Celtics (15-15) at Mavericks (20-12) 2/20

[FLCeltsFan]

 at  
Boston Celtics (15-15) at Dallas Mavericks (20-12)
Monday, February 20
8:00 PM ET
Game #31  Road Game #11
TV:  TNT, NBAC
Radio WEEI, KESN
American Airlines Arena

Nicknamed the AAC, American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Mavericks is one of the best arenas in the NBA. American Airlines Center was constructed in Victory Park in order to help revitalize and redevelop the area into mix use development that includes the arena, housing and commercial spaces. From the exterior, the arena is a massive structure that has a façade of brick and glass arches. Because of the design, American Airlines Center has won numerous architectural awards. The Mavericks played their first game at the arena on October 30, 2001 against the Detroit Pistons. American Airlines Center has a seating capacity of 19,200 with 142 luxury suites and 1,600 club seats.

Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
 vs  
Rajon Rondo vs Jason Kidd

Shooting Guard
 vs  
Ray Allen vs Vince Carter

Small Forward
 vs  
Paul Pierce vs Shawn Marion

Power Forward
 vs  
Kevin Garnett vs Dirk Nowitski  

Center
 vs  
Jermaine O'Neal vs Brendan Haywood  




Celtics Reserves
Mickael Pietrus
Chris Wilcox
Keyon Dooling
Greg Stiemsma
Avery Bradley
E'Twaun Moore
JaJuan Johnson
Marquis Daniels

Injured
Brandon Bass (knee) out
Sasha Pavlovic (wrist) questionable
Kevin Garnett (family reasons) questionable
Rajon Rondo (temper reasons)  questionable  



Dallas Reserves
Rodrigue Beaubois
Brian Cardinal
Yi Jianlian
Dominique Jones
Ian Mahinmi
Lamar Odom
Jason Terry
Brandan Wright
Sean Williams  

Injuries
Delonte West (finger)  out

Team Connections
Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle played for the Celtics from 1984‐87 and was a member of the 1985‐86 championship team
Marquis Daniels played for the Mavericks from 2003‐06
Jermaine O’Neal played for Rick Carlisle in Indiana from 2003‐07
E’Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson and Brian Cardinal all attended Purdue University
Delonte West was drafted by the Celtics with the 24th overall pick in the 2004 Draft and played for the Celtics from 2004‐07 and during the 2010‐11
season
Brandon Bass played for the Mavericks from 2007‐09
Bass, Mickael Pietrus and Vince Carter were teammates in Orlando
from 2009‐10
Keyon Dooling and Vince Carter were teammates in New Jersey 2008‐09 season
Lamar Odom and Keyon Dooling were teammates on the LA Clippers from 2000‐03
Chris Wilcox and Lamar Odom were teammates on the LA Clippers during the 2002‐03 season
Chris Wilcox and Delonte West were teammates in Seattle during the 2007‐08 season.

Game Notes
This is the second and final meeting between the Celtics and the reigning Champs.  In the first meeting Dirk took over the 4th quarter and the Mavs won 90-85.  Jason Terry was huge off the bench with 18 points and 4 steals.  Rondo had a big game for the Celtics with 24 points 7 assists and 3 steals.  Delonte started that game at point as Kidd was out.  In this game, Delonte will be out.  

At the time of this posting, the Celtics may or may not be without KG, who missed the Pistons' game and may miss this one as well for personal family reasons.  They may also be without Rajon Rondo, who was ejected from the Pistons' game for throwing the ball at the ref and may be suspended for this one.  This will be a tough game and will be much tougher if either of them miss the game.  

Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games and both teams had to travel.   The Mavs are coming off a loss in New York while the Celtics lost in Detroit.  

Key Matchups
Key Matchups
  vs
Rajon Rondo vs Jason Kidd
Kidd may be getting older but he's still a tough matchup. What he may have lost in speed he has gained in craftiness.  That being said, if Rondo is aggressive and focused on the game he should get the best of this matchup.  If Rondo can't go,  I would expect Keyon Dooling to get the start. 

