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Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« on: February 10, 2013, 11:09:07 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Boston Celtics (27-23) at Charlotte Bobcats (11-39)
Monday, February 11
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #51, Road Game #23
TV:  CSNNE, SSO-CHA, NBA-LP 752(BOS)/753(CHA)
Radio: WEEI, WFNZ
Time Warner Cable Arena




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Avery Bradley.....Courtney Lee ..... Paul Pierce.....Brandon Bass.......Kevin Garnett
Celtics Reserves
Jason Collins
Jeff Green
Leandro Barbosa
Jason Terry
Chris Wilcox
Fab Melo

Injuries
Rajon Rondo (knee) out
Jared Sullinger (back)  out




Probable Starters
PG......SG.....SF.....PF ..... C
Kemba Walker ......Gerald Henderson....Michael Kidd-Gilchrist........Byron Mullens .......Bismack Biyombo

Bobcats Bench

Brendan Haywood
Ramon Sessions
Jeff Adrien
DeSagana Diop
Ben Gordon
Jeffrey Taylor
Tyrus Thomas
Hakim Warrick
Reggie Williams

Injuries
None

Team Connections
DeSagana Diop and Rajon Rondo attended Oak Hill Academy
Brandon Bass and DeSagana Diop were teammates in Dallas from 2007-09
Jeff Green and Byron Mullens were teammates in Oklahoma City from 2009-11
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Rajon Rondo both attended Kentucky
Jared Sullinger and Byron Mullens both attended Ohio State
DeSagana Diop and Jason Terry were teammates in Dallas from 2005-09
Jason Terry and Brendan Haywood were teammates in Dallas from 2009-12
Ben Gordon and Chris Wilcox were teammates in Detroit from 2009-11.
Jason Collins and Hakim Warrick were teammates in Memphis during the 2007-08 season
Fab Melo and Hakim Warrick attended Syracuse.

Game Notes
The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and are on the road, both factors should make this game one that they should take seriously, in spite of the Bobcats' 11-39 record.   The Bobcats may have a losing record, but this team always plays hard.   

This is the second of 4 games between these two teams.  The Celtics won the first meeting 100-89 in Boston and they will meet twice more in March.   The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games while the Bobcats are just 1-9 in their last 10.  The Celtics are 8-14 on the road while the Bobcats have been even worse at home at 6-19.   The Celtics have won 7 in a row while the Bobcats have lost 7 in a row. 

The Celtics are 7th in the East, now 1.5 games ahead of the Bucks, who are in the 8th spot.  They are just half a game behind the Hawks for the 6th spot and 1.5 games behind Brooklyn for the 5th spot.  The Bobcats have the worst record in the league and now are playing for ping pong balls, but in spite of that, they always play hard and so the Celtics can't take them for granted. 

The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games after a tough triple OT win over the Nuggets.   Pierce played 54 minutes.   KG played 47 minutes.  Bradley played 45 minutes.  Terry played 42 minutes.  Green played 41 minutes.   Add the fact that they had to travel after the game and fatigue could very well be a problem in this game.  But still, if the reserves can give the Celtics more in this game, they should be able to get the win.   

Key Matchups
  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Bismack Biyombo
KG has been playing very well and also has a couple of inches on Biyombo who is averaging 4.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Biyombo is a good defender and bothers a lot of shots inside, but with KG's size, he should be able to get his shot off over Biyombo without having to bang inside with him. 

  vs 
Avery Bradley vs Kemba Walker
 Walker is playing very well for the Bobcats, averaging 17 points , 3.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.  Bradley should be able to match his speed and stay ahead of him to slow down both Kemba and the Bobcats' offense. 

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce vs Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Kidd-Gilchrist is a promising young rookie who is averaging 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.  Since the Celtics are playing in back to back games,  I expect to see Green get more minutes on Gilchrist in this game and between the two,  they should be able to slow him down. 
 
Keys to the Game
Focus and Energy - When the Celtics face teams with losing records, they often come out flat and lack focus and energy and they lose to teams they should easily beat.     The Celtics have got to stay focused and play with energy the entire game because the Bobcats always play hard, even though they don't have the most talent in the league,  and will take advantage of any lapse from the Celtics.   

Defense -   The Celtics need to make defense their priority.   Games are won on the defensive end. The effort that the Celtics put out on the defensive end carries over to the offensive end as well.   The Celtics have been playing some very good defense led by their Pit Bull backcourt and they need to continue to do so. 

