C's Head to Philly

(14-2)  @  (5-12)

Wednesday, December 5
7:00 PM ET
TV: CSN
Wachovia Center

Chat  |  Game Thread

The 14-2 Boston Celticshave won three straight games after losing a tough one in Cleveland on November 27, and the men in green will look to extend that winning streak with a win on the road tonight. Victim #17 is division rival Philadelphia 76ers, who have dropped six of their last eight games and stand at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with a 5-12 overall record. The body language hasn’t been positive, the excitement isn’t there, and the young supporting cast Billy King has put together simply hasn’t stepped up to prove their worthwhile.

Speaking of Billy King, his days as Philadelphia’s President and General Manager have come to an end. The 76ers organization fired King yesterday to replace him with former New Jersey Nets General Manager Ed Stefanski. The timing of this move was rather odd and sudden, but many 76ers fans will tell you it was a long time coming.Read More

Projected Starters

C Kendrick Perkins / Samuel Dalembert
PF Kevin Garnett / Reggie Evans
SF Paul Pierce / Andre Iguodala
SG Ray Allen / Willie Green
PG Rajon Rondo / Andre Miller

 

Key Matchup: Paul Pierce vs. Andre Iguodala

Iguodala has a history of disrupting Pierce’s game with his athleticism, length, and anticipation skills. From his rookie year to now, he has frustrated The Truth on the court and has even come out to the papers and publicly stated that he knows how to defend him. This time, however, Paul Pierce isn’t the only thing to pay attention to. If you lock him up, you still have two Hall of Fame level problems in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. It’ll be interesting to see if Iguodala continues to bother the captain, but will his teammates step up with him?

 

Celtics X-Factor: Rajon Rondo

If you allow them to, Philadelphia will score buckets in transition, and they will finish with loud slams to get the crowd going. Rajon Rondo needs to control the pace of the game and make sure he doesn’t allow Andre Miller to ignite the break multiple times. That’s the only way Philadelphia has a chance of making this a game. If Rondo can control the pace of the game and play good transition defense, the C’s should be in good shape.

 

Injury Report

PHI – Herbert Hill (recovering from left knee surgery)

 

Celtics Keys to the Game

• Control the Tempo
• Keep Philly’s Transition Game Limited
• Ball Movement
• Limit Turnovers