at
Boston Celtics (34-10) at Portland Trailblazers (25-21)
Thursday, January 27
10:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #45, Road Game #20
TV: TNT, CSNNE, TSN2
Radio: WEEI, KXTG
Rose Garden Throughout sports today, nearly every stadium or arena’s name has been sold to a corporate sponsor. In the NBA there are only a few arenas that are not like this, including the Portland Trailblazers home, the Rose Garden. Unlike most other teams in the NBA, the naming rights to the Trailblazers new home was not sold. The team decided to name the arena after Portland as it is known as the Rose City and used the word, garden, because the word was often used as part of old arenas’ names. The Portland Trailblazers played their first game at the Rose Garden on November 3, 1995 against the Vancouver Grizzlies. 
Probable Starters Point Guard 
vs
Rajon Rondo 10.5 PPG, 12.9 APG 2.5 SPG
Andre Miller 12.9PPG, 7.1 APG, 1.7 SPG
Shooting Guard 
vs
Ray Allen 17.3 PPG, 3.1 APG, .453 3P%
Wesley Matthews 16.2 PPG, 2.0 APG, .380 3P%
Small Forward 
vs
Paul Pierce 19.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.3 APG
Nicolas Batum 12.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.4 APG
Power Forward 
vs
Kevin Garnett 15.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 0.7 BPG
LaMarcus Aldridge 21.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG
Center 
vs
Semih Erden 4.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.6 BPG,
Joel Przybilla 1.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.3 BPG
Boston Bench MobKENDRICK PERKINS (YAHOO!!)
Marquis Daniels
Glen Davis
Luke Harangody
Nate Robinson
Von Wafer
InjuredJermaine O'Neal (knee) out
Delonte West (wrist) out
Shaquille O'Neal (hip) day to day
Paul Pierce (ankle) probable
Marquis Daniels (family) probable
D-League Avery Bradley
Trailblazers BenchDante Cunningham
Rudy Fernandez
Armon Johnson
Luke Babbitt
Patrick Mills
Chris Johnson
Sean Marks
InjuriesGreg Oden (knee) out
Elliot Williams (knee) out
Brandon Roy (knee) out
Marcus Camby (knee) out
LaMarcus Aldridge (hip) probable
Wesley Matthews (ankle) probable
Team ConnectionsJoel Przybilla and Ray Allen were teammates in Milwaukee from 2000-03..
Jermaine O’Neal played for Portland from 1996‐2000
LaMarcus Aldridge and Avery Bradley both attended the University of Texas
Wesley Matthews and Celtics Coach Doc Rivers both attended Marquette
Brandon Roy and Nate Robinson both attended the University of Washington
Ray Allen played for Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan in Seattle from 2003‐05
Von Wafer played for the Trail Blazers during the 2007‐08 season
Game NotesThe Celtics begin their first Western road trip with a visit to the Portland Trailblazers. This is the second meeting between these two teams this season with the Celtics winning at the Garden 99-95 after a frenzied Blazers comeback and a game winner by Ray Allen who had been just 2-11 up to that point.
As with many of the Celtics games recently, there is a different cast for both teams in this game. Marcus Camby and Brandon Roy will miss this game with Joel Przybilla and Wesley Matthews replacing them. For the Celtics Shaq will more than likely be out and in his place will be Semih Erden. And coming off the bench for the Celtics will be Perk in his second game back from injury. LaMarcus Aldridge underwent an MRI on his hip after Monday's game but there was no damage and so he is expected to play in this one. Wes Matthews tweaked his ankle in the last game and is likewise expected to play in this one. Paul Pierce also tweaked his ankle in Tuesday's game but is also expected to play in this one.
The Celtics have beaten the Blazers in 10 of their last 11 meetings. And have won the last 7 times these teams have met. The Celtics are 12-7 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Blazers are 16-6 at home and 6-4 in their last 10. The Celtics are looking for their second straight win while the Blazers are hoping to avoid a 2 game losing streak after their 5 game winning streak was stopped by Sacramento on Monday.
Portland’s .402 (39-59) all-time winning percentage against Boston is its lowest mark among all current NBA opponents. The Celtics are the NBA’s only active team with a winning record in Portland (26-23).
According to an article in Oregon Live (
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/01/trail_blazers_vs_celtics_when.html) the Blazers are planning to come out strong and establish themselves as the aggressor early. The Celtics must match their early aggression and take their aggression a step further. The Celtics can't take the Blazers for granted due to their injuries because the Blazers are still a dangerous team, even with Camby and Roy out.
Key Matchups
vs
Kevin Garnett vs LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge is the reigning Player of the Week but he underwent an MRI on his hip after scoring just 9 points in their last game. The MRI was negative and he is expected to play, but he may not be 100% and that would give KG the advantage. If both players are healthy, this should be a very exciting matchup to watch.
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Andre Miller
Miller is a good PG who looks to score but can also distribute the ball. In their last meeting, Miller had 20 points on 9-17 shooting and 6 assists while Rondo put up 10 points on 4-7 shooting to go with 10 assists. Rondo needs to be aggressive and go right at Miller from start to finish and set the pace for the Celtics and the game.
Honorable Mention Kendrick Perkins vs Chris Johnson
With Camby out with a knee injury, the Blazers called up center Chis Johnson from the Dakota Wizards of the D-League. Perk should be coming off the bench again and will be more than likely doing battle against this 6'11" rookie. Hopefully we will see another solid injury free outing from Perk in this one.
Keys to the Game Defense - The biggest key to every game will be defense. This is even more important on the road where the opponents get a boost from their fans and the Celtics will need to clamp down even tighter on defense. The Celtics must make defense their number 1 priority
Rebound - When the Celtics put out the effort to out-rebound their opponents it usually results in a win. When they don't make the effort to rebound, it affects the effort in the other areas as well. Perk's return should help in this area.
Bench - The Celtics' bench must give them quality minutes in order to keep the starters from being worn out by the end of the game. This is especially important in back to back games like this one with the Suns looming on Friday night.
Focus - The Celtics have tended to lose focus when they play against teams who have a losing record or who have a star out. With the injuries on the Blazers, the Celtics may tend to take them lightly but that would be a big mistake because the Blazers are still a very dangerous young team.
Be Aggressive - The Blazers have said that they are going to come out strong and try to set the tone for the game by being the aggressors. The Celtics must be aggressive as well and take the ball to the basket, not settling for jumpers, and they need to be aggressive going after loose balls and rebounds as well.
X-FactorsEffort and Focus
The Celtics are on the road and in order to win they need to be focused and put forth a solid effort from the opening tap to the final buzzer. On the road they can't afford to coast or put out less than 100% effort.
Celtics Basketball