  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Dirk Nowitski 
This should be a great matchup.    Dirk has the capability of taking over a game and KG will need to concentrate on his defense to keep him from having a big game.    Hopefully KG can play and is able to contain Dirk.  If KG can't play, expect Chris Wilcox to once again get the start and Dirk could have a big game playing against him. 
Honorable Mention
Ray Allen vs Vince Carter
 Vince Carter has never been known for his defense and even less for fighting through screens on defense.    Ray has struggled in recent games and hopefully Ray will get hot in this game and put up some big numbers.  
 
Keys to the Game
Rebound - Rebounding is so crucial to getting a win.  When the Celtics put out the effort to grab rebounds, more often than not, they are going to get the win.  The Celtics haven't been putting out much effort on the boards and have been getting out rebounded and consequently losing their games. Once again, they were out-rebounded by Detroit and once again, they lost the game.     The Celtics have to give a better effort on the boards if they want to win this one.  

Defense - Defense is always crucial to getting a win.  Defense wins games is not just a cliche, it is the truth.  The Celtics must play tough team defense in this and every game.  Against the Mavs, defense is especially crucial because they can put points on the board very quickly. They especially have to guard the perimeter because the Mavs can catch fire from beyond the arc if left open.  

Move the Ball   - The Celtics ball movement has been terrible lately.  They have to get back to making good passes and moving the ball to find the open man.  When they dribble too much and don't trust each other on offense, it gets stagnant and they struggle to score for long periods.  We saw some nice ball movement in spurts against the Pistons but then they would stop moving the ball and resort to contested jumpers again.  

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have been playing too passively.  They have to be more aggressive in taking the ball to the basket and not settle for jumpers.  They also have to be more aggressive in going after loose balls and in going after rebounds.   The Celtics played very passively against the Pistons for much of the game.  They must somehow find their toughness again and be more aggressive.  

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics turned the ball over 22 times vs the Pistons.  That is just unacceptable.  The Pistons scored 40 points off those 22 turnovers.  You can't win when you give the opponent that many extra points.  The Celtics must take better care of the basketball.    

X-Factor
Focus, Fatigue, and Personnel  
The Celtics have had lapses in focus in recent games.  They need to especially focus on the road.  Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games and the team that manages their minutes the best will have the advantage.   A good deal could depend on whether KG and Rondo can suit up for the team.  Without them, this game becomes very, very tough.  

[apc]

without KG, we have no one can guard Nowitzki.
its going to be ugly 

[Who]

Maybe try Stiemsma instead of JO and hope those brief glimpses of a jump-shot happen again.

Although, if you don't play JO against Haywood, who can you play him against? No way he can box out speedsters like Brandan Wright or Ian Mahinmi. Or keep up with them in transition or help and recover to his man when they are cutting to the rim. Could try posting JO up against Wright and see how that goes ... negate some of the damage.

[Q_FBE]

I think we are completely screwed. I expect to get thoroughly embarrassed on the I-35 corridor. This team is simply not right now and it harkens back to the dark ages of Rick Pitino. As much as the Jeremy Lin story is great for the NBA, the play of the Celtics is a tragedy for the Celtics fans and the NBA will just go on without us. Go have your players only meeting Jermaine it will do you no ________ good. See you in the 2012 summer leagues.

[FLCeltsFan]

Official Report

Ed Malloy

Malloy has officiated 577 regular season NBA games and 22 playoff games over the past nine seasons. He officiated his first two Finals games during the 2010-11 season. Prior to joining the NBA, Malloy officiated for one season in the

NBA D-League, three seasons in the CBA and three seasons in the WNBA. He worked the 2002 DLeague Finals and the 2001 CBA Finals. In 2003, when Doc was with Orlando, Malloy called a technical foul on Andrew DeClercq for staring. Doc called it one of the worst calls he ever saw (boy has he seen a lot worse since then!)and he said that he felt that Malloy had been intimidated all night. Fast forward to the Celtics game in Utah last season when Malloy, no longer intimidated, called 2 quick technicals on Doc and ejected him. Here is Doc's version of those calls.

