Magic (0-2) at Celtics (2-0) Game 3 5/22

[FLCeltsFan]

at

Orlando Magic (0-2,8-2)  at  Boston Celtics (2-0,10-3)
Saturday, May 22
8:30 PM ET
Post Season Game #13,  Home Game #6
TV: ESPN
TD Garden




Probable Starters

PG:  Rajon Rondo PPG 17,8  RPG 6.0   APG 10.6   SPG 2.0  +24.92
SG:  Ray Allen    PPG 16.9   RPG 3.2   APG 2.8   3P% .398  +15.08


C:  Kendrick Perkins  PPG 6.4  RPG 6.7  APG 0.9   BPG 2.0  +11.08


SF:  Paul Pierce   PPG 17.6   RPG 5.4    APG 3.7  +16.08
PF:  Kevin Garnett   PPG 16.2    RPG 8.6  APG  2.5    +20.00

Reserves
Rasheed Wallace
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Michael Finley
Marquis Daniels
Shelden Williams
Brian Scalabrine
Nate Robinson
Tony Gaffney
Oliver Lafayette 

Injured
Kendrick Perkins (knees) will play

Key Player
Rajon 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.  He must continue to be aggressive in running the offense and setting the pace of the game. 



Probable Starters

PG:  Jameer Nelson   PPG 19.3  RPG 3.5  APG 4.8   SPG 1.4  +19.5
SG:  Vince Carter   PPG 17.4  RPG  4.2   APG 2.2   3P% ..257 +14.50


C:  Dwight Howard  PPG 16.6  RPG 11.0  APG 1.8  BPG 3.6  +21.20


SF: Matt Barnes   PPG 6.7    RPG 4.8    APG  1.5 +9.6
PF:  Rashard Lewis   PPG 14.2   RPG 5.5  APG 2.7  +17.10

Reserves
Marcin Gortat
JJ Redick
Ryan Anderson
Anthony Johnson
Brandon Bass
Mickael Pietrus
Jason Williams
Adonal Foyle

Injuries
None

Key Player
Dwight Howard    Howard is the leader on this team and controlling him goes a long way toward controlling the Magic.  The Celtics bigs must play him one on one and try to avoid foul trouble. 



Key Matchups
  vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Dwight Howard 
Perk, Big Baby and Sheed must continue to play Howard one on one and keep him from getting position under the basket.  Perk spent much of game 2 in foul trouble, allowing Howard to have a better game than he did in game 1. All 3 must continue to play him tough and get into his head.

  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Jameer Nelson
In the two previous series, Nelson was taking over games and putting up big numbers.  He is capable of hitting big 3's if left open.  So far in the two games in Orlando, Rondo has been able to keep him from putting up big numbers and taking over the games.  Rondo must continue to control Nelson while also continuing to run the Celtics offense and looking to be aggressive himself. 

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce vs Matt Barnes
Pierce got going early in game 2 and has been a different player in this series now that he is free of LeBron James on both ends of the court.  The Celtics need Pierce to continue to come up big for them. 

Bench vs Bench
Tony, Sheed and Big Baby came up big for the Celtics once again in game 2.  The Celtics need them to continue to play tough and smart so that they don't lose ground when the starters have to go to the bench for a rest. 

Game Notes
The series now shifts back to Boston for game 3 with the Celtics in position to sweep the Magic and move on to the Finals once again.  The Magic are a team with their backs against the wall and will be playing with desperation.  Against the Cavs, the Celtics gave away game 3 as they played with no focus,  urgency or defense.   But, the Celtics haven't lost again since that game and hopefully we won't see a repeat of the poor effort we saw in that game again.  They simply allowed the officiating to destroy their focus early and they never regained it. 

The Celtics are playing the best ball of the playoffs right now.  Their defense rivals that of their 2008 championship team.  They are healthy and they are motivated to hang Banner 18.  The tweets about a sweep have been proven to be from a hacker, but in his post game interview after game 2, Pierce all but promised that they were going to close the Magic out in 4. 

If the Celtics let their success in the last two games go to their heads and they come out expecting the Magic to lie down and let them win, the Magic may just come out with a win.  The Celtics must play as though they are the ones down 2 games.  They can't let the Magic think they can get back in this series. 

The Celtics must come out with intensity and look at this as game 7 because that is certainly how the Magic are going to be looking at it. 

Keys to the Game
Defense
The most important key to this game is for the Celtics to continue to play the tough lock down defense we saw in games 1 and 2.  They have to defend Howard with single coverage and stay home on the Magic 3 point shooters. 