Rebound -    Good things happen when the Celtics crash the boards.   When they show energy in rebounding, that energy spreads to other areas of the game.  They prevent second chance points and fast break baskets by grabbing the rebounds.   Rebounding is effort and the Celtics must put out the effort to win the battle of the boards.   

Be Aggressive - When the Celtics are the more aggressive team they usually win.  They need to be aggressive in going to the basket, in grabbing rebounds, and in hustling after loose balls.  Unfortunately they often come out passively against the worst teams and so they have to make an effort to be aggressive in this one.

Don't Settle for Jumpers- The Celtics won't have a lot of legs left after playing big minutes in the double OT game the night before.  They need to get into the paint and not settle for outside jumpers, especially if their legs aren't there and they aren't going down. 

X-Factor
Fatigue and Mentality
The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and are on the road after a triple overtime game the night before.  This should be an easy game for them,  but fatigue could influence the outcome.  And that brings us to their mentality.   They tend to play down to the teams with the worst records.  They need to come out playing like they are playing the Heat  and if they do, they should get an easy win. 

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2013, 11:13:38 PM »

Offline jdz101

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8 in a row please.  ;D


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Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2013, 11:15:22 PM »

Offline CelticConcourse

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Didn't MKG have that scary head injury?
Jeff Green - Top 5 SF

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Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2013, 11:22:59 PM »

Offline azzenfrost

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I hope they cooled down and got some rest right after the game. Tomorrow's gonna feel like a long night.
I moved the cheese.

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2013, 02:55:06 PM »

Offline GronkSpike

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Celtics on road tonight after winning in 3 OT Sunday; from @EliasSports, last 3 teams to play on road day after winning in 3+ OT have won.

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2013, 03:03:49 PM »

Offline Q_FBE

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Tough spot here for the Celtics. But they are playing with a purpose and I think that they get the job done in a single digit mid eighties win.
The beatings will continue until morale improves

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2013, 03:09:41 PM »

Offline CelticConcourse

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As trap of a game as possible.
Jeff Green - Top 5 SF

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Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2013, 04:37:32 PM »

Offline blink

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Celtics on road tonight after winning in 3 OT Sunday; from @EliasSports, last 3 teams to play on road day after winning in 3+ OT have won.

TP for digging up that little gem of optimism! 

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2013, 04:44:14 PM »

Offline WeMadeIt17

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C's get the W. Avery has a great game

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2013, 04:45:43 PM »

Offline j804

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I wouldn't even be mad if we came out and put up a stinker. I think this team will be up for the challenge though. I'm sure they want to ride into the All Star break on a win streak and yes that means taking out Chicago as well.  :P
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Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2013, 04:57:25 PM »

Offline Donoghus

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The Kemba/Bradley matchup should be fascinating.


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Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2013, 05:19:57 PM »

Online Atzar

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The Kemba/Bradley matchup should be fascinating.

I like the matchup for Bradley, personally.  I see Kemba as a poor man's Lawson.  Both small but quick with a score-first mentality.  Lawson will try to get to the rim more, while Kemba (from what I've seen) seems more content to settle for jumpshots. 

Walker should be easy compared to Lawson last night.

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2013, 05:34:15 PM »

Offline Who

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Didn't MKG have that scary head injury?
Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I didn't know MKG was back playing.

So that turned out to be nothing in the end. If so, that is great news.

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2013, 05:34:45 PM »

Offline Who

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The Kemba/Bradley matchup should be fascinating.

I like the matchup for Bradley, personally.  I see Kemba as a poor man's Lawson.  Both small but quick with a score-first mentality.  Lawson will try to get to the rim more, while Kemba (from what I've seen) seems more content to settle for jumpshots. 

Walker should be easy compared to Lawson last night.

I think Kemba is a poor man's Nate Robinson.

Has no business being a starting PG in this league.

Re: Celtics (27-23) at Bobcats (11-39) 2/11
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2013, 05:37:49 PM »

Offline CelticConcourse

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The Kemba/Bradley matchup should be fascinating.

I like the matchup for Bradley, personally.  I see Kemba as a poor man's Lawson.  Both small but quick with a score-first mentality.  Lawson will try to get to the rim more, while Kemba (from what I've seen) seems more content to settle for jumpshots. 

Walker should be easy compared to Lawson last night.

I think Kemba is a poor man's Nate Robinson.

Has no business being a starting PG in this league.

You obviously haven't watched him this season. :-|
Jeff Green - Top 5 SF

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