Celtics (2-1) at Pistons (0-3) 11/2 Game 4

[FLCeltsFan]

 at  
Boston Celtics (2-1) at Detroit Pistons (0-3)
Tuesday, November 2
7:30 PM ET
Game #4, Road Game #2
TV:  CSNNE, FSD, LP 754/755
Radio:  WEEI,  WDFN
Palace of Auburn Hills  



Probable Starters
PGSGSFPFC
PG: Rajon Rondo 10.7 PPG, 16.7 APG, 2 SPG
SG:  Ray Allen  14.7 PPG, 2.3 APG,  .333 3P%
SF:  Paul Pierce  19 PPG,  8.3 RPG, 3.3 APG
PF:  Kevin Garnett 14.3 PPG, 11.7 RPG,  .3 BPG
C:  Jermaine O'Neal  1.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.0 BPG  

Boston Bench Mob
Marquis Daniels
Glen Davis
Semih Erden
Luke Harangody
Nate Robinson
Von Wafer
Delonte West  (suspended)  


Injured
Kendrick Perkins (knee) out
Jermaine O'Neal (knee) questionable
Avery Bradley (ankle) day to day
Shaquille O'Neal (knee) questionable  





PG SG SF PF C
PG:  Rodney Stuckey  19 PPG,  8 APG, 0 SPG
SG:  Rip Hamilton  13.5 PPG, 1.5 APG, .600 3P%
SF:  Tayshaun Prince  13 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2 APG
PF:  Austin Daye  5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, .5 APG
C:  Ben Wallace  4 PPG,  9 RPG,  1.5 BPG  

Pistons Bench
Charlie Villanueva
Tracy McGrady
Jason Maxiel
Ben Gordon
DaJuan Summers
Greg Monroe

Injuries
Will Bynum (hamstring) questionable
Jonas Jerebko (Achilles)  out
Terrico White (foot)  out
Chris Wilcox  (hamstring)  questionable

Team Connections:
Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Richard Hamilton and Ray Allen all attended the University of Connecticut
Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo both attended the University of Kentucky
Chris Wilcox and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2005‐07
Delonte West and Chris Wilcox were teammates in Seattle during the 2007‐08 season
Delonte West and Ben Wallace were teammates in Cleveland at the end of the 2007‐08 season and all of the 2008‐09 season
Pistons Head Coach John Keuster was an assistant coach with the Celtics from 1995‐97
Tracy McGrady and Von Wafer were teammates in Houston during the 2008‐09 season
racy McGrady played for Doc Rivers in Orlando from 2000‐04

Key Matchups  
 vs  
Rajon Rondo vs Rodney Stuckey
Stuckey is a scoring PG and so Rondo will need to defend him well.  Stuckey has a height advantage but Rondo has a quickness advantage.  Both are good rebounding guards.  

  vs  
Kevin Garnett vs Austin Daye
Kevin Garnett will need to use his wiley veteran tactics and intimidation factor to dominate the Pistons' 2nd year player.  

GameNotes  
Last Season: Celtics won  the series 2‐1.  Rajon Rondo plays well against the Pistons,  averaging 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 3.33 steals in the three contests.    Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20.0  and an average of  7.0 rebounds per game.

Both teams should be well rested as the Celtics have been off since Friday and the Pistons have been off since Saturday.   Both teams are playing in the first of back to back games with the Celtics facing the Bucks on Tuesday while Detroit moves on to Atlanta.  

At this point, it isn't sure if either O'Neal can play for the Celtics.  If neither can go, it's possible that Big Baby will start at center against Big Ben.  That should be fun to watch.  

Keys to the Game
Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics are still turning the ball over too much.  They must cut down on the turnovers and take better care of the ball.

Play 48 Minutes -  The Celtics are getting into the habit of slow starts and sluggish endings.   They have to play all 4 quarters.  

Defense - The Celtics must get back to their defense first style.  

X-Factor
Injuries
If both O'Neals are out, that makes the Celtics a bit thin up front.  The Celtics will need to depend on Semih Erden or Luke Harangody to give them quality minutes.  

[Kiorrik]

Looking forward to this one. Always like seeing Rip play, even if it's at the cost of Ray's offense.

Hoping for a nice match, with lots more of Rondo being insanely good.

[barefacedmonk]

TP FL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqxIrERLYiI

[ACF]

TP. I might actually watch this game live as I have Wednesday off from work - it's my birthday 


Go Celtics!

[lon3lytoaster]

Looking forward to this one. Always like seeing Rip play, even if it's at the cost of Ray's offense.

Hoping for a nice match, with lots more of Rondo being insanely good.

I haven't been able to stomach Hamilton since our playoff series with the Pistons back in 08. I'm sure i'd love him as a Celtic (Meh, well maybe not with his contract) but his insanely obvious flops that always seem to go his way are beyond irritating.