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.  There were a couple of possessions in game 2 where the Celtics gave up 3rd and 4th chance basket.  That can't happen.   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 Offense
The 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.  If they are up, they can't play the score or the clock.  They must continue to attack and get good shots on every possession. 

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, as they did in game 3 vs the Cavs.  In the first two games in Orlando, they had double digit leads in the 4th quarter and allowed the Magic to come back.  They must keep their focus for 48 minutes because the Magic will be ready to pounce on any lapses. They will be desperate and the Celtics have to have a killer instinct to put them away.

 

[lovely_20]

TP FLCeltsFan, for a job well done as always! 
I am so pumped for this game...the C's can give the Magic a taste of their own medicine...*starts searching for her broom*

[P2]

I hope they come out hot and decide it by halftime! Go, C's! Here comes our 3-0 lead!

[twinbree]

I want every win even more badly than the last one and I hope our guys do too. Even up 2-0 this feels like a must-win game for us. If we win this one it puts us in a really great position to put them away early. We just need to start out strong and stay focused and I hope the crowd is extremely loud. Stick to the game-plan. No doubling the post, limit the 3 point attempts, keep them off the boards, and try to keep their bench quiet. Hopefully we can stay out of foul trouble. TP FLCF. Gooooooooo Celtics!

[Bahku]

TP, FlCeltsFan ... all we need to do is stay focused and play our game, and we'll be fine. Stay in control of the ball, keep the defensive intensity where it has been, and limit our turnovers and sloppy plays.

We just can not let up on either end of the floor with this Magic team, because they can put up a ton of points in a very short time. Vince and Rashard, (and possibly Jameer), are going to "go off" before this series is through, and we need to be attentive to stifling those runs when they happen, and not give them any momentum.

Not crazy about all the time in-between games, but I think that favors us as well, (if it favors anyone). We have so many weapons on this team, and there are so many players who can "step up" at any time, that as long as we stay healthy, it's going to be very difficult for anyone to beat us.

Simply put: This team is DEEP!

Go Celtics!

[GreenFaith1819]

TP to FLCeltsFan and thanks for the Great Post as usual!

I think this is the Most Important game, right here. We get this one and we break their wills. We win as long as we play like we have the last 6 games now.

While I'd love for us to crush them, as long as it's close, we win.

On a side note, I did not know that this was the First Time Ever, according to Stuart Scott on ESPN, that The Boston Celtics had won the first two games against a playoff opponent on the road...Wow .

Certainly a Historic run here in the making!

[P2]

What we need to change is to limit them driving to the basket, which we clearly didn't in the second half of Game 2. Also, we suddenly started to double Howard, and he kicked the ball out for open shots. That can't happen. Redick needs to be contained, too. But our bigs, and Pierce were in foul trouble all game, and we still pulled it out. So we just have to be careful with fouls and play a simple 3-2 zone defense and we'll be fine.

[ACF]

TP once again.

I love weekend games because then I get to watch them 

Go Celtics!

[j804]

Lets get physical and be "aggressive" like the guys like to say, from starting tip. Lets smack the life out these guys with a W and have the master of panic Stan Fat Tummy lose his voice by halftime.

[Q_FBE]

The Celtics are playing very well right now and we have all the confidence in them right now. Still the three days off are a distaction (I started a thread on this topic). 3 days rest is great physically but may not be so good mentally. As Ole Larry used to say, this is a mental game at this level. He would know more than anyone else around the game.

[celticinorlando]

this is the time to go in for the kill....i think if boston gets up double digits early...the magic fold. must not repeat game 3 vs the cavs

[Mr October]

this is the time to go in for the kill....i think if boston gets up double digits early...the magic fold. must not repeat game 3 vs the cavs

Yeah, I am amazed at how effective Boston is on both ends. They have an answer for every run. Granted, all Orlando needs to do is get hot from 3 point land and they will take a game or 2.... But I think you are right, if Boston gets up early and the Garden is rocking, Orlando might fold.

[celticinorlando]

this is the time to go in for the kill....i think if boston gets up double digits early...the magic fold. must not repeat game 3 vs the cavs

Yeah, I am amazed at how effective Boston is on both ends. They have an answer for every run. Granted, all Orlando needs to do is get hot from 3 point land and they will take a game or 2.... But I think you are right, if Boston gets up early and the Garden is rocking, Orlando might fold.

i just think this is the game of the series. boston wins and they sweep...they lose and game four become very big

[celticinorlando]

just reading these quotes of magic players after today's practice is great...i expect that if boston brings it early we will see a lot of panic from the magic....

"Yesterday I wasn't into life until about 2 pm" Jj redick said. Once he got over the disappointment, realized "it's still a series" #magic

[CelticHooligan3]

Let's get the tasers ready...