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Memphis Grizzlies (33-31) at Boston Celtics (40-22)
Wednesday, March 10
7:30 PM
Game #63, Road Game #29
TV: CSN-NE, FSTN, NBA-LP 752, 753
Radio: WEEI, WRBO
TD Garden 
Probable Starters
Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen/Paul Pierce Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Kendrick Perkins
Off the BenchRasheed Wallace
Shelden Williams
Nate Robinson
Tony Allen
Marquis Daniels
Brian Scalabrine
Glen Davis
Michael Finley
Injuries None
D-League Marcus Landry
Probable Starters
Mike Conley/OJ Mayo/ Rudy Gay/Darrell Arthur/ Marc Gasol
Off the BenchHasheem Thabeet
Jamaal Tinsley
Sam Young
DeMarre Carroll
Hamed Haddadi
Marcus Williams
Ronnie Brewer
Injuries Zach Randolph (back) day to day
Ronnie Brewer (hamstring) doubtful
Stephen Hunter (knee) questionable
D-League Lester Hudson
Team Connections General Manager Chris Wallace held the same position with the Celtics from 1997-2000
Rudy Gay, Hasheem Thabeet, Marcus Williams and Ray Allen are all former UConn Huskies
Darrell Arthur and Paul Pierce are former Kansas Jayhawks
O.J. Mayo and Brian Scalabrine are all former USC Trojans
Steven Hunter played for Doc Rivers in Orlando from 2001-04
Zach Randolph and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Portland from 2001-04
Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Indiana from 2006-09
Lester Hudson was drafted by the Celtics with the 58th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft
Key Matchups 
vs
Paul Pierce vs Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay will be a very tough matchup for Paul Pierce. He has been playing very well this season and is capable of scoring a lot of points. Pierce has struggled in his last couple gamesand will need to play very well on both ends of the court to get the best of this matchup.
vs
Ray Allen vs OJ Mayo
Mayo has been on the national radar since high school and is a very promising young player and very athletic. Ray needs to use his veteran wiles if he hopes to keep Mayo from going off.
Honorable Mention Kendrick Perkins vs Marc Gasol
Gasol has been playing well and Perk needs to be physical inside to keep him from getting easy baskets. Gasol has a height advantage, but Perk has a strength advantage.
Rajon Rondo vs Mike Conley
As with every game, Rondo is the engine that makes the Celtics go. He seemed to hurt his hand on a dunk in the game vs the Bucks and hopefully that isn't anything serious. Rondo should be able to get past Conley to score if he is aggressive.
Game Notes The C’s are currently leading the season series 1-0; Celtics won the season series 2-0 against Memphis in 2008-09
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 21.0 points per game last season…Glen Davis netted 24 points in his only game against the Grizzlies last season
Zach Randolph averaged 21.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game against the Celtics last season with the Clippers and Knicks
The Celtics are 8-3 against the Grizzlies since the 2004-05 season
The Celtics are leading the all-time series 18-10 with the Celtics 8-5 at home
The Celtics are coming off a tough 2 point loss to the Bucks and are playing in back to back games as well as having to travel overnight. Fatigue could be a factor but at some point this team has to shift into another gear and reach down deep to pull out wins.
They are coming off a game against a young and athletic team only to face yet another young and athletic team. The Grizzlies are currently 3.5 games out of the playoffs in the west and are scrambling to try to make up ground on Portland for that 8th spot. After the loss to the Bucks, the Celtics are just half a game up on the Hawks for the 3rd spot in the east.
Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Grizzlies are coming off a win over the Nets on Monday while the Celtics would like to start another win streak after losing their last game to the Bucks. The Celtics are 18-11 at home and have not played all that well at the Garden while the Grizzlies are 14-17 on the road.
The Celtics have got to win these games against the lower level teams if they expect to make any noise in the playoffs. This would be a good time to start.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is the key to every game. They especially need to bring their defense against this young and talented Grizzlies team.
Focus - The Celtics need to come in focused and get off to a good start. They also have to be careful not to lose focus and finish strong as well. The Grizzlies will take advantage of any lapses on the Celtics part.
Rebound - The Celtics need to make an effort to crash the boards to prevent the Grizzlies from getting second chance points off of offensive rebounds and fast break opportunities on the defensive end. Rebounding has been their weak link this season and they must make more of an effort on the boards.
Rondo As goes Rondo, so go the Celtics. He is the engine that makes the team run. When he is aggressive in pushing the ball and also on defense it sets the tone for the rest of the team. He needs to continue to be aggressive on both ends of the court.
The Big Three Needs to Be Big - Ray Allen took only 3 shots and missed all 3 against the Bucks. Paul Pierce was just 3-13 and missed an open jumper that would have tied the game in the final seconds of the game. KG fared somewhat better with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The team needs more from these 3 if this team is going to turn the corner and be a dominant force in the playoffs. This kind of play isn't going to get them there.
X-FactorFatigue - The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games after traveling from Milwaukee overnight. The Grizzlies had the previous night off so should be rested.
Topic: Grizzlies (33-31) at Celtics (40-22) 3/10 (Read 45223 times)