Pacers (21-43) at Celtics (40-23) 3/12

[FLCeltsFan]

at   
Indiana Pacers (21-43) at Boston Celtics (40-23)
Friday, March 12
7:30 PM ET
Game #64, Home Game #31
TV:  CSN-NE, FSI, NBA LP 754, 755
Radio:  WEEI, WFNI
Referees:  Bob Delaney, Derrick Collins, Mark Lindsay
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
PointGuard
  vs 
Rajon Rondo  vs  TJ Ford     

Shooting Guard
  vs 
Ray Allen   vs  Brandon Rush    

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce  vs  Danny Granger   

Power Forward
  vs 
Kevin Garnett  vs  Troy Murphy 

Center
  vs 
Kendrick Perkins  vs  Roy Hibbert   




Off the Bench
Rasheed Wallace
Shelden Williams
Brian Scalabrine
Tony Allen
Nate Robinson
Michael Findley
Marquis Daniels
Glen Davis

Injuries:
Team (missing heart) Hopefully back this game
   
D League
Marcus Landry


Off the Bench
Earl Watson
Solomon Jones
Luther Head
Tyler Hansbrough
AJ Price
Josh McRoberts
Brandon Rush
Dahntay Jones

Injuries
Jeff Foster (back) out
Tyler Hansbrough  (ear infection)  out
Mike Dunleavy  (ribs) Day to day

Team Connections
Jim O’Brien coached the Celtics from 2001-04
Dick Harter, Lester Conner and Frank Vogel were all assistant coached under O’Brien with the Celtics from 2001-04
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird won three championships with the Celtics and had his #33 retired on 02/04/93…
Marquis Daniels played for the Pacers from 2006-09
A.J. Price and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Dahntay Jones, Mike Dunleavy, Josh McRoberts and Shelden Williams are former Duke Blue Devils and McRoberts and Williams were teammates at Duke
Brandon Rush and Paul Pierce are former Kansas Jayhawks…
Solomon Jones and Shelden Williams were teammates in Atlanta from 2006-08
Tyler Hansbrough and Rasheed Wallace are former North Carolina Tar Heels

Key Matchups
vs
Paul Pierce vs Danny Granger
Danny Granger is a tough player who can hit from outside as well as take the ball to the basket.  He always seems to play extra hard vs the Celtics since the time he lost a couple of teeth on the parquet.  Paul Pierce needs to bring his defense as well as hit his shots to make Granger work on the defensive end. himself. 

vs
Rajon Rondo vs TJ Ford 
Rondo needs to make sure that the ball keeps moving on offense.  Ford is a very quick PG and Rondo will need to be on his game in order to stay with him on defense and make him work on the offensive end. 

Honorable Mention
Ray Allen vs Brandon Rush
The team needs to move the ball so that Ray can get involved in the offense.  He has been the only starter in recent days who doesn't look like he is treading water on the court.   

Game Notes
 The Celtics and Pacers are tied in the current season series 1-1; Celtics won the season series 3-1 against Indiana in 2008-09
 Ray Allen is currently leading the C’s with 23.5 points per game this season against Indiana
 Danny Granger netted 29 points in his only game against the C’s so far this season
 The C’s are 12-7 against the Pacers since the 2004-05 season
 The Celtics are leading the all-time series 78-65 with the Celtics 51-21 at home

For the third game in a row, the Celtics are facing a team that they should be able to beat.  The Pacers have been struggling and are just 3-7 in their last 10 games although they are coming off a win over the Sixers on Tuesday night.  The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 and have lost 3 games after having won their previous 4. 

This is a home game for the Celtics but unlike the past two seasons, home court isn't an advantage for them.  They are just 18-12 at home this season and have played so poorly on their homecourt that the home fans have resorted to boos to show their displeasure.   The Pacers have struggled on the road, though with a 7-27 record.   

Although we shouldn't look past the Pacers, the Celtics face the Cavs on Sunday and it would be nice to right the ship somewhat with a dominant performance in this game before facing Cleveland on Sunday. 

