Magic (11-4) at Celtics (6-9) 1/23

[FLCeltsFan]

 at  
OrlandoMagic (11-4) at Boston Celtics (6-9)
Monday, January 23
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #16,  Home Game #10
TV:  NBA-TV, NBAC, SunSpO, CSNNE
Radio:  WEEI,  WDBO
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups  
Point Guard
 vs  
Rajon Rondo   15.0 PPG,  9.4 APG,  5.1 RPG
Jameer Nelson  8.9 PPG, 5.6 APG,  2.4 RPG

Shooting Guard
vs
Ray Allen  15.5 PPG,  2.5 APG,  .565 3P%
JJ Redick   12.5 PPG,  2.5 APG,  ...396 3P%

Small Forward
vs
Paul Pierce   14.6 PPG,  4.7 RPG,  4.1 APG
Hedo Turkoglu   14.5 PPG,  3.3 RPG,  4.9 APG  

Power Forward  
vs
Kevin Garnett  13.2 PPG,  7.3 RPG,  0.8 BPG
Ryan Anderson  17.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG,  0.2 BPG  

Center
vs
Jermaine O'Neal  5.7 PPG,  5.5 RPG,  1.5 BPG
Dwight Howard   20.2 PPG, 16.1 RPG, 2.3 BPG




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


Injured
Keyon Dooling (knee) day to day
Chris Wilcox (calf)  day to day
Rajon Rondo (wrist) day to day
Ray Allen (ankle)  day to day


Magic Reserves
Chris Duhon
Glen Davis
Von Wafer
Quentin Richardson
Earl Clark
Justin Harper
Larry Hughes
Daniel Orton
DeAndre Liggins

Injuries
Hedo Turkoglu (back) probable


Team Connections
Doc Rivers coached the Magic from 1999-2004, winning the NBA’s Coach of the Year award in his first season (1999-2000)
Brandon Bass and Glen Davis attended Louisiana State University
Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins and Rajon Rondo all attended the University of Kentucky
Quentin Richardson and Jermaine O’Neal were teammates in Miami during the 2009-10 season
Mickael Pietrus played for the Magic from 2008-10
Brandon Bass played for the Magic from 2009-11
Keyon Dooling played for the Magic from 2005-08
Mickael Pietrus and Jason Richardson were teammates in Golden State from 2003-07
Glen Davis played for the Celtics from 2007-11 and was a member of the 2008 Championship team
Von Wafer played for the Celtics during the 2010-11 season
Quentin Richardson and Keyon Dooling were teammates on the LA Clippers from 2000-04
Quentin Richardson and Chris Wilcox were teammates on the LA Clippers from 2002-04
Keyon Dooling played for Stan Van Gundy on the 2004-05 Miami Heat
Ryan Anderson and Keyon Dooling were teammates in New Jersey during the 2008-09 season
Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson, Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox were teammates in New York during the 2008-09 season.
Danny Ainge dreams of having Dwight Howard in green

Game Notes
This is the first meeting between these two teams this season.  The Celtics are coming off a win over the struggling Wizards while the Magic are coming off a convincing win over the Lakers.   The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games while the Magic have been off since Friday.  

Ray Allen went out with a jammed ankle (whatever that means) in the second quarter of their win over the Wizards and did not return.  He limped off the court but after the game he stated that there was no swelling and the xrays were negative and so he was hoping to play in this game.  Hopefully he can play since the Celtics seem to be running out of healthy guards.  

Rajon Rondo has missed the 2 games with a sore wrist.  It was supposedly not serious and Rondo was ready to play the next day but he has been held out of 2 games in a row.  Either the wrist is worse than the Celtics are telling us or we should see Rondo in this game. Hedo Turkoglu has been out of the Magic lineup but news out of Orlando on Sunday night is that he is expected back for this game to face his old nemesis.  Hopefully Pierce will have another big game on both ends of the court as Turkoglu has burned the Celtics more than once.  If Turkoglu can't go, expect Jason Richardson to get the nod. 

The Celtics are 4-5 at home while the Magic are 5-2 on the road.  Big Baby will be making his first visit to the Garden since being traded for Brandon Bass in the off season.  He should get a welcome but I'm not expecting any video montages or standing ovations.

So far, the Celtics have not beaten a team above .500 and they need this win if they want to prove that they are legit and avoid having Danny blow the team up and start the rebuild now.    

Key Matchups  
 vs  
Jermaine O'Neal vs Dwight Howard  
This is the key matchup between these two teams. Dwight Howard leads his team in points (20.2), rebounds (16.1) and blocks (2.3) and steals (1.4).   Slowing down  Howard and keeping him off of his favorite spots around the basket is key to slowing down the Magic.  Perk is one of the few centers in the league who has been able to cover Howard one on one.  Since JO struggled with Gortat and McGee in the last 2 games it may be too much to hope that he can handle Howard.  The strategy may have to be to let Howard get his and keep everyone else from putting up numbers.  

 vs  
Rajon Rondo vs Jameer Nelson
Rondo has been out 2 games with a sore wrist.  If the injury isn't serious, as the Celtics have said,  he should be back for this game.  The Celtics need a win over a quality opponent and a well rested and healthy Rondo will be key to getting one in this game.  Nelson has burned the Celtics in the past with is hot shooting and the Celtics need Rondo to not only run the offense but to keep Nelson off his game as well.  

