at
Boston Celtics (7-12) at Charlotte Bobcats (5-15)
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #20 Road Game #8
TV: CSN-NE, SportSoutn, NBA-LP 750(DTV)/751(XFinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFNZ 610 AM
Time Warner Cable Arena
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Rajon Rondo.....Avery Bradley....Jeff Green....Jared Sullinger....Tyler Zeller
Celtics ReservesPhil Pressey
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Kelly Olynyk
James Young
Gerald Wallace
Marcus Smart
InjuriesVitor Faverani (knee) out
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Kemba Walker....Lance Stephenson....Gerald Henderson....Cody Zeller....Al Jefferson
Hornets Reserves PJ Hairston
Gary Neal
Marvin Williams
Bismack Biyombo
Brian Roberts
Jason Maxiell
Jannero Pargo
Noah Vonleh
Jeff Taylor
Injuries Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (foot) questionable
Game Notes The Celtics continue their 2 game road trip with a visit to Big Al Jefferson and the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets have struggled somewhat this season, notching just 5 wins, but like the Celtics, they play hard and shouldn't be taken lightly. The Bobcats are 4-7 at home while the Celtics are 2-5 on the road.
This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will meet on January 5 and February 27 in Boston and then on March 30 once again in Charlotte. The Celtics won the series last season 2 games to 1.
The Bobcats had lost 10 games in a row before beating the Knicks 103-102 on Friday. They have been off since that game and so should be well rested coming into this game. The Celtics had won 3 games in a row for the first time this season before dropping a tough double OT game to the Wizards on Monday. The starters got a lot of rest in that game as Coach Stevens played his reserves in the 4th quarter and both OT's. Marcus Smart finally seems to be back to normal and had a big game as did Kelly Olynyk and Evan Turner.
Key Matchups 
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Kemba Walker
Rondo sat out much of the second half of the last game while Marcus Smart led the team. He should be ready to play in this one and have plenty to prove. Kemba Walker is averaging 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game and is capable of having a big game at any time if not well defended.
vs
Tyler Zeller vs Al Jefferson
Big Al is averaging 19.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He has become a beast in the paint and Zeller will need to play him tough in order to keep him from having a huge game.
Honorable Mention Jared Sullinger vs Cody Zeller
There will be a Zeller on both sides of this game. Cody is averaging 8.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. We will probably see Sully on Big Al and Tyler matched up with his brother much of the time just because they matchup up better that way.
Keys to the Game Run and Set the Pace - The Celtics must run every time down. They can't walk the ball up and settle for a half court game. When they run, they get easy baskets before the defense sets up. They have to do that on every play.
Rebound - The Celtics can't run and they can't score if they don't have the ball. They must crash the boards as a team and put out the extra effort it takes to get the rebounds.
Defense - Defense is always a key to getting a win. The Celtics have to get stops, especially down the stretch. The Hornets average just 94.2 points per game and the Celtics will need to play tough defense to keep them from having a high scoring game in this one.
Be Aggressive - When the Celtics are aggressive going after loose balls, crashing the boards, defending and taking the ball hard to the hoop, they are very tough to beat. They have to be the more aggressive team and they have to be the team that plays harder.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer. Too often they get themselves into a big hole and then have to expend a lot of energy to come back, or they get a big lead and then give it up. They have to play hard for all 48 minutes.
X-Factors
Rust vs Rest and Road GameThe Hornets are coming into this game off of a 1 point win and have been off since Friday. They can either be well rested or rusty. The Celtics are coming into this game off of a tough 1 point loss and played back to back games including double overtimes in the last one. They could be tired or they could be motivated even more to get a win in this game.
The Hornets are at home and could get a boost from their home crowd. On the other hand, young teams like the Celtics often struggle on the road.
Topic: Celtics (7-12) at Hornets (5-15) Game #20 12/10/14 (Read 43857 times)