Suns (5-5) at Celtics (3-5) Game #9 11/17/14

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Phoenix Suns (5-5) at Boston Celtics (3-5)
Monday, November 17 2014
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #9, Home Game #6
TV: CSN-NE,FSAZ, NBA-LP 753(DTV); 755/756(Xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub,  98.7 AZ Sports
TD Garden


Probable Starters

PG Rajon Rondo....... SG: Avery Bradley

C: Kelly Olynyk

SG: Jeff Green ....... PF: Jared Sullinger

Celtics Reserves
Phil Pressey
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
James Young
Gerald Wallace

Injuries
Vitor Faverani (knee) out
Marcus Smart (ankle) out




Probable Starters

PG: Eric Bledsoe .......... SG: Goran Dragic

C: Miles Plumlee

SF: Marcus Morris ...........  PF: Markieff Morris

Suns Reserves
Alex Len
PJ Tucker
Anthony Tolliver
Isaiah Thomas
Gerald Green
Zoran Dragic
Shavlik Randolph
Archie Goodwin
Tyler Ennis
TJ Warren

Game Notes
The run and gun Phoenix Suns make their only visit to the Garden for this game.  Suns coach Jeff Hornacek has the Suns playing well in a fast paced offense, just as Celtics coach Brad Stevens has the Celtics playing well in his fast paced system.   This is the second game of a 6 game road trip for the Suns.  They opened the trip with a loss to the Clippers on Saturday. 

Against the Clippers, the Suns played well in the first half, playing to a 54-54 tie at the half.  They were then out-scored 42-20 in the third quarter and lost the game 120-107.  That sounds a little like the Celtics in their last 2 games.  Both teams have lost two in a row and will be looking to get back on track with a win in this one.

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Eric Bledsoe
Rondo is coming off a tough matchup with Kyrie Irving and Bledsoe is coming off a tough matchup with Chris Paul.  Both point guards will be looking to get their teams back on the winning track and so this will be a good matchup of two competitive point guards.  Bledsoe is averaging 13.3 points, 5.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

  vs 
Jared Sullinger vs Markieff Morris
Morris is averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals a game.  Jared has been playing very well and has averaged 17.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in his past four home games. 

Honorable Mention
Evan Turner vs Gerald Green
Finally,  years after being the Celtics with the 18th pick in the 2005 draft, and after years of bouncing around the league,  Russia and the D-League, Gerald Green  is finally getting it, and has been playing very well off the bench for the Suns.  He can still jump out of the gym and so expect a spectacular dunk or two in the game if Evan Turner can't contain him. 

Keys to the Game
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have been getting off to great starts and building leads but can't seem to close the game out.  They need to keep their focus from the opening tip to the final buzzer and continue to play hard.  No let ups! 

Run, Run, Run! -  The Suns are a running team and are 2nd in the league in fast break points with 17.3.  If the Celtics want to keep up with them, they are going to need to run as well.  This could be a fun game to watch.

Defense - Defense is always a key to winning.  The Celtics will need to play tough team defense if they want to slow down the fast paced Suns offense.  The Celtics rank near the bottom in points allowed,  FG% allowed and 3 point FG% allowed.  They need to correct this and make defense a priority if they want to get some wins.  You can't win without defense.

Rebound - The Celtics need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Suns from racking up fast break points.  They also have to crash the boards on the defensive end to prevent the Suns from getting second chance points and to give themselves fast break opportunities. 

X-Factors
Consistency and Home Court
These are two teams that like to push the pace but who also tend to slack off during games and stop doing what works.   The team that is the most consistent in playing their game and that doesn't let up will get the win.   

The Celtics are playing at home and need to get a boost from the home crowd.  If they can feed off the crowd, it may get them over the hump and help them close out the game. 

[slamtheking]

first one in again.  TP to you FL for a splendid job as always

[FLCeltsFan]

Thanks slamtheking! and TP back at ya for being first to post in the thread!   This should be a fun game to watch. 

[slamtheking]

should be a lot of offense in this one FL.  it'll seem like an 80's Nuggets or Spurs game

[hwangjini_1]

first one in again.  TP to you FL for a splendid job as always

and tps to both you and flc. i love your gerbil. 

the boston gerbils will run like crazy in this game, scoring at will and pulling out a hard fought victory.

goooooooo gerbils celtics!

[slamtheking]

first one in again.  TP to you FL for a splendid job as always

and tps to both you and flc. i love your gerbil. 

the boston gerbils will run like crazy in this game, scoring at will and pulling out a hard fought victory.

goooooooo gerbils celtics!

TBH, it's a hamster.

if I was a deep thinker, I'd say he's symbolic of the way this team runs constantly like a hamster on his wheel.  but, I'm not a deep thinker

[hwangjini_1]

first one in again.  TP to you FL for a splendid job as always

and tps to both you and flc. i love your gerbil. 

the boston gerbils will run like crazy in this game, scoring at will and pulling out a hard fought victory.

goooooooo gerbils celtics!

TBH, it's a hamster.

if I was a deep thinker, I'd say he's symbolic of the way this team runs constantly like a hamster on his wheel.  but, I'm not a deep thinker

first one in again.  TP to you FL for a splendid job as always

and tps to both you and flc. i love your gerbil hamster. 

the boston gerbils hamsters will run like crazy in this game, scoring at will and pulling out a hard fought victory.

goooooooo gerbils hamsters celtics!

[OhioGreen]

Hate to say it, but this game looks like a nightmare! We have just been completely toasted game after game by quick, scoring point guards(Lowry, Brooks, Jackson, and Irving), and now we go against a team with THREE of them!!  We'll do some scoring, but I think it'll be something like 123-105.

[GratefulCs]

Really wish we had smart for this one (obviously). Would have loved to see both teams go with the three guard  lineup.     

[OhioGreen]

Really wish we had smart for this one (obviously). Would have loved to see both teams go with the three guard  lineup.     

Me too!
It's kind of funny----Marcus, now, is what AB used to be.  AB, now, is what Rondo used to be, and Rondo, now, is what great defensive point guards level out to when they've been in the league a few years.  Not too many keep up the tenacity over the years!

[Beat LA]

Random question - does anyone else think that Lester Hudson might be Eric Bledsoe's brother from another mother?   The facial resemblance is uncanny, imo.

[timobusa]

Bold Prediction
Rondo triple double

[Who]

I don't think Celtics defense fares well when facing an opponent who can force one of the Celtics bigs have to defend out on the perimeter. Not so much because defending the perimeter is a problem but because it leaves someone like Sully who is ill-equipped to be a shot-blocker to protect the paint by himself.

Worried about how well Phoenix can expose Boston's defense.

[KeepRondo]

4-5 here we come.

[SHAQATTACK]

As usual well be undersized and give up the lane ....carved up.