9.8 SPG 2.4
SG: Ray Allen PPG 16.1 APG 2.8 3P% .340
C: Kendrick Perkins PPG 11.6 RPG 8.2 BPG 2.0
SF: Paul Pierce PPG 18.9 RPG 4.7 APG 3.4
PF: Kevin Garnett PPG 14.6 RPG 7.3 BPG 2.0
ReservesEddie House
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Shelden Williams
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
InjuredJR Giddens (knee) out
Marquis Daniels (thumb) probable
Paul Pierce (foot) probable
Key PlayerRajon Rondo When Rondo is aggressive and setting the pace for the game, the Celtics are a completely different team than when he is tentative. As goes Rondo, so go the Celtics.
Probable Starters 
PG: Jameer Nelson PPG 11.7 APG 4.7 SPG 0.8
SG: Vince Carter PPG 15.7 APG 2.9 3P% .309
C: Dwight Howard PPG 17.8 RPG 13.4 BPG 2.7
SF: Matt Barnes PPG 8.5 RPG 5.6 APG 1.7
PF: Rashard Lewis PPG 14.9 RPG 4.9 BPG 0.5
ReservesMarcin Gortat
JJ Redick
Ryan Anderson
Anthony Johnson
Brandon Bass
Mickael Pietrus
Jason Williams
Adonal Foyle
InjuriesNone
Key PlayerDwight Howard Howard leads the team in points, rebounds, and blocks. Howard is the leader on this team and controlling him goes a long way toward controlling the Magic.
Key Matchups 
vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Dwight Howard
Perk is one of the few players who can defend Howard one on one. Let's hope that Perk has his defensive mindset in place because the Celtics will need him to continue to defend Howard well in order for the Celtics to win this.
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Rashard Lewis
KG has looked better in each game since his return but he still doesn't look 100%, especially on defense. But, his defense will be needed in this game as Rashard Lewis can beat you if you don't defend him closely.
Honorable MentionBench vs Bench
The starters match up fairly well on these two teams and the difference in the game may very well be the difference in this game. The Celtics may get a boost from the return of Marquis Daniels if he is indeed ready to go in this game. Hopefully Eddie, Tony, Sheed and Big Baby will come through in this game as well.
Team Connections Doc Rivers coached the Magic from 1999-2004, winning the NBA’s Coach of the Year award in his first season
Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2003-07
Anthony Johnson and Brian Scalabrine were teammates in New Jersey from 2001-03
Anthony Johnson played for Doc Rivers in Orlando during the 1999-2000 season
Vince Carter and Brian Scalabrine were teammates in New Jersey during the 2004-05
season
Vince Carter and Rasheed Wallace are former North Carolina Tar Heels
Anthony Johnson and Shelden Williams were teammates in Atlanta and
Sacramento from 2006-08
Game Notes • The Magic are currently leading the season series 2-1; the Celtics split the season series 2-2 with Orlando during the 2008-09 season
• Ray Allen is leading the C’s this season with an average of 17.7 points per game
• Vince Carter is averaging 19.7 points per game against the C’s this season
• The Celtics are 9-12 against the Magic since the 2004-05 season
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 43-39 with the Celtics 29-11 at home
This is the final meeting between these two teams this season. The Celtics are 2-1 in the series and would love to get a win in this game to take control of the series.
Following a 2-7 stretch last month, Orlando seemed to have regained its footing by winning seven of eight going into Friday night's meeting with Washington. But Orlando blew an early 21-point lead on the way to a 92-91 loss. The Wizards outscored Orlando 39-17 in the third quarter and outrebounded them 52-41. This could give the Magic added motivation in this game to erase the bad taste from their loss to the Wizards.
The Celtics also had a rough January and may be turning the corner themselves as they have built a modest 3 game win streak, although the games haven't been exactly pretty. The Celtics faced the Magic during their struggles and lost to them 96-94 after allowing the Magic to outscore them 35-22 in the fourth quarter.
If both Paul Pierce and Marquis Daniels come back for this game as planned, it will be the first time all season that Doc will have his top 9 players together. Even if they play, Pierce and Quisy probably won't be 100% but just having them play could give the team a boost.
The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 and 15-8 at home while the Magic are 7-3 in their last 10 and 14-12 on the road. A side note on this game is that with the Celtics' win on Friday and the Magic loss, the Celtics moved to .007 ahead of the Magic in the standings, with the Hawks just behind these two. These 3 teams are in a race for the second spot in the East and the honor of sending their coaches to the All Star game.
Keys to the Game DefenseThe most important key to this game is for the Celtics to get back to their defense first mentality. They have to clamp down on defense because they won't be able to out-shoot the Magic. They got away with lax defense for 3 quarters against the Nets and clamped down in the 4th quarter. They can't do that against the Magic. They must commit to playing defense for the entire game.
Rebound Crashing the boards is very important in this game because of how dominant Howard is with put backs once he gets the rebounds. The Celtics must limit Magic second chance baskets by boxing out and grabbing the rebounds. Effort, energy, and desire will show up in the rebounding stats. The team that wants the game more will win the rebounding battle. Hopefully, it will be the Celtics that want it more.
Run the OffenseThe Celtics must run their offense. They have to move the ball and find the open man. They have to run their set plays and make their shots when they are open. They have been relying on quick 3's way too much this season and need to get back to taking the ball inside and making the extra pass. We saw them sharing the ball and making the extra pass against Miami and we need to see it in this game as well.
Focus The Celtics need to come out focused from the start. If they come out sluggish, they will find themselves in a hole that they may not be able to dig out of. In the last game against the Magic, they came out strong and built a nice lead only to lose focus in the 4th quarter and lose the game. They must keep their focus for 48 minutes because the Magic will be ready to pounce on any lapses.
Topic: Magic (33-17) at Celtics (32-16) 2/7 (Read 92889 times)