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Boston Celtics (4-7) at Houston Rockets (7-4)
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #12, Road Game #7
TV: CSN-NE, CSN-H, League Pass 757(DTV), 756/757(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, KBME, WBZ
Toyota CenterProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Jordan Crawford vs Patrick Beverly
Shooting Guard vs
Avery Bradley vs James Harden
Small Forward vs
Jeff Green vs Chandler Parsons
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass vs Terrence Jones
Center vs
Vitor Faverani vs Dwight Howard
Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Kris Humphries
Kelly Olynyk
Phil Pressey
Courtney Lee
Keith Bogans
Gerald Wallace
Jared Sullinger
Injuries
Rajon Rondo (ACL)out
Reserves
Aaron Brooks
Omer Asik
Jeremy Lynn
Ronnie Brewer
Omri Casspi
Donatas Motiejunas
Francisco Garcia
InjuriesGreg Smith (knee) out
Game Notes The Celtics start yet another back to back set with a stop in Houston to take on the Rockets. The Celtics have lost 3 in a row and are looking to get back on track with a win here as it doesn't get any easier with the Spurs on Wednesday and the Pacers on Friday.
The much improved Rockets have won their last 2 games and are hoping to continue their win streak. The Celtics are 2-4 on the road while the Rockets are 4-2 at home.
With Dwight Howard manning the middle for the Rockets I expect Vitor Faverani to get the nod to start for the Celtics once again.
Don't forget to visit the chatroom during the game and also to tune in to the CLNS Post Game Show directly after the game. See the game thread on the main page for details and links.
Key Matchups vs
Avery Bradley vs James Harden
Harden is always a threat to score and so Avery will need to be at his defensive best to keep him from going off.
vs
Vitor Faverani vs Dwight Howard
Vitor will need to show his muscle to keep Dwight away from the basket where he is most dangerous.
Keys to the Game Defense - The Rockets have the #2 ranked offense in the league. The Celtics defense has been slipping. It's important for them to play tough defense as it will be very difficult to outscore the Rockets high powered offense if they don't.
Take Care of the Ball - After keeping their turnovers down during their 4 game win streak, the Celtics are back to turning the ball over too much. They had 21 turnovers against the Wolves and they must cut that number down.
Rebound - The Rockets are #1 in the league in rebounding with 47.5 per game. The Celtics are 25th with 40.9 rebounds per game. Much of rebounding is effort and energy and the Celtics must show both and crash the boards to keep the Rockets from getting easy points off rebounds.
Effort and Energy-The Celtics simply don't have the talent to beat teams on talent alone. They must win with energy and effort and grit. They have to be the team that wants it more and that works harder for the win.
X-FactorFocus on the RoadThe Celtics are on the road and are in the midst of a tough stretch. They need to keep their focus in order to win despite travel, hostile crowd and fatigue.