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Boston Celtics (19-13) at Cleveland Cavaliers (23-7)
Thursday, December 29, 2016
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #33, Road Game #20
TV: TNT
Radio: 100.7 WZLX, 87.7 WTAM
Quicken Loans Arena
Probable Starters 
PG: Isaiah Thomas ........................................ SG: Avery Bradley
C: Amir Johnson
SF: Jae Crowder ............................................ PF: Al Horford
Celtics Reserves Jaylen Brown
Gerald Green
Demetrius Jackson
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jonas Jerebko
Kelly Olynyk
Injuries None
Head Coach Brad Stevens
Probable Starters 
PG: Kyrie Irving ................ SG: DeAndre Liggins
C: Tristan Thompson
SF: LeBron James................. PF: Kevin Love
Cavs ReservesMike Dunleavy
Kay Felder
Channing Frye
Richard Jefferson
James Jones
DeAndre Liggins
Jordan McRae
Iman Shumpert
Injuries Mo Williams (NWT) out
Chris Andersen (knee) out
JR Smith (thumb) out
Head Coach Tyron Lue
Game Notes After one game at home, the Celtics are back on the road to take on the defending champion Cavaliers. This is the second of four meetings between these two teams this season. The Cavs won the first meeting 128-122. The Cavs were at full strength in that game while the Celtics were without Kelly Olynyk, Jae Crowder and Al Horford. Jaylen Brown and Tyler Zeller started that game for the Celtics.
The Celtics are playing in the first game of back to backs with the Miami Heat waiting for them at home on Friday. The Celtics are 5-1 overall in the first game of back to back sets. The Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 games while the Cavs are 8-2 in their last 10. The Celtics are 12-7 on the road while the Cavs are an impressive 16-2 at home.
the Cavs have won 7 of their last 8 games and are a perfect 9-0 against Atlantic Division teams. The Cavs have also won 7 straight at home. The Celtics have no injuries listed this time. JR Smith (thumb), Chris Andersen (knee), and Mo Williams (not with the team) are out.
Key Matchups vs
Jae Crowder vs LeBron James
James is averaging 25.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 8.6 assists. Jae has been effective against LeBron in the past and hopefully he can slow him down in this game. In 43 games vs the Celtics, James has averaged 29.7 points, his highest average against any team. He scored 30 points in the first meeting between these two teams.
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Kyrie Irving
Irving is averaging 23.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists and LeBron has been touting his chances of being named MVP this year. He certainly has started off strong. The Cavs have so many weapons it will be tough to stop them all and Isaiah will get help from Avery and Marcus to keep Kyrie from having a huge game.
Honorable Mention Al Horford vs Kevin Love
Love has settled into his role on the Cavs very nicely. He is averaging 21.7 points, and 10.8 rebounds. Love is the only player in the East averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds on the season. He had 26 points and 8 rebounds in their first meeting and shot 50% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is key to winning every game. The Celtics must concentrate on getting stops and keeping the Cavaliers from scoring at will. The Cavs are averaging 110.1 points per game but that increases to 114.5 points per game at home. The Celtics must play lock down defense and keep the hot shooting Cavs from scoring at will.
Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball. They must crash the boards as a team to prevent the Cavs from getting second chance and fast break points. They also need to rebound to give themselves extra possessions and to fuel their running game. The Cavs are averaging slightly more rebounds (44.4) than the Celtics (42.0) and the Celtics will need to put extra effort into beating the Cavs to the rebounds in this one.
Run, Run, Run - The Celtics need to run on every possession in order to get some easy points before the Cavs defense sets up. When the Celtics walk the ball up and slow the game down they struggle. They have to run and they have to move the ball. The Cavs are a good defensive team and so the Celtics need to try to beat their defense up the court.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to beat the Cavs to every loose ball and win the 50/50 plays. They have to be aggressive on the boards and in driving into the paint and to the basket. They have to be the team that works harder and the team that wants it more.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to play hard from the opening tip to the final buzzer. They can't afford to let the Cavs get a big lead because the Cavs are a very good defensive team and it won't be easy to dig out of a hole against them. They also can't let the Cavs back in it if they can manage to build a lead. They must play all out for all 48 minutes.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics are playing once again on the road. They have played well on the road in recent games and they hopefully can continue that trend in this game. They must block out the distractions of playing on the road and focus on the task of winning the basketball game.
Officiating - As always, the officiating is an x-factor. Every crew officiates differently and teams never know what to expect. Sometimes they let them play and other times they call a foul on every possession. Some games they call evenly and others they favor one team or the other. It's like Forrest Gump's box of chocolate... you never know what you are going to get. In most games against the Cavs, however, the Cavs seem to get the benefit of way too many calls.
Topic: Celtics (19-13) at Cavaliers (23-7) Game #33 12/29/16 (Read 59640 times)