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[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (14-13) at Los Angeles Clippers (22-6)
Thursday, December 17, 2012
10:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #28,  Road Game #14
TV:  TNT, TSN2
Radio:  WEEI, KFWB
Staples Center


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Chris Paul

Shooting Guard
  vs 
Jason Terry vs Willie Green

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Caron Butler 

Power Forward
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Blake Griffin

Center
vs
Jason Collins  vs DeAndre Jordan





Celtics Reserves
Jared Sullinger
Brandon Bass
Jeff Green
Courtney Lee
Jarvis Varnado

Injuries
Avery Bradley (shoulders) out
Chris Wilcox (thumb) out
Leandro Barbosa (personal) day to day

Red Claws
Fab Melo
Kris Joseph


Reserves
Matt Barnes
Eric Bledsoe
Jamal Crawford
Ryan Hollins
Lamar Odom
Ronny Turiaf

Injuries
Chauncey Billups (foot)  out
Grant Hill (knee) out
Trey Thompkins (knee)  out 

Game Notes
The Celtics continue their road trip as they take on that other LA team and try to end the Clippers' 14 game win streak.   These 2 teams met just once last season with the Celtics winning 94-85 at the Staples Center. 

This will be a matchup of two all star point guards. Rondo and Paul are the NBA's top two assist leaders, with Rondo averaging 11.9 and Paul dishing out 9.5 per contest.   Paul averages a few more points at 16.1 ppg compared to 13.7 ppg for Rondo.  Both teams depend on their point guards to set the pace and keep the team on the right track. 

The Celtics are just 5-8 on the road and they need to start playing more consistently away from home.  The Clippers are a tough team to play  whether at home or on the road and they have an impressive 13-3 record at home. 

The Celtics need to come out focused and to play for 48 minutes.  They have to get contributions from the bench.  They also need to keep the defensive intensity that they brought to the Nets game.  It would be an incredible boost if they could get this win and stop the Clippers 14 game win streak.  On the other hand, it would be yet another step back to .500 if they come up short. 

Key Matchups
vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Chris Paul
This is a matchup of 2 All Star point guards.  Rondo always get up to play against the top point guards in the league.  He also loves playing on national TV.  Once again he's got both in this game.  The Celtics need Rondo to be aggressive and to work on the defensive end because CP3 is very good. 

vs
Kevin Garnett vs Blake Griffin
Griffin is a tough matchup for anyone.  He loves putting players on posters and I have a feeling that KG won't take too kindly to being posterized.   It's going to take team defense to keep Griffin from getting to the hoop.   

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics must make defense a priority.    They played great defense against the Nets and they need to show that same tenacity on team defense in this game.   The win over the Nets was because of the Celtics' defense and they need to bring this same defense against the Clippers. 

Rebound -  The Celtics need to make an effort to crash the boards.   The Clippers are capable of running on the break if the Celtics don't prevent it by keeping them from getting the rebounds.  Griffin is also very dangerous around the basket getting tip ins and second chance baskets.  The Celtics need to show the same tenacity on the boards that they did against the Nets. 

Ball Movement - The Celtics have to move the ball and look for the open man.  They have to play team ball.  Doc mentioned several times that ball movement was one of the things that helped to beat the Nets.   

Bench Play- Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green stepped up in their last game against the Nets.  The Celtics need that on a consistent basis and especially on the road.  It would be nice to get some production from Courtney Lee as well and others as well. 

Be Aggressive  - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team.  They can't play passively against a team like the Clippers.  They have to be aggressive on defense, in chasing down loose balls, and in going to the hoop, especially if their jumpers aren't falling.   

X-Factor
On the Road
 The Celtics began this road trip on a high note with a convincing win over the Nets.   They went 0-3 on their last road trip and are just 5-8 on the road.  The Celtics must find a way to play consistently whether at home or on the road. 

[Who]

Big test for the Celtics. This should be a very interesting game.

[tgreanier]

This is a tough game for the Celtics. Hell, it is a tough game for anyone. Magic is right, the Clippers are the new Showtime and for my money, the best team in the league right now. They are going to come out and try to smoke Boston early, and with that bench they should - on paper - whip the Celtics good.

But being a Celtics fan means I don't have a lot of faith in "on paper" results Still, I am expecting this to be a loss, and I find no reason to be upset about that. I am more interested in how they lose. If they go down fighting, if they force the Clippers to keep bringing it the whole game and I see no Clippers laughing on the bench in the fourth quarter, I will be happy.

Happier with a win of course, but one thing at a time.

[apc]

I hope we don't get embarrassed.
All players must be at their top for us to have a chance.

[SHAQATTACK]

Playing the Clippers is like playing with a Lion ,  you just hope the Lion keeps playing nice and don't turn on you . They are so deep and athletic...whew.. scary

If the Celtics can hang around .  Maybe they can pull off an upset.

[j804]

I feel good about this game we will go out with a big win, this is the start of our run

[lightspeed5]

rondo will destroy cp3, and KG will expose jordan.

[j804]

rondo will destroy cp3, and KG will expose jordan.

Rondos list of Guards to destroy who he was in rumored trades for:

Derron Williams
Chris Paul

[lightspeed5]

rondo will destroy cp3, and KG will expose jordan.

Rondos list of Guards to destroy who he was in rumored trades for:

Derron Williams
Chris Paul

haha yeah.

[jdz101]

If we can defend the perimeter and assert ourselves physically we'll be in good stead to win this one.

Big Ifs though.

[slamtheking]

I figure Rondo will put in the effort again tonight like he always does against CP3--figuring a big night for Rondo.

IMHO, keys to a C's victory:
-PP and Green dominating the SF position over the Clips.
-Keeping Blake and Jordan off the O boards. Need to keep the Clips on a 1-and-done offense.
-JET, Lee and Bass have to hit a decent percentage of their shots.  One can have an off night but at least 2 have got to hit about 50% tonight.

[bello_man09]

I will be watching this for sure....we can't turn the ball over against these guys...they are great matchs up all over the court

[CelticsFan9]

Going to the game tonight!  It's my first NBA game ever (watching it in the building), so I'm very excited.  Can't wait to see our guys take on the league's hottest team.  Should be really entertaining.

[SHAQATTACK]

Beating this team on the road would be a huge confidence builder.

If our team bricks out at the rim , nobody can hit a shot from outside , we be in a world of hurt , they will grab the ball and destroy us. 

Got a decent chance if the JUMPER is falling ALL NIGHT. Keep em in half court type game.

Collins is gonna look Sooooooooooooooooo slow against this team.  Fab could probally help more than Collins against dis  Clipper team.

Go C's !!!! 

[Dirk]

Going to the game tonight!  It's my first NBA game ever (watching it in the building), so I'm very excited.  Can't wait to see our guys take on the league's hottest team.  Should be really entertaining.

That's awesome. Enjoy the game.

I'm lucky to be attending the Clippers game @ the TD Garden on February too. Hoping to see the Celtics get the win first and foremost, but also witness our man Rajon kick CP3's behind in the process.

Let's go Celtics!