The Celtics had to be embarrassed by their lack of heart and any semblance of team play in their blowout loss to the Grizzlies and if they have any hopes of making it past the first round of the playoffs, they must start to get it together very quickly.  This team has been together long enough that they know how to play together.  It is a matter of whether they choose to put out the effort to do so. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - first, foremost and always
Rebound - The Celtics must put out more effort on rebounding the ball.  They were out-rebounded by 19 vs the Grizzlies and that is unacceptable.  When the Celtics want it bad enough they will show it in their rebounding numbers. 
Play 48 Minutes The Celtics need to come out strong and not let up.  They came out completely flat vs the Grizzlies and we saw actual effort for about 3 minutes in the entire game.  They must realize by now that they can't coast against any teams in this league and have to put in the effort for 48 minutes. 
 
X-Factor
Heart
If the Celtics have any heart at all left, they need to show it in this game.

[PosImpos]

Um...I believe Brandon Rush is SG and TJ Ford is PG, unless Jim O'Brien is using some kind of bizarro lineup where his PG can't pass and his SG can't shoot.

Also, Granger is going to beast it in this game.  Unless Paul plays with a lot of energy, there's nobody on the Celtics who can come close to covering him.

[FLCeltsFan]

TP for catching that.  I was going by their game notes page and was in a hurry to get it done before I had to tutor and so wasn't thinking about it.  Have it fixed now. 

[lon3lytoaster]

Um...I believe Brandon Rush is SG and TJ Ford is PG, unless Jim O'Brien is using some kind of bizarro lineup where his PG can't pass and his SG can't shoot.

Also, Granger is going to beast it in this game.  Unless Paul plays with a lot of energy, there's nobody on the Celtics who can come close to covering him.

Obie played Tony Delk like 30 minutes a game. I wouldn't put anything past him.

[fanofgreen]

expect Danny Granger to come out extra-aggressive. He sat out the pacers last game due to suspension.

[Kuberski33]

A nice honest 48 minutes would be greatly appreciated by the Celtics.  You know, the kind that shows respect for the people who bother to come out to watch the game and help pay these guys salaries.  I was at the Memphis game and feel ripped off that I paid real money to watch that debacle.

As Bill Parcells once said, there are no medals for trying -- if you're paid to play you're expected to at least do that.

Obviously some members of this team can't comprehend that nice little concept.  Heard a quote from Sheed today that they'll be ready for the playoffs.  More evidence that some of these guys still don't get it.

[ACF]

TP. Let's start a new (and this time, longer) streak.

Go Celtics!

[barefacedmonk]

I don't care if we win or lose, though a win would be nice, as long as we display Celtics Pride on the court. 48 mins of effort...48 minutes of playing the game with a purpose.

CELTICS HOORAH...CELTICS HOORAH...1 2 3 UBUNTU!

[barefacedmonk]

TP for the effort, FLCeltsFan. 

[Who]

I feel sorry for Jim O'Brien. His Pacers team has fallen apart over the past few years. The injuries to Mike Dunleavy + management continually signing subpar players (Jones/Jones/Head) and/or players who do not fit Obie's style of play (TJ Ford/Hibbert) + the loss of defensive presences like Jermaine O'Neal and Jeff Foster (injuries + some decline).

I think O'Brien has done an incredible job with this team defensively. When I look at the roster ... I'm amazed that Indiana is 10th in defensive eFG% and 16th in defensive efficiency (around 10-13 for most of the season).

Hopefully, Indiana will get Obie some more talent and give him a real go at it because he hasn't had a fair shot of it in Indiana.

[Who]

This should be a comfortable win for the Celtics. Indiana's offense isn't good enough to threaten the Celtics defense.

Even if Danny Granger has an amazing scoring night ... he won't have enough help around him to finish the job off.

Boston can and will shut down Granger's supporting cast.

[Onslaught]

This should be a comfortable win for the Celtics. Indiana's offense isn't good enough to threaten the Celtics defense.

Even if Danny Granger has an amazing scoring night ... he won't have enough help around him to finish the job off.

Boston can and will shut down Granger's supporting cast.

Why did you go and say that?

[PosImpos]

This should be a comfortable win for the Celtics.

Oh boy, have I been there and done that this season.

[FLCeltsFan]

This should be a comfortable win for the Celtics.

Should be are the key words here.  Nets, Wizards, Bucks, and Grizzlies SHOULD have been a comfortable win also.  Depends on whether the Celtics care enough to show up to the game. 

[Greenbean]

TP FL!

No more wake up calls. No more sad press conferences. No more excuses. Please guys, show me something tonight.