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[FLCeltsFan]

  vs 
Toronto Raptors (4-10) at Boston Celtics (4-8)
Wednesday, January 18
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #13, Home Game #8
TV:  CSNNE, SNET,  NBA-LP 756
Radio:  CJCL,  WEEI
TD Garden 



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

Celtics Reserves
Avery Bradley
Brandon Bass
E'twaun Moore
Greg Stiemsma
JaJuan Johnson
Sasha Pavlovic
Marquis Daniels
Mickael Pietrus

Injured
Keyon Dooling (knee) day to day
Chris Wilcox  (calf)  day to day




Probable Starters
PGSG SF PFC
PG:  Jose Calderon   
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Rasual Butler 
PF: Ed Davis 
C:  Amir Johnson

Raptors Bench
Linas Kleiza
Jamaal Magloire
Leandro Barbosa
Gary Forbes
Anthony Carter
Solomon Alabi

Injuries
Andrea Bargnani  (calf)  day to day
Jerryd Bayless (ankle)  day to day
James Johnson  (ankle)  day to day
Aaron Gray  (heart)  out 


Team Connections
Rajon Rondo, Raptors Head Coach Dwane Casey and Jamaal Magloire all attended the University of Kentucky
Jermaine O’Neal played in Toronto during the 2008-09 season
Linas Kleiza and Keyon Dooling both went to the University of Missouri
Keyon Dooling and Rasual Butler were teammates on the Miami Heat during the 2004-05 season
Rasual Butler and Brandon Bass were teammates in New Orleans from 2005-07
Brandon Bass and Jamaal Magloire were teammates in Dallas during the 2007-08 season.

Key Matchups
  vs 
Ray Allen vs DeMar DeRozan 
Ray had an off game against the Thunder but other than that game, he has been the Celtics most consistent player.  With both Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett struggling with their offense and Jermaine O'Neal insisting that offense isn't his role, the Celtics need Ray to have a big game.  Hopefully the fall he took on his shooting hand won't have any lasting effect on his shot. 

  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Jose Calderon
The Celtics need Rondo to be aggressive yet again in this game.  He should have an advantage over Calderon and needs to use his quickness and his aggressiveness to lead the Celtics to a win. 

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Ed Davis   
KG has vowed to do whatever it takes to right the Celtics' ship.  It doesn't help that he's been dealing with a sore ankle but sore ankle or not, he should be able to win this matchup. 

Keys to the Game
Rebound -  The Celtics have got to crash the boards to prevent second chance points.  They finally out rebounded an opponent in their last game and they have to keep that effort up and not let it be a one game thing.  The effort they put out on the boards will usually spread to other areas of the game as well. 

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics have been turning the ball over way too much.  They will make a run in a game to tie it or take the lead and then they will turn the ball over several times only to dig themselves into a hole.  They have to make smarter passes and pay attention to the opponents so as not to allow them to get an easy steal.  They also have to handle the ball better and not drive into a crowd only to lose possession of the ball.   The Thunder scored 24 points off of 19 Celtics turnovers.  This is unacceptable. 

Defense -  The Celtics must make defense a priority in each and every game.  They seem to play defense in spurts and in between they allow easy baskets and wide open shots.   They must play strong defense all game.  With the Raptors, they must particularly guard the perimeter as they love to shoot from beyond the arc.   
 
Make Shots and Take Advantage of Opportunities -  There are times when it seems as though no one on the Celtics can hit the broad side of a barn.  They miss jumpers, layups, 3 pointers, and shots in the paint. I thing they lead the league in missed layups as there are several missed layups every game.   This inability to hit shots keeps them from taking advantage of opportunities.  They scored just 2 points off of turnovers in their last game and missed several fast break opportunities when they blew the shot or a layup. 

Game Notes
This is the first regular season meeting between these two Atlantic Division teams.  They met twice in the pre-season with the Celtics winning both of those games. 

With the Celtics 3rd in the division and the Raptors 4th,  they are fighting for the privilege of not being the worst team in their division.  Both teams have lost 5 games in a row.  The Celtics have lost their last 4 at home after winning their first 3 home games.   The Raptors are 2-6 on the road. 

The Celtics have yet to beat a team with a record over .500 but the Raptors aren't anywhere near that discussion.  This should be a win for the Celtics.  If not, it may be time to start worrying. 

X-Factors
Focus and Desire
The Celtics have lost focus in each of their losses.  They dig themselves into a hole and then play great ball to catch up and then seem to lose focus and make errors on both ends to let the other team bury them again.  They must keep their focus and play good basketball for 48 minutes.   If they want this win badly enough, and don't self destruct,  they should be able to get it. 

[letsgoblue86]

First! And TP FLCeltsFan!

[Who]

I expect Doc to start Brandon Bass in this game.

Doc said that he was going to rotate Bass and JO based on matchups depending on whether they needed more quickness / offense or more size (defensively). The Raps don't really have anyone with size for JO to defend in the post so I'd expect Bass to get the nod here.

[FLCeltsFan]

I expect Doc to start Brandon Bass in this game.

Doc said that he was going to rotate Bass and JO based on matchups depending on whether they needed more quickness / offense or more size (defensively). The Raps don't really have anyone with size for JO to defend in the post so I'd expect Bass to get the nod here.

I was thinking that Doc would start Bass too but went with what they have in the Game Notes.  Maybe that was a threat to get JO playing better.  Or, maybe he'll start Bass.  Who knows.

[33_Larry Legend_33]

Simply stated, this is a MUST win game...  We lose this one, and I think the "blow it up" idea has solid merit. 

[ACF]

TP. Go Celtics!

[j804]

It's time to beat these bottom of the barrel teams and build some confidence.

LOL

[raynman]

I say "BLOW THEM OUT OR BLOW IT UP!" 

[PosImpos]

Must win tonight?

As crazy as it seems this early in the season, yes, I think this is a must win.  Have to seriously question their mental toughness if they can't pull out a win tonight. 

If they manage to lose this game, I can't see how Danny could have any confidence in this group to make the playoffs and do anything once they get there.

[bello_man09]

We are going to blow them out

[Inside-Out]

Should be a win.

Funny, though, that even when we should win a game, I still worry that a key player might get hurt and thus kill any remaining hope for the season (hi, JO).

[fairweatherfan]

Wait, we still have the whole roster?  I thought we traded everyone this week.   

Good luck to the fellas tonight!  Let's start turning things around with a W here.

[2short]

I guess we get to see how great Calderon passes right? 
(gm vote)

[makaveli]

Our bench has more quality then most of their starters, it is not a must win game, but is a game that the Celtics should cruise trough.

[ManUp]

We better win this one no excuse for a loss here.

The Raptors are simply a horrible basketball team.

I'll be dissapointed if this isn't a blow out.