Depleted Celtics Limp Into OKC for Final Game Before Break
by FLCeltsFan on Feb 22, 2012 3:01 PM EST
in Boston Celtics Games
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PrintBoston Celtics at Oklahoma City Thunder, Feb 22, 2012 7:00 PM EST
at 
Boston Celtics (15-16) at Oklahoma City Thunder (25-7)
Wednesday, February 22
7:00 PM ET
Game #32 Road Game #13
TV: ESPN, CSNNE, FSOK, NBAC
Radio: WEEI, WWLS
Chesapeake Energy Arena
Referees: Marc Davis, Mark Ayotte, Nick Buchart
Game Thread l Chat
What's left of the Celtics continue their road trip in Oklahoma City where they will face my very favorite player, Kendrick Perkins. The Celtics are going to be shorthanded with Rondo missing his second game in a row due to suspension, JO and Chris Wilcox have also been ruled out for tonight with injuries they sustained against the Mavs, and Bass still being out. The good news is that Kevin Garnett will return for this game.
To say that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have been clicking on all cylinders would be an understatement. Over their last 2 games, they have combined for 154 points between them. The Celtics on the other hand, as a team, have combined for 153 points over their last two games. Since the majority of OKC's points come from Durant and Westbrook, if Avery Bradley can manage to slow down Westbrook, they may have a chance. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.
These two teams have been going in opposite directions recently. The Thunder lead the West with a 25-7 record while the Celtics have once again slipped below .500 with a 15-16 record. The Celtics are 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Thunder are 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Celtics have fallen to 4-8 on the road while the Thunder are an impressive 13-1 at home. The Celtics have lost 4 in a row and the Thunder have won 3 in a row.
When Rondo received his suspension, Doc told him he could go back home but he stuck around with the team for this game. This game happens to be on his 26th birthday and Perk has planned a birthday party for him in OKC. He may be out of the game, but the party is still on. And now, they can celebrate Rondo's selection to the All Star game as well.
This is the final game before the All Star break for both teams. Unless the very shorthanded Celtics can somehow pull this one out, they will be going into the break on a 5 game skid. . Let's hope the second half of the season goes much better than the first half did.
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs 
Avery Bradley 4.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.2 APG 0.5 SPG
Russell Westbrook 23.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 5.5 APG 1.9 SPG
Shooting Guard
vs 
Ray Allen 14.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.6 APG
Daequan Cook 5.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.3 APG
Small Forward
vs 
Paul Pierce 17.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.3 APG
Kevin Durant 27.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.3 APG
Power Forward
vs 
Kevin Garnett 14.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.7 APG 1.1 BPG
Serge Ibaka 8.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 0.5 APG 3.3 BPG
Center
vs 
Greg Stiemsma 1.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.4 APG 1.0 BPG,
Kendrick Perkins 4.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.2 BPG
Celtics Reserves
E'Twaun Moore
Injured
Chris Wilcox (groin) out
Brandon Bass (knee) out
Rajon Rondo (temper) out
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) out
Thunder Reserves
Daequan Cook
Injured
Eric Maynor (ACL) out
Thabo Sefolosha (foot) out
Lazar Haward (orbital) out
Nick Collison (quad) out
James Harden (ankle) questionable
Key Matchups
vs 
Paul Pierce vs Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant is making a case for being the best player in the NBA and Pierce will have his hands full trying to guard him. Durant is also a good defender so this may be a tough game for Pierce who continues to struggle with his game.
vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Serge Ibaka
KG is expected back for this game and will have his hands full with Serge Ibaka, who posted the league's very first triple double including blocks a couple of games ago. Ibaka is very quick, athletic and physical. He could give KG problems on both ends of the court.
Honorable Mention
Greg Stiemsma vs Kendrick Perkins
Perk will always be a Celtic. But he's also one of the more competitive players in the league. As much as he loves his former teammates, they will be the enemy while he is on the court and expect him to be his snarly best in this game. On the other side, the Celtics are running out of bigs. It appears that Greg Stiemsma will get the start. In his only other start this season he responded with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists over 21 minutes of play. But that was against the Wizards and Perk isn't JaVale McGee.
Keys to the Game
Limit Turnovers - The Celtics haven't appeared to be very focused in recent games and have turned the ball over way too much. They need to focus on ball handling and on taking care of the ball and thus limit fast break opportunities for the Thunder off of steals.
