Author Topic: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14  (Read 15608 times)

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Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« on: March 20, 2014, 08:56:19 PM »

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Boston Celtics (23-46) at Brooklyn Nets (35-31)
Friday, March 21, 2014
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #70, Road Game #34
TV: CSNNE, YES, NBA-LP 757(DTV), 754(xfinity)
Radio: WZLX 100.7, WFAN
Barclays Center



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard

vs
Rajon Rondo vs Deron Williams

Shooting Guard
vs
Avery Bradley vs Shaun Livingston

Small Forward
vs
Jeff Green vs Joe Johnson

Power Forward

vs
Brandon Bass vs Paul Pierce

Center
vs
Kris Humphries vs Mason Plumlee




Celtics Reserves
Joel Anthony
Chris Johnson
Phil Pressey
Chris Babb
Jared Sullinger
Kelly Olynyk
Jerryd Bayless

Injuries
Keith Bogans (personal) out
Vitor Faverani (knee) out
Gerald Wallace (knee) out


Nets Reserves
Andray Blatche
Mirza Teletovic
Andrei Kirilenko
Marquis Teague
Jason Collins
Alan Anderson
Marcus Thornton

Injuries
Brook Lopez (foot) out
Kevin Garnett (back) out

Game Notes
The Celtics travel to Brooklyn for the 4th and final meeting of the season with Paul Pierce and the Brooklyn Nets.  Brooklyn won the first meeting between these two teams in Brooklyn 104096 and they also won the first meeting in Boston 85-79.  The Celtics won the second meeting in Boston 91-84. 

This will be Rondo's first game in Brooklyn as he missed their first visit there in December.   He averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds in the two games in Boston.   Kevin Garnett has been out for the past month with back spasms and is expected to miss this game.  Paul Pierce has struggled against his former team in the first three games averaging just 6.7 points on 6-24 shooting.

Brooklyn has won 10 straight games at home and have pulled to within 2.5 games of the Raptors for the Atlantic Division lead.  They are the 5th seed and are 2 games behind Chicago for the 4th seed and just 1/2 a game ahead of Washington for the 6th seed.   The Celtics have lost 7 in a row on the road and have moved up to the 6th worst record in the league. 

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Deron Williams
This should be a good matchup between two veteran point guards. Williams has been playing with a lot of confidence lately and is averaging 14.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists this season. Rondo has struggled on the road in recent games, shooting just 27.8% on the road, including 1-17 from beyond the arc. 

vs
Brandon Bass vs Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce has moved to the power forward and has been playing well there. He is averaging 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.  In spite of playing very well at the PF position for the Nets, he has struggled against the Celtics, averaging just 6.7 points on 6-24 shooting in their 3 meetings this season.  This should be an interesting matchup to watch.

Keys to the Game

Defense - The Celtics must play tough team defense in order to get a win on the road.  They were able to clamp down on defense in the second half against the Heat and got the win.  They will need more of the same in this game. 

Rebound- The Celtics must crash the boards to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent second chance baskets for the Nets. The Celtics will need to put out extra effort if they want to win the rebounding battle.

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics need to keep their focus and take care of the basketball. Turnovers lead to easy baskets for the opponents. The Nets are very good at forcing turnovers and so the Celtics have to be very careful not to give them easy opportunities.

Be Aggressive
- The Celtics were aggressive against the Heat, diving for loose balls, driving to the hoop, defending and just playing like they wanted the game more. They need to keep that aggressiveness in this game.

Focus - The Celtics must keep their focus and play through all of the distractions that come with playing on the road. 

X-Factors
Home Court Advantage and Motivation
The Celtics have lost 7 in a row on the road and have won just 8 games on the road this season.  The Nets on the other hand have won their last 11 games at home.  Will these streaks hold up in this one?
The Nets are playing for playoff position while the Celtics are playing for pride.  Which motivation will be stronger?



Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2014, 09:24:06 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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hot diggity!!!! i get to be the very first, #1 poster on the game thread once more!  ;D

celtics will fight hard, shoot poorly, and eventually lose in a noble effort.

goooooo celtics!!


p.s. tp for flc as usual. he deserves every one of them he gets.  :) :)
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
- Vandana Shiva

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2014, 11:31:39 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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hot diggity!!!! i get to be the very first, #1 poster on the game thread once more!  ;D

celtics will fight hard, shoot poorly, and eventually lose in a noble effort.

goooooo celtics!!


p.s. tp for flc as usual. he deserves every one of them he gets.  :) :)

TP !      For making me giggle hard reading your post.

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2014, 11:37:54 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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When you go down the starter list .....we actually matchup pretty close.....if the Good Green shows up ,  this might be a Celtics win ......or Stevens plays Sully and KO big minutes .....this may not be a tank ...but could turn out to be a win.  Rondo and his rookie PF s are starting to click.

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2014, 07:54:29 AM »

Offline cman88

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Nets actually have the best record in the NBA in 2014....i'm expecting/hoping a loss here. we cant afford too many more wins if we want to get a good pick.

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2014, 02:21:20 PM »

Offline LatterDayCelticsfan

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As usual, our BOLD  PREDICTIONS tonight feature, Chris Johnson outshooting Joe Johnson, Rondo hits 5 different guys for alley oops and  Coach BS gets in somebody's head.
Banner 18 please 😍

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2014, 07:36:04 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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Gas station pizza , Green Death Beer , and Celtic BBall......Rondo shirt "on"

Hererrrrrrr we go !

 :)

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2014, 07:38:05 PM »

Offline Celtics18

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This is one of the rare games I can remember over the course of the last five years where there's actually another game on that could end up taking more of my attention than the Celtics.

I'm a Rams fan from way back, so I'm not quite in "Go Friars!!" mode, but it is a big game for my home city and the basketball/sports community here in Providence. 
DKC Seventy-Sixers:

PG: G. Hill/D. Schroder
SG: C. Lee/B. Hield/T. Luwawu
SF:  Giannis/J. Lamb/M. Kuzminskas
PF:  E. Ilyasova/J. Jerebko/R. Christmas
C:    N. Vucevic/K. Olynyk/E. Davis/C. Jefferson

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #8 on: March 21, 2014, 07:44:11 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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Want BAbb on Livingston or Johnson

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2014, 07:46:09 PM »

Offline Vox_Populi

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What happened to protecting the shooters?  :-\

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2014, 07:46:29 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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Bradley lands on Livingston foot

Result

Sprain ankle

Ugh

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2014, 07:46:51 PM »

Offline Chief

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Pierce is about the only pf in the league Bass has an advantage over in the post. I think :-\

This is why you got to let Bradley go. He is just too injury prone.
Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, and you can't do it by loafing around.
 
Larry Bird

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2014, 07:48:35 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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Pierce is about the only pf in the league Bass has an advantage over in the post. I think :-\

This is why you got to let Bradley go. He is just too injury prone.

Yup.....I like BAbb and CJ to ruff up Williams and Livivgston.

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2014, 07:48:45 PM »

Offline Chief

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Man Bass stinks.
Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, and you can't do it by loafing around.
 
Larry Bird

Re: Celtics (23-46) at Nets (35-31) Game#70 3/21/14
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2014, 07:49:10 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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