    "I just told Ed [Malloy], please keep officiating the game," said Rivers. "That’s all I said. I thought the play before [the technical] was a clear travel in front of him. So I just said, ‘Hey Ed, it’d be nice if you’d keep officiating throughout.’ He gave me a tech. Then I said, ‘That’s the best call you’ve made all night.’ Usually, it’s nice to earn them, but [Monday's technicals were] another bad call."

Malloy was also on the crew that officiated game 1 of the Miami series in the 2010 playoffs where 5 technicals were called and Kevin Garnett was ejected. This is the Celtics first game with Malloy this season, and they are 8-2 in their last 10 games with Malloy as an official. The Mavs are are 6-4 over their last 10 games with Malloy as a ref. His home W/L record is 14-10.

Rodney Mott

Rodney Mott has officiated 870 regular season games and seven playoff

games during his 14-season NBA career. Prior to joining the NBA officiating staff, Mott spent four years officiating in the CBA, eight years officiating in the Los Angeles Pro Am basketball league, threebyears officiating at the junior college level, and four years officiating high school in San Diego. In 2007, Mott was suspended without pay for 3 games for making an obscene gesture and inappropriate comment toward a fan. Mott challenged the charges and said that they used him as a scapegoat to take attention away from other issues, but the suspension stood. The Celtics are 7-3 over their last 10 games with Mott. The Mavs are also 7-3 with Mott in their last 10. His home W/L record this season is 15-9.

Scott Wall

The son of former USA Basketball Director Bill Wall, Scott Wall has officiated

908 regular season games and five playoff games over his past 16 NBA seasons. In addition to his NBA experience, Wall has four years of officiating experience for

USA Basketball, four years of collegiate officiating experience in the college ranks, and five years of high school officiating experience in Kansas

and Alabama. The Celtics are 0-1 this season with Wall on the court. He officiated a 1 point loss to Cleveland in which the Celtics took 14 free throws to 20 for the Cavs. The officiating was poor in this game and the refs ignored an obvious foul committed against Paul Pierce at the end of the game. Over their last 10 games with Wall, the Celtics are 5-5. The Mavs are 0-2 this season and 7-3 in their last 10 games with Wall. His home W/L record this season is 12-8.

[Merovech]

Strangely enough, defensive rating has Carter as one of the best defenders in the league this year, and above average last year (although his career defensive numbers are more average).

[Change]

Tp


Celtics blowout win. I feel it

[Celts Fan 92]

Hope Rondo is suspended cuz if we got the Pierce point forward offense I think this game will be close nd we might be able to pull off the win we need Pierce to be ultra aggressive tho

[j804]

Dallas is no joke we won't have any answer NONE zip for Dirk he is going to abuse us.

Also they can really clamp down on you on D and there zone is stifling, you thought our offense sputtered against Detroit this is going to be depressing.

[j804]

btw TP FL !!!!

nonetheless Go Celtics

[FLCeltsFan]

Rondo suspended

Rondo has been suspended for 2 games. He’ll miss tonight and Wed vs OKC Curse you David Stern!!!!

[Who]

Doc should consider resting Pierce and Ray. This is pretty much guaranteed to be a loss without Rondo, Garnett and Bass. No point running his stars into the ground.

Give the youngsters some run and see how they do in extended minutes.

[apc]

Doc should consider resting Pierce and Ray. This is pretty much guaranteed to be a loss without Rondo, Garnett and Bass. No point running his stars into the ground.

Give the youngsters some run and see how they do in extended minutes.

100% agree.

[apc]

Doc should consider resting Pierce and Ray. This is pretty much guaranteed to be a loss without Rondo, Garnett and Bass. No point running his stars into the ground.

Give the youngsters some run and see how they do in extended minutes.

100% agree.

but we all know Doc is not going to to do it. i can see Allen and Pierce playing 40+ minutes.

[green7]

watch pierce have a off game thanks to shawn marion,he was trash against metta,prince,deng.

so i expect a off game.