Rebound the Ball The Celtics have to crash the boards in order to prevent second chance points and fast break opportunities for the Thunder. The Celtics have been out rebounded by a margin of 190-154 in their last 4 games, all losses. Rebounding takes effort and desire and the Celtics haven't shown a lot of either when it comes to rebounding. They have to put out more effort on the boards if they want to win.
Defense - Defense has got to be the Celtics #1 priority. They have been playing decent defense in spurts but other times, they allow teams to get to the hoop and to get their shots off way too easily, especially put backs and tip ins. They must commit to team defense if they want to get back on the winning track.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics have got to be more aggressive in going to the basket and not settle for jumpers. If they are aggressive, they will get more calls and thus more points at the line. They also have to be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds.
NO MORE INJURIES - This is pretty much self explanatory.
Official Report
Marc Davis
Davis has been an NBA official for the past 14 seasons, working 802 regular season games and 35 playoff games, and the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. Davis officited his first two Finals games during the 2010-11 season. In addition to his NBA experience, Davis has three years of CBA officiating experience, and three
years of collegiate basketball officiating experience. Davis was investigated for threatening to whoop Allen Iverson's a** when AI complained about a call in a game in 2005, but was not suspended for it. The Celtics are 0-1 this season and 8-2 in their last 10 games with Davis officiating. The game this season was a 1 point loss in which Davis and friends ignored a very obvious foul committed against Paul Pierce in the final seconds of the game. The Thunder are 1-0 this season and 5-5 in their last 10 games with Davis on the court. His home W/L record is 11-13.
Mark Ayotte
Mark Ayotte completed his seventh NBA season having officiated 418 regular season games. Prior to joining the NBA, Ayotte was a WNBA official for four years and a CBA official for three years. He spent one year officiating in the NBA Development League. Ayotte has 12 years of collegiate officiating experience. Ayotte also was an official for the preseason and postseason NIT. He has 10 years of high school officiating experience in the state of Arizona. The Celtics are 0-1 this season and 4-6 over their last 10 games. The loss this season was to the Mavs and the officiating was bad for both teams. In the 5 losses officiated by Ayotte last season, the Celtics shot 89 free throws to 123 free throws for their opponents. The Thunder are 1-0 this season and 8-2 over their last 10 with Ayotte. Ayotte was one of the refs in the Mavs/OKC game in which Marc Cuban was fined $75,000 for criticizing the referees. Ayotte has a home W/L record this season is 14-10.
Nick Buchert
Buchert is entering his second NBA season having officiated 65 games. He has nine years of collegiate officiating experience. Additionally, he has officiated the 2010
NBA D-League Finals and 2010 NBA D-League All-Star Game. He has only officiated 4 Celtics games in his career, all 4 being Celtics wins, 2 of which were this season. The Thunder are 6-2 in their 8 games officiated by Buchert. His home W/L record this season is 12-10.
X-Factor
Underestimation
The Celtics are missing some very key players and may have to end up playing VERY small ball for much of the game because they are running out of bigs. About the only way the Celtics can win this game is if the Thunder underestimate them and don't play their hardest. With Perk on the team, I don't see that happening though.
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it will be greg
but i hope its JJ!!!
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 22, 2012 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
Perk is a good defender but is trash on offense
I think if jj uses his speed and offensive skills (havent seen entirely what he has) theres a chance he can blow past perk and have a good game. Ray needs to take advantage of the clear and maybe only match up we have the upper hand on.
by Kgwillkillyou on Feb 22, 2012 3:56 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Unfortunately Harden will play more than Cook...
…and he’s better than Ray right now so it’s a short live advantage when he comes off the bench and plays the majority of the minutes.
Harden
is listed as questionable for tonight with an ankle injury. Maybe it’s too much to ask to catch a break and have him sit out to rest his ankle.
Perk is a BEAST!!
Perk is not trash..
On a team where most offense comes from Westbrook, Durant & Ibaka,…Perk’s role is hardly to put up 15 points a game. He was hired for defense in the middle and let Ibaka roam around, block shots and play his normal PF position. Look at the numbers to see what their defense looks like since they hired Perk.
Ex fide fiducia
by missyP on Feb 22, 2012 5:04 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
With Perk at the 5, OKC's top 5-man unit has a Def Rtg of just 89.35.
