The Boston Celtics Still Have A Job To Do In Denver

Tonight was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be a nice little playdate with a new look Nuggets team that Boston should've been able to handle pretty easily. Well, that's gone now.

Today (called 2-24-43 by those of us who care to) may indeed live in infamy, or it might mark the beginning of..something. What kind of thing, I have not a blessed clue. I do know that one thing is certain: Kendrick Perkins (pour some out) is going to be out of the Celtics lineup a lot longer than this West Coast road trip. (see below)

I guess though that tonight it might not matter as much in the long run as one might expect. While the Celtics were certainly 'active' today with the trades, the only significant pieces we'll be missing tonight that we weren't missing last night, are Semih Erden and Nate Robinson.

But, regarding the rest of the trade, I refer to Stroke 9's view on their Little Black Backpack...I don't wanna talk about it. Don't wanna think about it.

The show must go on, and the Celtics still stand a pretty darn good shot at making something of it. Lets see what we got.

Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Ty Lawson

Shooting Guard
vs
Ray Allen vs Arron Afflalo

Small Forward
vs
Paul Pierce vs JR Smith

Power Forward
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Kenyon Martin

Center
? vs
Not Kendrick Perkins Or Semih Erden vs Nene Hilario

Boston Bench Mob
Glen Davis
Von Wafer
Avery Bradley
Delonte West

Injuries
Jermaine O'Neal (knee) out
Kendrick Perkins (knee) out
Shaquille O'Neal (knee) out

Denver's Reserves
Chris Andersen
Wilson Chandler
Melvin Ely
Raymond Felton
Gary Forbes
Danilo Gallinari
Al Harrington
Kosta Koufos
Timofey Mozgov

Injuries
None

Key To The Game: Play With Pride

I don't really think breaking down the match-ups is worth it, as I don't even know if Jeff Green or Nenad Krstic are going to be there tonight. That's not going to matter anyways, as neither will have any idea what Boston is doing on either end of the floor for a week or two. Tonight the biggest factor..the single biggest point I can make is that these guys are pros, and while the trades today obviously shook the team up a bit (that's like saying Kendrick Perkins scowls once and a while), there is still a job to do tonight, a small percentage lead for home court in the east to preserve, and a game that matters at hand. On the bright side, we never have to see a transition missed 3 from Nate Robinson again. GO CELTICS!!