Author Topic: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11  (Read 49457 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« on: January 10, 2013, 10:11:12 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5270
  • Tommy Points: 11820
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
  at   
Houston Rockets (21-15)  at  Boston Celtics (18-17)
Friday, January 11, 2013
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #36, Home Game #18
TV: CSN-NE, CSN-H, NBA-LP 752(HOU)/753(BOS)
Radio:  WEEI, KBME
TD Garden



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Jeremy Lin

Shooting Guard
   vs 
Avery Bradley vs James Harden 

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Chandler Parsons     

Power Forward
  vs 
Brandon Bass vs Marcus Morris

Center

  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Omer Asik   



Bench  
Jared Sullinger
Jason Collins
Courtney Lee
Jeff Green
Leandro Barbosa
Jason Terry

Injuries
Chris Wilcox (thumb) day to day
Fab Melo (concussion) out

Bench
Patrick Patterson
Greg Smith
Carlos Delfino
Toney Douglas
Donatas Motiejunas
Cole Aldrich

Injured
None

D-League
Terrence Jones
Patrick Beverly

Suspended
Royce White

Team Connections
Terrence Jones, Patrick Patterson and Rajon Rondo all attended the University of Kentucky
Celtics Assistant Coach Mike Longabardi worked for Houston from 2003-07
Courtney Lee played for the Rockets from 2010-12
Rockets Coach Kevin McHale played for the Celtics from 1980-93, was a member of three championship teams and had his #32 retired on January 30, 1994
Marcus Morris and Paul Pierce both attended Kansas
Jeff Green and James Harden were teammates in Oklahoma City from 2009-11.

Game Notes
The Celtics host Kevin Mchale the Houston Rockets, looking to avenge their earlier loss and to keep their season high 4 game win streak going.   The Rockets are coming off a loss to New Orleans, but before that, they had won 5 in a row and have been playing very well. 

The Celtics lost to the Rockets 101-89 in Houston on their recent 4 game trip that started on Christmas Day.  In that game, they had a 2 point lead at the half but were outscored 58-44 in the second half.  The Celtics shot only 40% in that game.  Houston is 8-3 in their last 11 games in Boston. 

The Rockets are 7-3 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 5-5, in spite of winning their last 4 in a row.  The Celtics have played well at home with an 11-6 record at the Garden.  On the other hand, the Rockets have struggled somewhat on the road, going just 7-9. 

The Celtics are finally back over .500 and they are looking to stay there.  After the Celtics win over the Knicks,  Courtney Lee said that he wants to go on a 20 game win streak starting with these 5 home games.   That would be nice, but they have to do it one game at a time, starting with this one. 

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Jeremy Lin 
Since Linsanity became a phenomenon, Rondo had delighted in showing up Lin in every meeting they've had.  In their meeting this season in Houston Rondo had 15 points, 13 assists and 4 steals, to outplay Lin's 5 points, 7 assists, and 1 steal.  Look for more of the same in this game. 

  vs 
Avery Bradley  vs James Harden
In the last game between these teams,  Harden was guarded by Jason Terry and scored a team high 21 points to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.  This time, Bradley should make things a bit harder on him. 

Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Omer Asik
Asik is a good defender and so KG will have to use his veteran wiles to get his shot off against him.  Asik won't put up a ton of points, but he is a double double threat and KG will need to try to keep him off the boards. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics must keep their defensive mindset.    Defense wins games and it will win a championship.  The Celtics are finally coming together defensively, and  that trend needs to continue.  It has been their defense that led to their season high 4 game winning streak.

Rebounding -  Rebounding is second to defense in importance in winning games.   The Celtics need to put out effort to crash the boards and prevent the Rockets second chance points and fast break opportunities which Lin and Harden will take full advantage of.   Rebounding is effort and desire and when they Celtics bring the effort on the boards, it spreads to the other areas of their game.     

Be Aggressive -  Too many times  we see the Celtics get beat to loose balls and rebounds.  The Celtics have to be aggressive in going after loose balls, grabbing rebounds and taking the ball to the basket.  The more aggressive team will get  more respect from the refs and they also take some steam out of the other team by attacking and being active.   

Bench Play - The Celtics need their second unit to come in and contribute on both ends of the court.  It was the reserves that pulled out the game against the Suns behind strong play from Sully, Green, Lee and Terry.  It would be great to start seeing consistency from this group and they will need it in this game.    A key matchup off the bench in this game will be Greg Smith vs Sully.   Smith torched the Celtics off the bench for 20 points (8-9) with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in their last meeting.   Sully needs to make sure that doesn't happen again. 

X-Factors
Home Court and Swagger
The Celtics are in the midst of a home stand and they need to use the energy from the crowd to give them a boost.  The Celtics are getting their swagger back that has been missing so far this season.  Hopefully they keep it. 

