Celtics and Knicks square off with playoff seeding on the line

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New York Knicks (42-26) at Boston Celtics (36-33)
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #70 – Home Game #35
TV: TNT, TSN2
Radio: WEEI, ESPN NY, ESPNR
TD Garden

Referees: Mike Callahan, Josh Tiven, Sean Wright

Game Thread l Chat

Boston Celtics Tickets

The Celtics and Knicks clash for the 3rd time this season at a time when both clubs are battling injuries and also battling for playoff position. This may also be a preview of a first round playoff series if the positions fall out right.

The Knicks are in the 3rd spot, 1/2 a game behind the Pacers, who are in 2nd. . Brooklyn is 2 games behind New York, in 4th. The Celtics are sitting in the 7th spot, 2 games in front of Milwaukee for the dreaded 8th spot and 2 games behind Chicago in 6th. There certainly could be a shake up in those standings as we go down the stretch toward the playoffs. Every win or loss could make a difference in the seedings.

The Celtics won the first meeting in New York 102-96 as KG got into Carmelo Anthony's head as they clashed during the game and Melo taking it to the locker room and even outside the buses. New York returned the favor in Boston, beating the Celtics 89-86 in spite of a triple double from Rajon Rondo.

The Celtics have lost 4 in a row while the Knicks have won their last 4 games. The Knicks are 5-5 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 4-6. The Knicks are a decent road team with an 18-16 record away from MSG. The Celtics have played well at home with a 24-10 record. Even with 2 head to head contests with the Knicks, it is very improbable that the Celtics will catch them for the Atlantic Division lead, but the Celtics can't afford to continue their losing streak as they work to stay out of the dreaded 8th seed.

Probable Starters

PG: #0 Avery Bradley .................................................... SG: #11 Courtney Lee

C: #30 Brandon Bass

SF: #34 Paul Pierce .............................................. PF #8 Jeff Green

Celtics Reserves

Jason Terry

Chris Wilcox

Jordan Crawford

DJ White

Shavlik Randolph

Terrence Williams

Injuries

Courtney Lee (ankle) game time decision

Kevin Garnett (foot/ankle) out

Rajon Rondo (knee) out

Jared Sullinger (back) out

D-League

Fab Melo

Probable Starters

PG: Pablo Prigioni ............................................ SG: Raymond Felton

C: Kenyon Martin

SF: Carmelo Anthony ............................................. PF:Iman Shumpert

Knicks Reserves

James White

JR Smith

Chris Copeland

Steve Novak

Marcus Camby

Jason Kidd

Injuries

Tyson Chandler (knee/neck) game time decision

Amar'e Stoudemire (knee) out

Kurt Thomas (foot) out

Rasheed Wallace (foot) out

Key Matchups

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Paul Pierce vs Carmelo Anthony

This is always a good matchup. Both are very strong and they play each other tough. They also seem to bring out the best in each other. Pierce has torched the Knicks in recent years, averaging 27.8 points on 52.9 percent shooting, including 49.3 percent from 3-point range, over his last 13 games against them. Carmelo Anthony is averaging 28.1 points in his last eight games against Boston. If these two stars cancel each other out, it will be up to the rest of team to step up.

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Jeff Green vs Iman Shumpert

I had to double check several times to be sure that they had Shumpert starting at the 4. But he started at PF in the last game and, according to the game notes, is supposed to start there again. That gives Jeff Green a 4 inch height advantage and hopefully he can take advantage of it.

Honorable Mention

Brandon Bass vs Kenyon Martin

Bass should be quicker than Martin and hopefully will have the advantage in this matchup. Bass will need to play physically though to match up with KMart who is a tough and physical player. Martin has played in 11 contests, while starting the last six. He's averaging 12.2 points on 67.3 percent shooting with 7.2 rebounds in those starts. He also had 18 points and seven rebounds in NY's last win over Tornto. Chandler is listed as a game time decision, even though he didn't participate in the shootaround. Hopefully he will sit this one out because he would be tough for the Celtics to match up with with out KG in the lineup.

Keys to the Game

Defense - The Celtics have to make defense their priority in this game especially because the Knicks can be a very dangerous offensive team. Whatever needs to be fixed for the Celtics to get back on track must begin on the defensive end. The Celtics must especially guard the perimeter as the Knicks are shooting 37% from beyond the arc and they aren't shy about shooting them.

Rebound - The Celtics are no longer last in the league in rebounding but close to it, at 29th with 39.7 per game. The Knicks are 23rd with 40.9 rebounds per game. The Celtics have got to crash the boards as a team and win the battle on the glass if they want to win this game. The Celtics average rebounding margin of minus-4.1 is one of the worst in the league this season. They are being outrebounded by an average of 10 during their recent 4 game losing streak. Losing their leading rebounder to injury will hurt them even more so every one on the team must make an effort to crash the boards. When they put out the effort to rebound, they usually play better all around.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team, especially against the Knicks who are very aggressive themselves. They have to be aggressive in going to the hoop and not settle for jumpers, especially if the jumpers aren't falling. They must be aggressive on the boards and in going after loose balls and winning the 50/50 plays. The more aggressive team gets the calls from the officials and that will be important in this game. We know that the Knicks will be aggressive and so the Celtics have to match that intensity.

Reserves - Injuries have hit both of these teams. The Celtics lost Rondo, Sully, then Barbosa and now Courtney Lee and KG. Doc said that Lee probably will play but KG is definitely out. Jason Terry is the only player on the Celtics bench this game that was on the bench the last time these two teams played in January. The Celtics must find chemistry among the players on the court, many of them new to the team. The play of the reserves against the Grizzlies gives hope for this game. Hopefully they can play well again.

X-Factors

Injuries and Officiating

Both teams have been hit with injuries. Both players have to scramble to come up with a different game plan and to fill in for missing players. The team that does this best should come out on top. Also, Tyson Chandler is a game time decision. The Celtics will have trouble matching up with him should he be able to play.

In many of the Knicks games I've watched this season, they got a lot of help from the officials. Hopefully they call a fair game in this one. It's hard to win playing 5 on 8. The Celtics must adjust to the officiating if the calls start to go against them.