Celtics Visit Cavs for a Matinee Game
by FLCeltsFan on Mar 14, 2010 1:22 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics Games
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PrintBoston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers, Mar 14, 2010 3:30 PM EDT
at 
(51-15)Boston Celtics (41-23) at Cleveland Cavaliers (51-15)
Sunday, March 14
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #65, Road Game #34
TV: ABC
Radio: ESPNR, WTAM, WEEI
Quicken Loans Arena
Game Thread l Chat
The Celtics have recently lost games they should have easily won and they were booed off their home court after a lackluster effort against the Grizlies. With their pride on the line, they came through with a blowout win over the Pacers on Friday. That was a good start, but still, that was just the Pacers. The Celtics need to show that they are still a contender by beating a top team and in this game they have that chance.
On opening night, the Celtics got their first win in Cleveland since 2004. The Cavs returned the favor on the Celtics home court in February with a come from behind 20 point victory over the Celtics who were playing without Paul Pierce. Last season, the Cavs danced on the sidelines and taunted the Celtics in a win at the Q. The Celtics have to be motivated for this game if they have any pride at all.
The Cavs haven't faltered very much this season. They have the best record in the league and even with LeBron sitting out 3 games and with both Shaq and Jamison both out and Ilgauskas unable to return to the team yet they still have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Celtics, on the other hand, with everyone healthy, are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Cavs are tough to beat on their home court with a 28-4 record While the Celtics are 28-11 on the road.
Antawn Jamison has been out with a knee injury and will be a game time decision. He has said that he is targeting this game to return to the lineup. If he is unable to go, Leon Powe will probably get the start once again. With Shaq still sidelined with the thumb injury, courtesy of Big Baby, JJ Hickson has been starting at center with Varejao coming off the bench.
In their last game against the Pacers, the Celtics finally blew out a team that they should have blown out. They were finally moving the ball, grabbing rebounds, playing as a team, and playing with energy. If they carry that mentality and focus over to this game, they have a good chance of winning. But if they go back to their lackluster play of the previous games, then it will be another long night.
Point Guard
vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Mo Williams
Shooting Guard
vs 
Ray Allen vs Anthony Parker
Small Forward
vs 
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
Power Forward
vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Antawn Jamison
Center
vs 
Kendrick Perkins vs JJ Hickson
Key Matchups
vs
Paul Pierce vs LeBron James
This is one of the premiere matchups in the league. Playing LeBron seems to bring out the best in Pierce and he covers LeBron about as well as anyone in the league, when he is healthy, that is. Pierce seemed to shake off whatever had been bothering him with a good game against the Pacers. Let's hope that he continues his aggressive play in this game.
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Mo Williams
The Celtics success depends a great deal on Rondo. In the last meeting between these two, Rondo was aggressive in the first half, helping the Celtics to build a lead. In the second half, Rondo allowed Williams to get hot while cooling off himself, which led to a big loss for the Celtics. Rondo needs to keep Williams from getting hot, especially from beyond the arc. At the same time, he needs to be aggressive in running the Celtics offense.
Honorable Mention
Kevin Garnett vs Antawn Jamison
Jamison has been out with a cyst behind his knee and has targeted this game to return, but it will probably be a game time decision. Leon started in the last game and is listed as the starter in this game as well. KG is familiar with Leon's game and vice versa but KG would have a height advantage and should be able to get his shot off over Leon. Hopefully if Jamison does return, KG can take advantage of any rust he may have from the injury.
Keys to the Game
Defense -The Celtics are capable of playing lock down defense but they have rarely done so this season. If they hope to win this game, they have to commit to 48 minutes of tough defense.
Energy - The Celtics can't hope to sleepwalk through this game and pull out a win. They need to come out with energy and play with energy for 48 minutes.
Move the Ball - When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man, the offense hits on all cylinders. When the offense gets stagnant and players try to do too much on their own, then we lose to teams like the Nets and Grizzlies.
Rebound - The Celtics can rebound when they put out the effort to do so. They can't win if they allow teams to get twice as many rebounds as they do. Crashing the boards will prevent easy put backs and fast break points by the Cavs.
X-Factor
Who wants it more?
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Will the real Celtics please stand up?
For better or worse, this game will tell us if the C’s are capable of competing with the best regular season team in the league…
by nba is the worst on Mar 14, 2010 10:52 AM EDT reply actions
if we win this game i'll clear those doubts in my mind.
"Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." - Vince Lombardi
this game in itself tells you nothing
unless the frontrunner cavs blow us out by 25….I find the upcoming weeks series of games very interesting to see where green team is trending
malcontents....the lot of you
i'm less concerned with whether we win
than that we play Celtics basketball for 48 minutes.
I want them to create / take high efficient shots on offense – not first pass chuckups.
I want them hustling back on defense and to not allow cheap baskets.
I don’t want them too focused on Lebron. I want them to take away his teammates and make Lebron win it all by himself. If he does, more credit to him. But last time we played his support cast is what killed us.
I’m less concerned with whether we can win than that we play Celtics basketball for 48 minutes
Well said. This is my mindset for every Celtics game right now.
I want to see them put together some good performances. Results aren’t overly important. I want to see them begin ramping it up for the playoffs. Start coming together and getting back to their best performance.
Trend is clear for awhile now
Celts beat teams with losing records and lose to teams with winning records.
Sunday afternoon games are generally not kind to the C’s…
by nba is the worst on Mar 14, 2010 12:31 PM EDT reply actions
apparently the real Billy Walker is standing up
He went for 23 last night against a very good team…..Thanks Danny and Doc for not giving this guy a better shot…..
Is it Soup Yet?
absolutely ridiculous that this guy never got a chance
rode the nech for soooo long and never even got a pat on the back from the coaching staff. Would have been really nice to see this guy get some quality minutes while Pierce, Daniels, Allen were having injury problems. Everyone was constantly saying that we were too deep at his position for him to get any minutes…hmm WHAT!!!…If anything we werent deep in two positions SF and PG. Well now our bench riding SF is a superstar in NY good job fellas.
Walker flourishes in NY...
Once again, “young legs” doing harm to the Celtics!
none of the points mattered
he scored 16 in the fourth when the game was already over against players in garbage time
Certainly his offensive game is looking decent
Nice that the Mavs were blown out at home after they blew out the Knicks in MSG – proves that a team can’t count on a win even if they blew them out last time – hopefully the same thing happens today!
by nba is the worst on Mar 14, 2010 12:41 PM EDT reply actions
When did the Cavs taunt the Celtics? You talking about when Ray Allen elbowed Varejao in the balls? If not that, then the sideline celebrating? They do that every home game, its for the fans and teammates and isnt taunting anyone. The Cavs respect the Celtics… read it in LeBrons own words this morning… http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/03/lebron_james_says_boston_celti.html
I don’t see much upside to watching this game today.
by jurrasicearl on Mar 14, 2010 1:34 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Larry King writes in to say...
“Call me crazy…but I still maintain that S.Telfair`s injury will play a major role in the outcome of today`s Boston-Cleveland shootout.”
Simple as that:
Either they blow us out big-time again, or the game has ups and downs and will come down to the final 2 minutes. The chances of those two scenarios right now are probably 60-40.
yea but....
docs retarted he plays him for 4 minutes each half
another disappointing game
we’re getting crushed on the boards, we still can’t score and we haven’t defended. I’m pissed off. they’re a better team but I’m tired of f ing losing. just tired of it
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