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Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« on: January 01, 2012, 09:16:40 PM »

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  at 
Washington Wizards (0-4) at Boston Celtics (2-3) 
Monday, January 2
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #6,  Home Game #2
TV:  CSN-NE, Comcast Sportsnet, NBA-LP 753/754
Radio:  WEEI,  WJFK
TD Garden 





Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Rajon Rondo...Ray Allen...Paul Pierce...Kevin Garnett... Jermaine O'Neal

Boston Bench Mob
Brandon Bass
Sasha Pavlovic
JaJuan Johnson
E'Twaun Moore
Marquis Daniels
Keyon Dooling
Avery Bradley
Greg Steimsma

Injured
Chris Wilcox (shoulder)  day to day
Mickael Pietrus (knee)  out
Jermaine O'Neal (hamstring)  probable




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
John Wall...Nick Young....Rashard Lewis...Andary Blatche...JaVale McGee


Wizards Bench

Tevor Booker
Jordan Crawford
Shelvin Mack
Roger Mason
Hamedy Ndiaye
Kevin Seraphin
Chris Singleton
Ronny Turiaf

Injured
Jan Vesely (hip) day to day
Maurice Evans (knee)  day to day

Team Connections
Wizards Assistant Coach Sam Cassell played for the Celtics during the 2007‐08 season and was a member of the
2008 NBA Championship team
Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2003‐07
Kevin Garnett played for Wizards head Coach Flip Saunders in Minnesota from 1995‐2005 He also played for Wizards Assistant Coach Randy Wittman in Minnesota in 2007
Garnett and Cassell were teammates in Minnesota from 2003‐05
John Wall and Rajon Rondo both attended the University of Kentucky
Avery Bradley and Maurice Evans both attended the University of Texas.

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs John Wall
 As Rondo goes so go the Celtics. In their first meeting, Rondo clearly won this matchup with a triple double and he was also in control of the game. Wall will be looking to show that Rondo isn't the best PG out of Kentucky. 

vs
Jermaine O'Neal vs Javale McGee
Jermaine O'Neal finally came alive in the Celtics' home opener and he played well in the first game of this home and home series.  McGee played very well in the first game with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks.  JO left the game with a tight hamstring and Doc said that he could have come back in if they needed him.  Hopefully he will be good to go in this game as the Celtics very much need him against the 7 foot and athletic McGeen. 

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Andray Blatche
Kevin Garnett had his best game of the season in the first game against the Wizards with 24 points on 17 shot attempts to go with 9 rebounds.   The Celtics will need continued aggressive play from KG on both ends of the court. 

Keys to the Game
Rebound  The Celtics must crash the boards and keep the Wizards from getting second chance points, fast break opportunities and extra possessions. The Celtics out rebounded the Wizards 41-39 in the first game and they need to aggressively go after rebounds in this game as well.   

Defense    Defense always wins games.  The Celtics have to make defense their priority and shut down the paint as well as staying on their outside shooters.   When the Celtics clamp down on defense the rest of their game picks up.   They still aren't back to where they need to be defensively but they are getting better. 

Be Aggressive  The Celtics need to play aggressively.  They need to take the ball to the hoop and try to get to the line early and often.   Make the officials call the fouls.  They also have to go for every loose ball and battle for all the rebounds.   If they play passively, they could be facing another loss to a team that is hungry for their first win.     

Limit Turnovers - The Celtics have turned the ball over too much in games so far.  The tend to make lazy passes and lose focus from time to time and give their opponents easy scoring opportunities because of it.  They had 16 turnovers in the first game to just 14 for the Wizards.  They need to take better care of the ball. 

X-Factors
Focus and Fatigue
The Celtics have not done well in back to back games in the last couple of years.  Doc kept the starters minutes down pretty well in the first game with KG, Pierce and JO all playing under 30 minutes and Ray at 35 minutes and Rondo at 33.  Hopefully fatigue won't be a big factor.  The Celtics also need to focus on this game and not take the Wizards for granted.  The Wizards are the only team left winless and that is pretty strong motivation to play hard. The Celtics better not underestimate them. 

