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Boston Celtics (5-4) at Houston Rockets (4-5)
Monday, November 16, 2015
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #10, Road Game #4
TV: CSN-NE, ROOT, League Pass 754(DTV)/755(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 790 AM KBME
Toyota Center
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
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Marcus Smart vs Ty Lawson
Shooting Guard 
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Avery Bradley vs James Harden
Small Forward 
vs
Jae Crowder vs Trevor Ariza
Power Forward
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Amir Johnson vs Terrence Jones
Center
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Jared Sullinger vs Dwight Howard
Reserves Evan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Jordan Mickey (D-League)
Terry Rozier (D-League)
James Young (D-League)
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk
Head CoachBrad Stevens
InjuriesNone
ReservesMarcus Thornton
Clint Capela
Corey Brewer
Jason Terry
KJ McDaniels (D-League)
Head CoachKevin McHale
Injuries Montrezl Harrell (ankle) day to day
Patrick Beverly (concussion) out
Sam Dekker (back) out
Donatas Motiejunas (back) out
Game Notes The Celtics continue their road trip out West with a visit to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have won the last 4 meetings between these two teams and the last 4 at home. But then again, the Celtics haven't beaten the Thunder since 2010. The Rockets last played on Saturday when they lost to the Mavericks 110-98. The Celtics are playing in back to back games, after a big win in OKC on Sunday.
The Rockets are playing a bit short handed but they do have at least 2 superstars in Harden and Howard who will be playing. This is the second back to back set of the season. Last season, the Celtics were very good on the second night of back to backs, winning 13 and losing only 5 on the second night. They lost the second game of their first back to back set against Indiana and will be looking to get a win in this one.
As far as stats are concerned, these teams aren't all that far away from each other. The Rockets are averaging 101.4 points per game while the Celtics are just a bit better at 101.8 points per game. The Celtics (44.6) average 1.3 rebounds more than the Rockets (43.3). And the Rockets turn the ball over 16.1 times per game compared to 15.7 turnovers for the Celtics.
Key Matchups 
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Avery Bradley vs James Harden
James Harden is averaging 28.8 points (more than 1/4 of the Rockets' points, along with 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals. It will be up to Avery Bradley as well as Marcus Smart to slow Harden down. Harden is also not known for playing great defense and so the Celtics may be able to take advantage of that if Bradley, Smart or Thomas can get hot.
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Jared Sullinger vs Dwight Howard
Jared Sullinger will be tasked with trying to stop the Rockets' big man. Howard can be a handful inside and one of the keys to guarding him is to push him out away from his comfort zone. Another key to this matchup is the fact that the outside shooting of the Celtics big men will draw Howard out from the paint on the other end.
Honorable Mention Isaiah Thomas vs Marcus Thornton
These two players were traded for each other last season and the matchup between the two should be interesting. Thornton has been playing well for the Rockets with 15.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.57 steals per game.
Keys to the Game Depth - Since the Celtics are playing in back to back games, their depth is going to be a key in this game. The second unit has to play well and they have to spread the minutes out so as not to run out of gas before the end of the game.
Pace - Brad Stevens' system depends on the Celtics to run and set the pace of the game. The Rockets depend on getting a lot from their starters and they are also a bit short handed and so if the Celtics can run and push the pace they may be able to wear them out. They also have to move the ball and find the open man to keep the Rockets from setting up their defenses.
Rebound - In order to score, the Celtics need the ball and to get the ball, they will need to crash the boards as a team. They can't allow Dwight Howard to have a big game on the boards, which will limit the Celtics fast breaks as well as their second chance points. When the Celtics put out extra effort on the boards, it usually carries over into the rest of their game just as it did against the Hawks and the Thunder.
Defense - Defense is always a key to every game. Defense wins games. The Celtics need to play tough team defense and limit the Rockets' scoring.
X-Factors Back to Back on the Road - The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games on the road. This is a tough game to win in a hostile environment and after a very tough game the night before in OKC.
Momentum - The Celtics are coming off a great win over the Thunder in which they played excellent defense and out-rebounded them by 13 and dominated the paint. They need to carry that mindset and momentum from that game into this one.
Topic: Celtics (5-4) at Rockets (4-5) Game #10 11/16/15 (Read 37607 times)