Perkins is not trash.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Perk
is a player who knows his role and plays it to the best of his ability. His job is to defend, to box out, to set picks, to direct the defense and he does all that very well.
Perk is a BEAST!!
There is a reason he isn’t asked to do anything offensively.
He’s struggled to even finish shots that have been created for him in the paint, which was the one main thing he did well (on offense).
The defense is good, but he is limited to defending slower footed centers and simply isn’t the same defender he was in Boston.
Besides having him on the floor absolutely murders any semblance of spacing plus they can barely use him to screen the ball handler because defenses just trap and completely ignore him.
I know it sounds like I’m bashing on Perk, I’m not. I’m just stating the obvious—good defense that is negated by dreadful offense.
Realistically
Let’s be optimistic – what constitutes a “moral victory”?
Steismsmsma not getting hurt?
Bradley getting a triple double?
KG going down to the low post?
20 rebounds?
Perk not laughing at the Celtics?
Perk would not laugh at his ex-mates...
…he might feel sorry for them and he would feel their pain.
Moral victory? I would take KG being smart and not playing with his bum hip flexor and benefiting from getting nearly a weeks rest. Unfortunately he’s too much of team guy to do that.
by yakyakyak on Feb 22, 2012 4:10 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Rec
Agree that Perk would feel their pain rather than laugh at them. My moral victory would be that no one gets hurt and the young guys get minutes.
Perk is a BEAST!!
is there anyone who is willing to pick the Cs tonight
not i
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 22, 2012 4:32 PM EST reply actions
2nd Best Bet of year, after the Dallas game
OKC minus 9
i think we have a 50% chance of winning i think the thunder over look us and we step up
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 22, 2012 7:12 PM EST up reply actions
I say we storm the castle to victory
I am picking the Celtics!!!! " All men die but not all men really live!"
Is it Soup Yet?
Well, it's going to be interesting to see Bradley on Westbrook.
AB didn’t play in the first game.
Even if he doesn’t do much on offense himself, if AB can at least disrupt Westbrook, that could take away one of their two main scoring weapons. And if he can keep them late into the shot clock when they bring the ball up, that might also help disrupt getting the ball to Durant somewhat.
(Gotta reach for straws where ever you see them ….)
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Please take dooling out.....forever
by Kgwillkillyou on Feb 22, 2012 7:44 PM EST via mobile reply actions
funny, but hes better than dooling, steamer
it should show ray allen passing the ball = trash. that guy can not complete a pass to save his life
by Kgwillkillyou on Feb 22, 2012 9:01 PM EST up reply actions
I would love it if we had a captain on this team that would step up
O frustraiting watching our VETS turn the ball over and over and over as if they we a freshman highschool team. I really realistically dont expect a win but at least lose with some dignity. Execute the BASIC FUNDAMENTALS at the very least. NO nba team should go 5 minutes without scoring….not one players on our team can create space for a layup!? We are turning into the joke team with every passing game.
by Kgwillkillyou on Feb 22, 2012 8:16 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I hear you loud and very clear
but i honestly think that our record reflects our coach. As much as i love DOC I hate how our team is becoming the BOSTON MAGIC with all these wack ass 3’s
THE BAY AREA
i live in san leandro near oakland
PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME
why garnett and pierce are still playing. this game is over they are playing guys like royal ivey throw in the towel and let JJ moore greg and bradley play the rest of the game with I dont know dooling or something
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 22, 2012 8:50 PM EST reply actions
Don't Admit Defeat
Taking out Pierce and KG would have admitted defeat. That’s a bad message to send to your team.
Pierce and KG were big parts of the comeback
Playing the guys you mention is not a good think because it impedes their development in learning the system. The guys you mention need to play one or two at a time with the veterans, not as a unit that doesn’t know what it’s doing.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
Not bad for a team that has no frontline other than KG. clawed back from that hole. A for effort but again injuries have been the death of this team.
by The green mamba on Feb 22, 2012 9:38 PM EST via mobile reply actions
They seem to have a lot of crawl back but not enough type of games. It’s sorta encouraging, but not really.
When you have no players you cant win a team sport.
by The green mamba on Feb 22, 2012 9:44 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I honestly think that if doc wouldnt have started
messing with the line up today the results would be wAAAAYYYyyyyyyyy different.
WAY TO HUSTLE BACK TO UR GAME C’s
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