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Boston Celtics (1-4) at Orlando Magic (3-2)
Friday, November 8, 2013
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #6, Road Game #4
TV: CSNNE, FS Florida, NBA LP 752(DTV), 511, 751(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WBZ, WDBO
Amway CenterProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Jordan Crawford 9.2 PPG, 2 RPG, 3 APG
Jameer Nelson 12.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 6.6 APG
Shooting Guard vs
Avery Bradley 10.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.6 APG
Arron Afflalo 18.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.6 APG
Small Forward vs
Jeff Green 17.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.0 APG
Maurice Harkless 10.4 PPG, 3 RPG, 0.4 APG
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass 13.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.0 APG
Jason Maxiell 3.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.0 APG
Center vs
Vitor Faverani 7.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.8 APG
Nikola Vucevic 17.8 PPG, 13.2 RPG, 2.6 APG
Celtics Reserves Celtics Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Kris Humphries
Kelly Olynyk
Phil Pressey
Jared Sullinger
Courtney Lee
Phil Pressey
Keith Bogans
Gerald Wallace
InjuriesRajon Rondo (ACL)out
Magic Reserves Victor Oladipo
E'Twaun Moore
Andrew Nicholson
Kyle O'Quinn
Doron Lamb
Ronnie Price
Hedo Turkoglu
InjuriesGlen Davis (foot) out
Tobias Harris (ankle) out
Solomon Jones (meniscus) out
Game NotesAfter being at home for one game, the Celtics head back out on the road for a back to back set in Florida. First up are the surprising Magic. The Celtics would do well not to take this team lightly. The Magic are coming off a big win over the Clippers
The Celtics finally got their first win of the season after shuffling the starting lineup and rotation. I would expect Jordan Crawford will once again start at the point with Gerald Wallace coming off the bench.
The Celtics have won 8 in a row against the Magic. But these teams have gone in opposite directions since they last played. The Celtics are without 4 of their top 5 scorers including the heart and soul of that team.
The Magic, on the other hand, have returned five of their top six scorers from last season and that continuity has appeared to pay off. Orlando (3-2) is averaging 103.4 points this season - 9.3 more than in 2012-13 - and has produced 107.5 per game over its last four contests.
The Celtics are one of the least offensive teams in the league, averaging just 89.4 points per game. However, the Celtics have made up for their low output by playing some tough defense, allowing only 93.4 per game.
Key Matchups vs
Avery Bradley vs Arron Afflalo
Afflalo is the Magic's leading scorer averaging 18.8 points per game. Avery's defense will be needed to slow Afflalo down.
vs
Vucevic is one of the up and coming young centers in the league. He is averaging 17.8 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. It will fall on Vitor and Kelly Olynyk to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.
Keys to the Game Rebound - The Magic are #1 in the league in rebounding, pulling down 48.4 per game. The Celtics are going to have to work hard to get rebounds to give themselves a chance at winning this game.
Limit Turnovers - The Celtics are 3rd in the league in turnovers with 19.8 per game. They cut their turnovers to 14 in their win over the Jazz and need to keep them down again in this game.
Run, Run, Run - The Celtics have shown that when they run, they are capable of playing very well, and they need to run the ball up the court before the Magic's defenses can get set up.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have yet to put together a complete game. In all 5 of their games, they have had a spurt where they slowed the game down and stopped playing their game. They need to play for 48 minutes and not let up.
X-Factors
On the Road and Rotations Young teams often have problems keeping their focus on the road. The Celtics will have to work to keep their focus and play their game in spite of the hostile crowd.
Brad Stevens seemed to hit on a rotation that worked for the most part in the last game. Will he keep the same rotation or change it up again?