Celtics (18-4) at Bobcats (8-14)

[FLCeltsFan]

 at  
Boston Celtics (18-4) at Charlotte Bobcats (8-14)
Saturday, December 11
7:00 PM ET
Game #23, Road Game #12
TV:  CSNNE, SSO-CHA, NBA-LP 755/756
Radio: WEEI, WFNZ
Time Warner Cable Arena



Probable Starters
PG.....SG......SF......PF......C
Rajon Rondo.....Ray Allen ..... Paul Pierce.....Kevin Garnett..... Semih Erden

Boston Bench Mob
Marquis Daniels
Glen Davis
Semih Erden
Luke Harangody
Nate Robinson
Von Wafer
Avery Bradley


Injured
Kendrick Perkins (knee) out
Jermaine O'Neal (knee)  out
Delonte West (wrist) out
Rajon Rondo (hamstring, feet) probable
Nate Robinson (foot) probable
Shaquille O'Neal (calf) day to day
Paul Pierce (flu) probable




Probable Starters
PG......SG.....SF.....PF ..... C
DJ Augustin........Stephen Jackson....Gerald Wallace........Boris Diaw........Nazr Mohammed

Bobcats Bench
Derrick Brown
Shawn Livingston
Dominic McGuire
Kwame Brown
Eduardo Najera
Matt Carroll
DeSagana Diop

Injuries
Gerald Henderson (knee) out
Tyrus Thomas (Quad) Questionable

D-League
Sherron Collins

Team Connections
D.J. Augustin and Avery Bradley both attended the University of Texas
Matt Carroll and Luke Harangody both attended Notre Dame
Sherron Collins and Paul Pierce both attended the University of Kansas
Rajon Rondo and Nazr Mohammed both attended the University of Kentucky
Tyrus Thomas, Glen Davis and Shaquille O’Neal all attended Louisiana State
University
DeSagana Diop, Stephen Jackson and Rajon Rondo all attended Oak Hill Academy
Shaquille O’Neal and Boris Diaw were teammates in Phoenix during the 2008‐09 season
Kwame Brown and Von Wafer were teammates on the 2005‐06 Los Angeles Lakers
Shaun Livingston and Von Wafer were teammates on the 2006‐07 Los Angeles Clippers
Eduardo Najera and Von Wafer were teammates in Denver during the 2007‐08 season
Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal were teammates in Indiana from 2004‐07
The Celtics and Bobcats share the Maine Red Claws as their D-League affiliate

Key Matchups
 vs  
Ray Allen vs Stephen Jackson
Jackson is the Bobcats' leading scorer and much of the offense goes through him.  Ray has been on a hot streak and hopefully will stay that way in this one.  He needs to make Jackson work on defense and Ray needs to limit Jackson's effectiveness.  

 vs  
Paul Pierce vs Gerald Wallace
Wallace is very athletic and leads the Bobcats in rebounding.  He has given the Celtics problems in the past and hopefully Pierce is over the flu because he will need his energy to stay with Wallace.  

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Boris Diaw
KG has a distinct height advantage in this matchup and hopefully can exploit that.

Game Notes
This is the first of 4 meetings between these two teams.  Last Season the Celtics won the season series with the Bobcats 3‐0 and have never lost a season series to the Bobcats.  The Celtics were 2‐0 at home against the Bobcats and also took the only game at Time Warner Cable Arena.  Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 16.7 points to go along with 3.3 assists in the three contests while shooting 64.3% from beyond the arc.  Ray Allen averaged 16.0 points and shot 58.8% from beyond the arc.  Tyrus Thomas averaged
15.0 points in his only game against the Celtics as a Bobcat while Gerald Wallace averaged 7.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in the three contests.

IN spite of the record, the Bobcats always play the Celtics tough.  The Celtics definitely can't afford to take them for granted.  The Bobcats are playing in the second of back to back games and had to travel home from Indiana overnight.  The Celtics had a day off between games.  The Bobcats are 4-6 in their last 10 games and 5-5 on their home court.  The Celtics are 9-1 in their last 10 games and 8-3 on the road.  The Celtics are looking for their 10th straight win while the Bobcats are coming off a loss to Indiana.

Keys to the Game
Defense
Rebound
Control the Tempo
Go to the Hoop

X-Factor
Injuries
The Celtics have played through injuries during their 9 game win streak.  Can they continue to win and play at a high level as the injuries and illnesses mount?  

[Onslaught]

I'll be at the game tonight. Hope as many of the Celtics are playing tonight as they possibly can. I'm down under the basket!

[hwangjini_1]

Thanks for another great game thread. This is really a tradition now at CB.

TP for your hard work. 

Go celtics!

[Fafnir]

Another game the C's should be able to win comfortably. The Bobcats can defend but they are an absolutely awful offensive team.

The only way they beat the C's is we give them 10-15 extra possessions. If we can rotate Shaq in for his 20 minutes that shouldn't happen.

[GreenFaith1819]

Thanks for post, FLCeltsFan and TP4U!

Keep it up, Green!!! 10 in a Row!

[celticinorlando]

no Shaq tonight again. Erden getting some more time. Shouldn't matter though

[Silent Storm]

I'll also be at the game tonight, right above the tunnel where the Celtics will be entering and exiting. There are many ways to skin a cat and I expect to see all of them tonight.

[Megatron]

Celtics usually DEMOLISH the bobcats dont they?

Last year we blew them out twice, one game we even won by 40+ I believe. We just have their number.

[Tai]

Shaq out again?

Man, we just can't stay healthy, can we?

[snively]

Another game the C's should be able to win comfortably. The Bobcats can defend but they are an absolutely awful offensive team.

The only way they beat the C's is we give them 10-15 extra possessions. If we can rotate Shaq in for his 20 minutes that shouldn't happen.

It'll be tougher with Erden in there.  Shaq would have been great to soften them up in the middle and make us less reliant on Ray/Paul vs. the solid Charlotte perimeter D. 

Rondo will need to step up this game.

[Fafnir]

Celtics usually DEMOLISH the bobcats dont they?

Last year we blew them out twice, one game we even won by 40+ I believe. We just have their number.

Yeah we do, their offense can't score against us.

Still I'm more worried about this game with no Shaq. Charlotte's only chance to beat us is if they dominate the boards. Hopefully Larry Brown keeps Thomas glued to the bench like he has been doing, Tyrus could do some serious damage given our line ups.

[Who]

Bobcats could make a game of this without Shaq in the lineup.

They have been vulnerable to size all season ... but with BBD and Erden taking up most of the big man minutes, that will create an opening for Charlotte.

Rajon Rondo has a huge matchup advantage against DJ Augustin. Bobcats lack shot blocking inside too so that will free up the paint even more for Rajon's dribble penetration. He should have a huge game. They'll need that big performance from Rondo to win this one. He needs to dominate the PG matchup.

[Mike-Dub]

Tough being so undermanned in the front court.  None the less we definitely still should win this game.

TP by the way FL.

[Drucci]

No Shaq for us but no Tyrus Thomas for Charlotte... good news since Erden will only face Mohammed, he should do OK.

Let's extend the winning streak to 10 tonight in what should be a relatively easy game! I hope Doc doesn't overplay the starters.

TP FL and go C's!

[Spicoli]

Mohammed killing Semih so far. Rondo is also playing like doo doo to start the game with two turnovers + walking the ball up court and getting the offense down to the last seconds of the shot clock. Hopefully he picks up his play a little.