Anyone remember in our series against them how he grabbed KG's arm, held on for a few seconds then fell to the floor? Yea.. KG got called for the offensive foul there. Almost broke some stuff after that call.

[Kiorrik]

Looking forward to this one. Always like seeing Rip play, even if it's at the cost of Ray's offense.

Hoping for a nice match, with lots more of Rondo being insanely good.

I haven't been able to stomach Hamilton since our playoff series with the Pistons back in 08. I'm sure i'd love him as a Celtic (Meh, well maybe not with his contract) but his insanely obvious flops that always seem to go his way are beyond irritating.

Anyone remember in our series against them how he grabbed KG's arm, held on for a few seconds then fell to the floor? Yea.. KG got called for the offensive foul there. Almost broke some stuff after that call.

Forgot about that, but you just reminded me of it and you're right. He is annoying. However, I feel in many regards he's a lot like Ray

[RajonRondOWNED]

I am too use to baseball schedules. This layoff is killing me. I know we have another 3 or 4 days off coming up also. Sigh.

[Drucci]

This is definitely another trap game. I have still last year's Detroit loss in mind, when KG wasn't playing and Sheed was in the starting lineup, we got a big lead, got complacent and then the Pistons overachieved and killed us at the end of the game.

I hope the Celtics take this game seriously because all the elements are reunited for a loss tonight (probable complacency/boredom, first of a back to back, Shaq not playing, JO playing - rusty -, Detroit would KILL for a win... + Charlie V who has always played very well against the C's). So I will see what happens but hopefully they will be motivated and get an easy win in order to rest before tomorrow's game.

I'm really eager to see JO and Semih get extended minutes in this one.

TP FL and go Celtics!

[fairweatherfan]

Looking forward to this one. Always like seeing Rip play, even if it's at the cost of Ray's offense.

Hoping for a nice match, with lots more of Rondo being insanely good.

I haven't been able to stomach Hamilton since our playoff series with the Pistons back in 08. I'm sure i'd love him as a Celtic (Meh, well maybe not with his contract) but his insanely obvious flops that always seem to go his way are beyond irritating.

Anyone remember in our series against them how he grabbed KG's arm, held on for a few seconds then fell to the floor? Yea.. KG got called for the offensive foul there. Almost broke some stuff after that call.

Remember him grabbing Ray by the throat on a boxout for a key rebound late?  That one always stuck with me. 

Dude's a competitor though - I don't really hate him, especially now that the Pistons are terrible.

[Who]

Got to go at Austin Daye ... KG needs to go into the post and draw that double team. I don't care if he's shooting, just draw the double team and kick it out to Ray and Pierce.

Detroit will double Garnett every time he touches the ball on the block against Daye.

[Fafnir]

Got to go at Austin Daye ... KG needs to go into the post and draw that double team. I don't care if he's shooting, just draw the double team and kick it out to Ray and Pierce.

Detroit will double Garnett every time he touches the ball on the block against Daye.

They might have to double BBD if Austin Daye is playing PF at that point.

[Jon]

Hopefully we can take care of business early tonight.  The C's really need to get in the habit of killing bad teams like they did in '08 to get the starters rest and give the bench more time to gel. 

I'd also like to see Jermaine O'Neal get big minutes tonight.  We need to find a way to get him involved.  When healthy and involved, he's our best shot blocker. 

[Fafnir]

Hopefully we can take care of business early tonight.  The C's really need to get in the habit of killing bad teams like they did in '08 to get the starters rest and give the bench more time to gel. 

This team is not going to be as good as 08', its just not going to happen.

[xmuscularghandix]

Hopefully we can take care of business early tonight.  The C's really need to get in the habit of killing bad teams like they did in '08 to get the starters rest and give the bench more time to gel. 

This team is not going to be as good as 08', its just not going to happen.

How can you say that already?

Rajon Rondo just won EC player of the month (aka week), KG looks like he’s back to normal, and Paul Pierce looks like he’s in the best shape since being named the captain of The Celtics.

[Fafnir]

Hopefully we can take care of business early tonight.  The C's really need to get in the habit of killing bad teams like they did in '08 to get the starters rest and give the bench more time to gel.  

This team is not going to be as good as 08', its just not going to happen.

How can you say that already?

Rajon Rondo just won EC player of the month (aka week), KG looks like he’s back to normal, and Paul Pierce looks like he’s in the best shape since being named the captain of The Celtics.

Because KG isn't the same player offensively and defensively that he was three years ago, and I'll say the same for Pierce and Allen. Rondo is great, but his improvement can make up for three HoF players decline.

The 08' Celtics were one of the best defenses of all time, a top rebounding team, and a top 10 offense. This team looks to be an average offensive team (like last year), an above average rebounding team (big improvement from last year), and an elite defensive team (though not all time elite).

They're still a contender and they still can win it all, but they're not going to be as good as the 07-08 Celtics.