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Orlando Magic (10-17) at Boston Celtics (8-14)
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #23, Home Game #14
TV: CSNNE, FSFL, NBA-LP 754(DTV), 754(Xfinity)
Radio: WZLX 100.7 FM, ESPN 580 AM
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Victor Oladipo
Shooting Guard 
vs
Avery Bradley vs Evan Fournier
Small Forward 
vs
Jeff Green vs Tobias Harris
Power Forward 
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Channing Frye
Center
vs
Tyler Zeller vs Nikola Vucevic
Celtics Reserves Phil Pressey
Evan Turner
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
Gerald Wallace
InjuriesVitor Faverani (knee) out
Marcus Thornton (calf) out
Marcus Smart (Achilles) -doubtful
James Young (shoulder) out
Magic Reserves Ben Gordon
Elfrid Payton
Maurice Harkless
Kyle O'Quinn
Dewayne Dedmon
Willie Green
Andrew Nicholson
Luke Ridnour
Devyn Marble
Injuries Aaron Gordon (foot) out
Game Notes The Orlando Magic visit the Celtics for the first of 4 meetings between these two teams. They will meet again on December 23 in Orlando and then on March 8 in Orlando and on March 13 in Boston. Both teams are 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Celtics are 5-8 at home while the Magic are 7-11 on the road.
The Celtics have won 12 of the last 13 meetings between these two teams and they have won the last 7 games in Boston. Boston comes into this game off of a 105-87 win over the Sixers while the Magic come into the game off of a 95-82 loss to the Raptors.
The Magic average only 92.3 points per game on the road while the Celtics allow 105.2 points per game at home. This should be an interesting game to see which of these trends, if any, will hold in this game.
Other than rookie Aaron Gordon, the Magic are mostly healthy. The Celtics, on the other hand have been struggling with injuries. Marcus Thornton, James Young, and Vitor Faverani are out. They hoped to get Marcus Smart back for this one, but he was unable to complete practice on Tuesday and is doubtful for this one.
Key Matchups vs
Tyler Zeller vs Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is averaging 18 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He is an interior defender as well as a force on offense in the paint. Zeller will have his hands full trying to contain him. The Celtics won't have it easy when getting into the paint unless Zeller can move him away from the basket.
vs
Jeff Green vs Tobias Harris
Harris is averaging 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game and has been playing very well. Jeff Green will need to be active on both ends of the court to counter Harris' effectiveness.
Honorable Mention Rajon Rondo vs Victor Oladipo
Last year's rookie of the year runner up has been playing very well this season averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals a game. Coach Stevens has been calling for Rondo to be more aggressive, and this would be a good time for him to break out a more aggressive game.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense wins games pure and simple. Unfortunately this has been where the Celtics have struggled the most, allowing teams to score 106.5 points, which is 3rd worst in the league. They have to somehow figure out a way to get stops, especially late in games.
Rebound - The Celtics have to crash the boards in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to prevent the Magic from getting second chance points and fast breaks.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have had lapses in each of their losses. They have either fallen behind and then had to catch up or got off to a big lead and then let up and lost it. They have to focus and play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer with no let up!
Pace and Space - The Celtics must set the pace and run on every possession. It seems that they run to start most games and build a lead or hang with teams but then they slow it down and walk the ball up the court and no longer keep up the pace or the lead.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team. They must be the first to loose balls and rebounds, and they have to be aggressive in driving to the basket and not always settling for jumpers. They must be aggressive on defense and set the tone for the game. Kelly Olynyk showed what aggressiveness can do in the last game vs the Sixers and the other Celtics need to take their cue from that and be aggressive on both ends of the court in this one.
X-Factors At Home and Effort The Celtics should get a boost from playing at home. The Magic have not been awful on the road and so the Celtics have to take them seriously and play with effort. If they put out the effort on both ends of the court, they should be able to get a win in this one.
Topic: Magic (10-17) at Celtics (8-14) Game #23 12/17/14 (Read 50243 times)