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Indiana Pacers (22-16) at Boston Celtics (19-19)
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #39, Home Game #20
TV: ESPN, CSNNE, FSI, TSN1/3
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 1070 The Fan
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs George Hill
Shooting Guard 
vs
Avery Bradley vs Monta Ellis
Small Forward 
vs
Jae Crowder vs Paul George
Power Forward 
vs
Amir Johnson vs Lavoy Allen
Center
vs
Kelly Olynyk vs Ian Mahinmi
Celtics Reserves Evan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Jared Sullinger
Marcus Smart
Head CoachBrad Stevens
InjuriesNone
Pacers Reserves CJ Miles
Chase Budinger
Rakeem Christmas
Jordan Hill
Solomon Hill
Rodney Stuckey
Miles Turner
Shayne Whittington
Joe Young
Head CoachFrank Vogel
InjuriesNone
Game Notes The Celtics return home from their 3 game road trip to face the Indiana Pacers. This is the 3rd of 4 games between these two teams this season. The Celtics lost the first two games in the series, one in Indiana and one in Boston. They will meet one more time in Indiana on March 15.
Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games. The Celtics are 5-3 this season in the second of back to back games and 2-1 in Road/Home back to backs. The Pacers are 2-5 in the second of back to back games this season and 0-3 when the second game is on the road. Neither team is reporting players out with injuries. This is the first game between them with everyone healthy.
The Celtics are coming off a tough loss to the Knicks and have lost 4 in a row. The Pacers are coming off a big win over the Suns at home and are looking for their second straight win. The Pacers are in the 5th spot in the East. The loss to the Knicks moved the Celtics down to 10th, a game behind the Magic, who are in 8th.
Key Matchups vs
Jae Crowder vs Paul George
George is the star of this Pacers team and is playing the best basketball of his career this season. He is averaging 24.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The Pacers move him to power forward in small ball lineups and that causes mismatches for many teams. Jae will get the task of trying to keep him from having a big game at either the 3 or the 4. He led the Pacers in both of the games between these two teams with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs George Hill
Hill has a height advantage over Isaiah Thomas, but then again, who doesn't? Hill is averaging 12.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc. Isaiah will need to out-quick him in order to get the better of this matchup.
Honorable Mention Avery Bradley vs Monta Ellis
Ellis is averaging 13.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is capable of putting up big numbers in any game if not defended well.
Keys to the Game Focus on Offense - The Celtics biggest problem in their losses has been the inability of anyone to hit their shots on a regular basis. The Celtics finally seemed to get their offense on track in the first half vs the Grizzlies and then reverted back to missing everything in the second half. They shot much better against the Knicks but have to do that consistently. They need to keep their focus, move the ball, and find the open man on offense with everyone making their shots. If the 3 pointers aren't falling yet again, they need to take the ball inside to get easier shots.
Rebound - Especially if either team is struggling to make shots, the Celtics must crash the boards. They can't score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part to grab the rebounds. However, in their first 2 meetings, the Pacers out-rebounded the Celtics. The Celtics have to crash the boards and should not allow that to happen again.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be aggressive on defense, in going after loose balls, crashing the boards, and just going all out on every play. They have to aggressively attack the basket. It will be most important to start the game with that aggressive attitude and then be aggressive through the whole game with no let up. The more aggressive team will usually get the benefit of the doubt from the refs as well.
Play Defense - Defense wins games. The Celtics have to guard the perimeter as well as in the paint because the Pacers have players who can be dangerous from both the perimeter and in the paint. Indiana is holding opponents to 98 points and have consistently played tough defense. The Celtics allowed the Knicks to shoot 53% and 35% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must do better on the defensive end.
X-Factors Back to Back - While this might be a problem for some teams, the Celtics have been playing well in back to back games. Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games and so the Celtics' depth may be a plus for them in this game.
Revenge Factor - The Celtics have lost to this team twice this season already. Can they use the home court to their advantage along with the desire to get back on track to avenge their earlier losses?
Officiating- As I have said every game, officiating is always an x-factor. Will the refs let them play or call every little ticky tack foul? Will they call it even or favor one of the teams? Will they even be competent in making the calls? The officiating is always like Forrest Gump's box of candy. You never know what you are going to get.
Topic: Pacers (22-16) at Celtics (19-19) Game #39 1/13/16 (Read 30177 times)