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New York Knicks (4-20) at Boston Celtics (7-13)
Friday, December 12, 2014
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #21, Home Game #13
TV: CSN-NE, MSG, NBA-LP 755(DTV), 753(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN NY 98.7
TD Garden
Probable Starters
Point Guard: Rajon Rondo ---------------- Shooting Guard: Avery Bradley
Center: Tyler Zeller 
Small Forward: Jeff Green ------------------ Power Forward: Jared Sullinger
Celtics ReservesPhil Pressey
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Kelly Olynyk
Gerald Wallace
Marcus Smart
InjuriesVitor Faverani (knee) out
James Young (shoulder) questionable
Probable StartersPG:Iman Shumpert.......................................... SG: Jose Calderon
C: Amare Stoudemire
SF: Tim Hardaway, Jr .......................................... PF: Quincy Acy
Knicks Reserves Shane Larkin
Travis Wear
Pablo Prigioni
Samuel Dalembert
Jason Smith
Cole Aldrich
Injuries Carmelo Anthony (knee) questionable to doubtful
JR Smith (heel) questionable
Cleanthony Early (knee) out
Andrea Bargnani (calf) out
Game Notes The Knicks come to the Garden for the first of 4 meetings between these two division rivals this season. The Celtics are currently in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division while the Knicks, who have been struggling even more than the Celtics, are sitting in the 4th spot. This is pretty sad for the Knicks since they have a pricy payroll and, unlike the Celtics, aren't rebuilding.
The Knicks have particularly struggled on the road with a 1-11 record away from Madison Square Garden. The Celtics are 5-7 at home. These two teams split the series last season. In their final game last season, the Knicks put up 68 points in the first half, hitting everything they tossed up from beyond the arc.
Carmelo Anthony has been struggling with a sore knee and has been a game time decision in his past several games. It's not known at this point whether surgery will be necessary on the knee, but in the meantime, it has been hampering his game. Head coach Derek Fisher is hoping Melo will be able to go in this one but once again, it will be a game time decision.
The Knicks are on a 10 game losing streak and with those losses have come a lot of tension and bickering on the team both on and off the court to the point that Melo threatened to beat up Tim Hardaway Jr during a recent game. This, of course, leads to more bickering and more losses. The Celtics have lost their last 2 games, both on the road, but have not let the losing get to them or destroy their chemistry.
Key Matchups 
vs
Jeff Green vs Tim Hardaway, Jr
With Derek Fisher describing Carmelo Anthony's status as questionable to doubtful, Tim Hardaway will most likely start in his place, as he did on Wednesday, scoring scored 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting. It's always possible that Melo decides to play at the last minute, but even if he does, his minutes will more than likely be limited.
vs
Tyler Zeller vs Amare Stoudemire
Stoudemire leads the Knicks in rebounding with 7.5 per game to go with 13.3 points and 0.9 blocks. He's a step slower than he once was but is still a player that you need to stay with and keep from getting to the rim.
Keys to the Game Defense - Playing tough team defense is the key to winning every game. The Celtics need to concentrate on getting stops and keeping the Knicks' offense off balance.
Set the Pace - The Celtics need to run on every possession from start to finish. It seems that when they run they build leads and outplay the other team. When they slow it down, they fall behind and lose leads. They have to run and set the pace of the game.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics needs to be the more aggressive team. They have to be more aggressive in going after loose balls, in grabbing rebounds, in defending, and in going to the basket. They lacked aggression against the Hornets and lost the game because of it.
Rebound - Much of rebounding is effort and desire and when the Celtics put out the extra effort to win the battle of the boards, they seem to play better overall. They have to grab rebounds to keep the Knicks from getting out on the break and to keep them from getting second chance points.
X-Factors
Home Game and KnicksThe Celtics are back home again and should get a boost from the home crowd. It also helps that the Knicks have been struggling on the road. The Knicks have been struggling and have been having chemistry issues along with some injury problems. All that together could be good news for the Celtics.
Topic: Knicks (4-20) at Celtics (7-13) Game #21 12/12/14 (Read 65239 times)