Honorable Mention
Brandon Bass  11.4 PPG,  6.2 RPG,  0.7 BPG
Glen Davis  7.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.2 BPG
This is a matchup of players who were traded for each other.  So far, in just about every game, I have had the thought that I'm very happy that we have Bass instead of Big Baby.  It will be interesting to see how Baby responds in his first visit back to the Garden.    

Keys to the Game
Play Smart for 48 Minutes -  The Celtics need a win over a contending team.  To do this, they must come out strong and play well throughout.  They can't afford a sluggish start and they can't afford the offensive droughts that they have had in almost every game.  They have to get off to a strong start and play hard and smart until the final buzzer.  

Defense - Defense is the key to winning. Period. The Celtics have shown that they have the capability of shutting down teams in spurts and when they play tough defense, the offense runs more smoothly.  But when they falter on defense, it seems as though their game suffers on both ends.  The Celtics must defend the perimeter as the Magic have guys that can hit the 3 and they must also defend the paint where Howard does his damage.    

Rebound - Dwight Howard can take over a game on rebounds and put backs alone if the Celtics don't box him out and crash the boards as a team.  We don't have Perk to keep him away from the basket any longer and I don't see Jermaine being able to do so.  The Celtics will have to gang rebound and crash the boards as a team.    Rebounding takes effort and desire and the Celtics must show both if they want to win this game.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be aggressive from start to finish.  They have to take the ball to the hoop and not settle for jumpers, especially if the jumpers aren't falling as they haven't been so far this season.  They also have to be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds as well.  

Limit Turnovers - It seems that the Celtics will go on a run and then turn the ball over several times right after to allow the other team right back in it.  They seem to let up at times and lose focus.  They must take care of the ball and limit their turnovers as the Magic will convert those turnovers into points on the other end.  

X-Factors
Injuries
Obviously it will be easier for the Celtics if Rondo and Ray both healthy and able to play.  And it would be ideal to have Dooling back as well.  If either Ray or Rondo is out, that will make getting a win in this game a whole lot harder.  

[Who]

Pierce should be able to get a lot of joy against Jason Richardson.

Looking forward to this game. Good test for the Celtics.

[thebat]

Uh oh! I just can't watch this game. I am afraid! 

[ACF]

TP. Go Celtics!

[slamtheking]

I think we'll see 3 things:
1. Dwight is going to go off against the C's centers
2. BBD will try to go off against the C's to show he was better than we thought.  He'll fail.
3. Bass will try to go off against Orlando to show he was better than Anderson.  He'll fail because he'll try too hard.

In the end, if Ray plays and he and PP have good shooting nights, I think we could get this one. If not, we're looking at our 10th loss.

[WeMadeIt17]

If Boston can take this game 1 of these next two agianst the magic we have some very winable games after 2 agaisnt cavs, knicks, grizz. I am really hopeing they can get on a little tear. Its very capable! Heres to a Celtics win!

[Fafnir]

Pierce should be able to get a lot of joy against Jason Richardson.

Looking forward to this game. Good test for the Celtics.

Yeah, but I don't see a win for the C's if we can't get a clear win in the backcourt from Rondo/Ray.

[snively]

Hope Rondo and Ray can play: otherwise this game won't be of much use as a barometer. 

If JO gets in early foul trouble on Howard, I wonder if Doc will put KG, Bass or Stiemsma on him.  I'm guessing Bass.  KG has never had any success guarding Howard and Stiemsma hasn't stopped anything in the post this year.

[Fafnir]

Hope Rondo and Ray can play: otherwise this game won't be of much use as a barometer. 

If JO gets in early foul trouble on Howard, I wonder if Doc will put KG, Bass or Stiemsma on him.  I'm guessing Bass.  KG has never had any success guarding Howard and Stiemsma hasn't stopped anything in the post this year.

I think he'll but Bass on him too, but he could use Greg to just whack him for about 10 mins and 6 fouls.

[Marcus13]

Everybody say a prayer for Ray today!

This is going to get REAL ugly if we dont have his services

[BASS_THUMPER]

glad rondo is back but i rather see avery b out there..

i hope doc gives him floor time

[Q_FBE]

Orlando is simply better and healthier than us at this point in the season and have better overall talent at this point. There is no excuse for them to avoid winning this game.

All the Magic have to do is not assume the game will play itself into a victory.

I admit defeat. We will lose this game.

Approved for posting on each locker of the Celtics dressing room  

[scaryjerry]

Huh I havent paid much attention to Orlando, I thought they had fallen off more then 11-4
Anyways dont see us winning this game, but go C's

[33-00-32]

As always excellent job FL, TP! 3 things,
1) are those baby bibs? Nice touch!
2) Did this picture of Rondo happen the day Perk was traded, he doesn't look happy. And that leads to...
3) I think you're right about the key matchups but I would expand it to our bigs versus their bigs, I think this will be the game where we really miss Perk the most.

[apc]

Hope Rondo and Ray can play: otherwise this game won't be of much use as a barometer. 

we could use dooling too.
bradley and moore are disapointing so far.