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Boston Celtics (1-1) at Dallas Mavericks (2-1)
Monday, November 3, 2014
8:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #3 – Road Game #1
TV: CSN-NE, FSSW, NBA-LP 756/757
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 103.3 FM ESPN
American Airlines Center
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Jameer Nelson
Shooting Guard
vs
Avery Bradley vs Monta Ellis
Small Forward 
vs
Jeff Green vs Chandler Parsons
Power Forward 
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Dirk Nowitski
Center 
vs
Kelly Olynyk vs Tyson Chandler
Celtics ReservesPhil Pressey
Marcus Smart
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
James Young
InjuriesVitor Faverani (knee) out
Gerald Wallace (knee) probable
Team Connections Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle played for the Celtics from 1984-87 and was a member of the 1985-86 championship team
Brandon Bass played for the Mavericks from 2007-09
Raymond Felton, Brandan Wright and Tyler Zeller all attended the University of North Carolina
Brandon Bass and Tyson Chandler were teammates in New Orleans during the 2006-07 season… Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace were teammates in Charlotte from 2004-10
Felton and Wallace were also teammates in Charlotte from 2007-10 and in Portland during the 2011-12 season
Mavs ReservesDevin Harris
ALFarouq Aminu
Brandon Wright
JJ Barea
Richard Jefferson
Jae Crowder
Greg Smith
Charlie Villanueva
Ricky Ledo
Injuries Raymond Felton (suspended) out
Game Notes The Celtics will look to bounce back after Saturday's loss to the Rockets and do something that they haven't done in over 20 months, that is to win on the road against a Western Conference team. The Celtics have lost 21 straight games on the road to Western Conference foes, which is the longest active losing streak by any team against the opposing conference. It would be nice to get that monkey off the Celtics backs.
The Mavericks have won 2 of their first 3 games, but they have had their struggles along the way. After leading by an average of 15.7 points at the half in the 3 wins, they have been outscored by a total of 33 points in the third quarters. Hopefully the Celtics can take advantage of the Mavs' 3rd quarter let downs in this game.
Key Matchups vs
Jeff Green vs Chandler Parsons
Parsons is key to the Mavericks' success. He scored just 5 points in the Mavs loss but has averaged 20.5 points in their two wins. Jeff Green will need to slow Parsons down along with finding his own offense.
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Dirk Nowitski
Sullinger was one of the few Celtics who had a good game against Houston, scoring 14 points, pulling down 9 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. He was 0-3 from beyond the arc, but played well in the paint. It will be up to Jared (and Kelly Olynyk) to try to slow down Dirk and Tyson Chandler in this one.
Keys to the Game Rebound - Rebounding is crucial to getting a win. When the Celtics put out the effort to grab rebounds, more often than not, that effort extends to other areas of their game. Rebounding is all in who wants it more and the Celtics have to be the team that wants it more. Hopefully they can do a better job of keeping the Mavs off the boards than they were able to with the Mavs.
Defense - Defense is always crucial to getting a win. Defense wins games is not just a cliche, it is the truth. The Celtics must play tough team defense especially against high scoring teams like the Mavs who average over 109 points per game.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be aggressive in going to the basket and not settling for threes, especially if the 3's aren't falling. They have to be aggressive on defense and in diving for loose balls. They have to be the team to set the pace. In order to win, they have to be the team that plays harder and goes after every rebound and loose ball.
Focus - The Celtics have to keep their focus for all 48 minutes. It's easy to lose focus on the road, especially for a young team, but they can't afford to let up against veteran teams like the Mavs. A bit more focus may help prevent another 4% shooting night from beyond the arc again.
Topic: Celtics (1-1) at Mavericks (2-1) Game #3 11/3/14 (Read 71751 times)