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2013, 10:14:50 PM »

Offline Redz

  • Punner
  • Global Moderator
  • Bill Russell
  • ******************************
  • Posts: 30887
  • Tommy Points: 3765
  • Yup
should be a good one

We'll need a bit more steady effort than we saw in the Suns game.
Yup

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2013, 10:16:18 PM »

Offline letsgoblue86

  • Ray Allen
  • ***
  • Posts: 3619
  • Tommy Points: 279
Looking forward to see how Bradley contains Harden.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2013, 10:26:01 PM »

Offline celticslove

  • Don Chaney
  • *
  • Posts: 1760
  • Tommy Points: 188
Looking forward to see how Bradley contains Harden.
more practice for bradley for the game on the 27th against dirty wade. ;D

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2013, 03:35:40 AM »

Offline Who

  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 47114
  • Tommy Points: 2401
Oh, it's going to be so nice to have Bradley back to defend Harden.

Last time around, Asik and Parsons did an excellent job of containing Garnett and Pierce respectively. I'd expect Asik to be able to repeat that. Uncertain about Parsons. Good test for Parsons. If he does though, that will leave Boston overly reliant on Rondo to create quality shot attempts for the Celtics. So Rondo needs a big game here. I think the team's success will depend on him against Houston.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2013, 04:08:05 AM »

Offline azzenfrost

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2063
  • Tommy Points: 177
Looking forward to this. I want to see the same defense with better intensity and execution. Home stand!
I moved the cheese.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2013, 04:09:54 AM »

Offline j804

  • Satch Sanders
  • *********
  • Posts: 9188
  • Tommy Points: 3060
  • BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS
Looking forward to see how Bradley contains Harden.
Harden likes to stay low and dribble low which is how he gets around a lot of guys, thing is Bradley plays low on all fours and is a ballhawk can't wait  ;D
"7ft PG. Rondo leaves and GUESS WHAT? We got a BIGGER point guard!"-Tommy on Olynyk


Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2013, 05:40:15 AM »

Offline lon3lytoaster

  • Antoine Walker
  • ****
  • Posts: 4608
  • Tommy Points: 157
  • Word aapp!
Like our chances.

-Home Game

-since the second half in NY, Bradley's offense has started to return.

-Lee looks so much better, much more comfortable.

-Jeff Green looks to maybe be on the up and up.

-Sullinger is a beast.

-The defense.

That's enough for me.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2013, 05:46:10 AM »

Offline JSD

  • Frank Ramsey
  • ************
  • Posts: 12558
  • Tommy Points: 2152
Over/Under on James Harden FG percentage for this game. I'll set it at 42%


Under.
The only color that matters is GREEN

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2013, 05:46:42 AM »

Offline alajet

  • Jayson Tatum
  • Posts: 790
  • Tommy Points: 54
If we can shot down Harden, and Parsons, who can also score a ton of points if he gets hot, I like our chances.

This is still a tough match, anyway. Rockets are on a very good form as of late.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2013, 05:52:56 AM »

Offline lon3lytoaster

  • Antoine Walker
  • ****
  • Posts: 4608
  • Tommy Points: 157
  • Word aapp!
Over/Under on James Harden FG percentage for this game. I'll set it at 42%


Under.

Way under. I'll guess 30% I'm betting Avery will be on another level since Harden is considered a star.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2013, 06:18:21 AM »

Offline ACF

  • Danny Ainge
  • **********
  • Posts: 10756
  • Tommy Points: 1157
  • A Celtic Fan
Over/Under on James Harden FG percentage for this game. I'll set it at 42%


Under.

Here's to a Kobe-like shooting (as in 7 of 22 FGs or such) night!  ;) But seriously, Harden can go for 55 for all I care as long as we get the W. He of course won't, not with Honey Badger on him.




TP once again, FL and Congrats on 1900 Tommy Points, each and every one of them well deserved. You should have 10,000 TP's but I guess you'll get there eventually  :)

Keep on keepin' on!










GO CELTICS!







« Last Edit: January 11, 2013, 06:26:18 AM by ACF »

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2013, 08:31:06 AM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5270
  • Tommy Points: 11820
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
Over/Under on James Harden FG percentage for this game. I'll set it at 42%


Under.

Here's to a Kobe-like shooting (as in 7 of 22 FGs or such) night!  ;) But seriously, Harden can go for 55 for all I care as long as we get the W. He of course won't, not with Honey Badger on him.




TP once again, FL and Congrats on 1900 Tommy Points, each and every one of them well deserved. You should have 10,000 TP's but I guess you'll get there eventually  :)

Keep on keepin' on!




GO CELTICS!

Thanks ACF.  You are always so nice!   Nellie and Chief!  Quite the pair!!

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2013, 11:45:10 AM »

Offline GronkSpike

  • Al Horford
  • Posts: 427
  • Tommy Points: 54
A win here is extremely needed. Houston is a very good team, but they need to pull this off, extend the win streak that way the boys can spend the weekend in Boston with a feel good mood, at home, watch some playoff football (maybe go to Foxboro) and then return on Monday to play the Bobcats.

Re: Rockets (21-15) at Celtics (18-17) 1/11
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2013, 12:00:51 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 36703
  • Tommy Points: 2951
AB-Sully-KG -Lee need to be beasting on defense tonight

Box out ASik , push him around, keep him pushed outside the paint...ruff him up, get under his skin.

Smother Harding .  Show him no quarter.

We can win this.

GO CELTICS.!!!