Hornets (11-24) at Celtics (11-20) Game #32 1/5/15

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Charlotte Hornets (11-24)  at   Boston Celtics (11-20)
Monday, January 5, 2015
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #32 Home Game #19
TV: CSN-NE, SportSoutn, NBA-LP 752(DTV)/752(XFinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFNZ 610 AM
TD Garden 



Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Evan Turner.....Avery Bradley....Jeff Green....Jared Sullinger....Tyler Zeller

Celtics Reserves
Phil Pressey
Brandon Bass
Kelly Olynyk
Gerald Wallace
Marcus Smart
Jae Crowder
Brandan Wright
James Young

Injuries
Marcus Thornton (calf) day to day
Jameer Nelson  (ankle)  day to day




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Kemba Walker....Gerald Henderson....Michael Kidd-Gilchrist....Cody Zeller....Bismack Biyombo

Hornets Reserves
PJ Hairston
Gary Neal
Marvin Williams
Brian Roberts
Jason Maxiell
Noah Vonleh
Jeff Taylor

Injuries
Al Jefferson (groin)  out
Lance Stephenson (pelvic sprain) out
Jannero Pargo (back) questionable

Game Notes
The Celtics and Hornets meet for the second of four matchups this season.  The teams will also face off in Boston on Feb. 27  before closing out the season series in Charlotte on March 30.

The Hornets defeated the Celtics 96 - 87 on Dec. 10 in Charlotte.  In that game, former Celtic Al Jefferson led the Hornets with 23 points and 14 rebounds.  Overall, Big Al is averaging 19.9 points against Boston,  the most he averages against any opponent. 

The Hornets had lost 5 games in a row before beating the Magic in their last game.  The Celtics are coming off two straight losses and have lost 6 of their last 8 games.  The Hornets always seem to give the Celtics a hard time, but they have only won 4 out of the last 18 games in Boston. 

The Hornets are short handed with both Al Jefferson and Lance Stephenson expected to be out.  Jannero Pargo is also listed as questionable.  For the Celtics, Marcus Thornton and Jameer Nelson are both day to day. 

Key Matchups
  vs 
Evan Turner vs Kemba Walker
The last time these two teams met, Kemba Walker was matched with Rajon Rondo.  Rondo finished with a triple double (12pts, 10reb, 10 ast) while Walker finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists 3 steals and most importantly, the win.  Evan Turner is coming off a big game against the Bulls with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists and hopefully can match that play in this one.  Walker is averaging 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals for the season.

  vs 
Jeff Green vs Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Jeff Green leads the Celtics with 18.2 points per game, but he's in a little slump and has  averaged just 11.7 points on 33.3 percent shooting in the last three.  Kidd-Gilchrist is averaging 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists for the year.   It would be a good time for Green to break out of his slump. 

Players to Watch
  vs 
Tyler Zeller vs Cody Zeller
It’s not so rare for sets of brothers to play in the NBA, but in the case of Cody and Tyler Zeller, both are starters early in their careers.   They aren't matched up against each other as such because Tyler is playing center and Cody is playing power forward, but it's always fun to watch siblings go at each other. 

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 95.1 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.

Move the Ball but Limit Turnovers -  The Celtics must move the ball and find the open man.  They struggle to score when the ball stops moving.  At the same time, they have to limit turnovers.  They give away way too many points by making careless passes and by losing focus. 

X-Factors
Home Game and Officiating
The Celtics will be home and so should get a boost from the home crowd.   Hopefully this game will be better officiated than their last one.  It's hard to win a game when the opponent shoots 29 more free throws in spite of both teams being aggressive and going to the hoop.   

[Nerf DPOY]

TP FLCF! I'm going to be there up in the balcony. I was hoping to see Big Al and I probably still will, he'll just be in a suit.

[FLCeltsFan]

Thanks Nerf DPOY and TP to you for being the first to post in the game thread!   Have fun at the game and cheer extra loud!   Hopefully Big Al traveled with the team. 

[hwangjini_1]

Thanks FLC. Another great thread for another great victory.

Gooooo celtics!

[goCeltics]

getting close to the bottom five need another loss

[cb8883]

Hornets need to come through here. Then again the way Green is playing he seems to have bought into the correct approach. At the same time I would like to see less sulking out of Uncle Jeff.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

LET'S GO CELTICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[slamtheking]

TP FL  -- great job as always

[Surferdad]

Thanks FLC. Another great thread for another great victory.

Gooooo celtics!

Yes but the problem is the Celtics don't deserve FLC.

I have zero expectations for this team for the rest of this season.

[sh_touttahere]

getting close to the bottom five need another loss

you make me sick

[Clench123]

Is it too early to be rooting for tanking?

[Neurotic Guy]

getting close to the bottom five need another loss

you make me sick

Everyone here understands the point, but it's been standard procedure here that rooting for losses stays out of game threads.   

Everyone has a right to their opinion and opposing team fans should be welcome to participate in the game threads, but C's fans rooting for losses, while understandable in context, should use a different thread for that opnion.   

Hope it's OK as a non-moderator to express this.

 

[The_Truth]

Is Young still in Maine?

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Young is active.

[jpotter33]

Good start for Green. Up that trade value baby!