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2012, 09:29:51 PM »

Offline letsgoblue86

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Round 2 legoo!  Should be an interesting game for sure!

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2012, 09:18:35 AM »

Offline Surferdad

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Another key to the game is to continue the crisp passing.  There were several sequences last nigght where all 5 guys touched the ball, leading to an easy bucket.  Wizards just don't play defense well enough to keep up with that.

Why in the world did the Wizards take on Rashard with his bloated contract?

Unlike a lot fo folks here, I'm not a fan of McGee.  I'd rather have Blatche who is a lot more talented.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2012, 09:31:57 AM »

Offline BballTim

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Why in the world did the Wizards take on Rashard with his bloated contract?


  They traded Gilbert Arenas for him.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2012, 09:33:39 AM »

Offline ACF

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TP. Go Celtics!

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2012, 06:49:54 PM »

Offline clover

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This should be fun, A. Sherrod Blakely tweets:

#Celtics JO (hamstring) out; Wilcox (shoulder) in. Stiesma to start.

The Wizards have something of a load at center, but Stiemsma got some experience there last night, we can see if he's learned from it for tonight.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2012, 06:50:53 PM »

Offline apc

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looks like Steimsma will start the game. JO will not play.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2012, 06:53:12 PM »

Offline ImShakHeIsShaq

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looks like Steimsma will start the game. JO will not play.



Wow, that took long....
It takes me 3hrs to get to Miami and 1hr to get to Orlando... but I *SPIT* on their NBA teams! "Bless God and bless the (Celts)"-Lady GaGa (she said gays but she really meant Celts)

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2012, 06:55:23 PM »

Offline TA9

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YES STIEMSMA TIME!!!!
Its gon be a pretty long night for me..
But what i wouldnt do for the CELTICS! LETS GO!
Jack of all trades, master of none.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2012, 06:56:38 PM »

Offline apc

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looks like Steimsma will start the game. JO will not play.

Wow, that took long....
at list Wilcox is back.
to be honest, even with a healthy JO, i don't mind seeing Steimsma starting.  

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2012, 06:59:03 PM »

Offline ImShakHeIsShaq

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looks like Steimsma will start the game. JO will not play.

Wow, that took long....
at list Wilcox is back.
to be honest, even with a healthy JO, i don't mind seeing Steimsma starting.  

I agree, I want to see Stiems with the starters but JO being hurt already... ugh! I'm not listening to them about this injury either until I see JO play, you see what happened to Shaq!
It takes me 3hrs to get to Miami and 1hr to get to Orlando... but I *SPIT* on their NBA teams! "Bless God and bless the (Celts)"-Lady GaGa (she said gays but she really meant Celts)

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2012, 07:01:32 PM »

Offline Who

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looks like Steimsma will start the game. JO will not play.

Cool ... I am almost interested in this game now.

It'll be good to see what Steimsma can do in an extended role while playing against J.McGee.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2012, 07:02:23 PM »

Offline Neurotic Guy

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Should be interesting.  I hate hearing that JO is out with a hamstring injury.  It wouldn't have been shocking just to see Doc rest JO in this back-end game.  But a hamstring can last forever.

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2012, 07:03:06 PM »

Offline clover

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Another Blakely tweet, the Stiemer is stoked:

#Celtics Stiemsma on 1st #NBA start. "I'm ready to go. This whole time here has been about opportunities. I just look at it as another one."

Re: Wizards (0-4) at Celtics (2-3) 1/2
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2012, 07:06:29 PM »

Offline Neurotic Guy

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Another Blakely tweet, the Stiemer is stoked:

#Celtics Stiemsma on 1st #NBA start. "I'm ready to go. This whole time here has been about opportunities. I just look at it as another one."

The Stiemer is averaging slightly more than 1 block every 5 minutes.  Let's see if he can keep the average going with extended minutes.