Bobcats (33-40) at Celtics 56-19 4/1

at
Charlotte Bobcats (33-40) at Boston Celtics (56-19) Wednesday, April 1
7:30 PM ET
Game #76, Home Game #37
TV: CSN HD, SportSouth, NBA LP 752
TD Banknorth Garden



Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 26.7
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 222

Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo PPG 11.8 RPG 5.20 APG 8.5 EFF + 18.95
SG: Ray Allen PPG 18.4 RPG 3.50 APG 2.7 EFF + 17.07
SF: Paul Pierce PPG 20.3 RPG 5.80 APG 3.7 EFF + 18.99
PF: Glen Davis PPG 6.2 RPG 3.80 APG 0.9 EFF + 7.38
C: Kendrick Perkins PPG 8.5 RPG 8.10 APG 1.2 EFF + 14.33

Reserves
Eddie House
Gabe Pruitt
Bill Walker
Stephon Marbury
Mikki Moore

Injuries:
Tony Allen (thumb) out
Brian Scalabrine (head) out
Leon Powe (knee) out
Kevin Garnett (knee) out




Coach: Larry Brown
Average Age: 25.8
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 222

Probable Starters

PG: Raymond Felton PPG 13.7 RPG 3.80 APG 6.8 EFF + 15.18
SG: Raja Bell PPG 12.0 RPG 3.70 APG 2.1 EFF + 11.34
SF: Gerald Wallace PPG 16.8 RPG 7.70 APG 2.8 EFF + 20.71
PF: Boris Diaw PPG 13.0 RPG 5.30 APG 3.9 EFF + 15.25
C: Emeka Okafor PPG 13.6 RPG 10.10 APG 0.6 EFF + 18.64

Reserves
Vladimir Radmonovic
Alexis Ajinca
Nazr Mohammed
Sean Singletary
Juwan Howard
Sean May
DJ Augustin
DeSagana Diop
Cartier Martin
Dontell Jefferson

Injuries
None

Key Matchups
vs
Paul Pierce vs Gerald Wallace
Gerald Wallace always seems to have his best games against the Celtics. Paul Pierce has been playing well lately but will need to play strong defense against Wallace to keep him from taking over.

vs
Rajon Rondo vs Raymond Felton
Rondo has been playing on sore ankles, but has still been very aggressive. If he continues his aggressive play in this game, he will cause a lot of problems for Felton.

Honorable Mention
Kendrick Perkins vs Emeka Okafor
This should be a battle inside between these two centers with Perk having a strength advantage but Okafor having a quickness advantage.


Team Connections:
Nazr Mohammed and Rajon Rondo are all former KY Wildcats
Emeka Okafor and Ray Allen are former UConn Huskies
Eddie House was a member of the inaugural Bobcats team in 2004-05
DeSagana Diop and Rajon Rondo both attended Oak Hill Academy
Juwan Howard played for Doc in Orlando in '03-04

Game Notes
The Bobcats are one of those young and athletic teams that always seem to give the Celtics problems. The Celtics won the series last season 3-1, but had to fight for every win. This season the series is tied 1-1. The Celtics have never lost a series to the Bobcats since they came into the league in the 2004-05 season.

In November, the Celtics won a close game in Charlotte by just 5 points. In January, also in Charlotte, the Bobcats beat the Celtics 114-106 in overtime. With all the injuries, this could be a tough game for the Celtics. They will have to take it very seriously and play hard or they will be in danger of losing their first series to the Bobcats.

The Bobcats have several things going for them that the Celtics need to recognize. For one, they are coached by Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown who will have his team playing hard. And, second, they are in 9th place in the east, just 2 games out of the playoffs and are playing to move up to try to make the playoffs for the first time in their team's history.

The Bobcats are 12-23 on the road while the Celtics are 30-6 at home. The Celtics have been off since their Sunday win over the Thunder while the Bobcats are playing in the second of back to back games, having faced the Lakers at home the night before.

Keys to the Game
Be Aggressive - The Celtics can't be passive against this team. They have to be the aggressors in going after loose balls, rebounds and taking the ball to the basket.

Limit Turnovers - The Bobcats are a running team and very athletic and will make the Celtics pay if they turn the ball over. All season, turnovers have been a problem for the Celtics and they need to work on cutting them down before the post season.

Defense - The Celtics must put a priority on maintaining their defensive intensity from start to finish. Defense wins games and championships.

X-Factor
Bench Play
Both Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury have been starting to fit in with this team in recent games. They have to continue their improvement and have to contribute with all the injuries to this team. Eddie House has to continue his hot shooting off the bench to give the second unit a scoring punch.

This will be an easy win for the C and nice write up Mike

Bobcats tend to be a team the Cs struggle against. They should win, but it shouldn't be easy.

Yeah, Bobcats tend to give us some issues.

And thanks Beastly, although all credit goes to FLCeltsFan for the gamethread, she posts them at another forum I admin, all I need was simply copy and paste.

wow, there are people who post an essay on a bobcat - celtic regular season game?

some people have way too much time on their hands

should be an easy win for the celts

arkanekidd wrote:wow, there are people who post an essay on a bobcat - celtic regular season game?

some people have way too much time on their hands

should be an easy win for the celts

There's been one of these game threads for every Celtic's game regular season and playoff for the last 3 years or so

Is it too bold of a statement to predict a 7 game sweep?

Ok, maybe it is, but I think the C's win this one easy.

KyleCleric wrote:Bobcats tend to be a team the Cs struggle against. They should win, but it shouldn't be easy.

Like I said. The Cats are tough ...

SportsCap12 wrote:...I think the C's win this one easy.

After seeing the Bobcats play today, I'm not so sure. I think we'll still win, but I agree it probably wont be easy. I hoping for another break out night from Starbury.

SportsCap12 wrote:

SportsCap12 wrote:...I think the C's win this one easy.

After seeing the Bobcats play today, I'm not so sure. I think we'll still win, but I agree it probably wont be easy. I hoping for another break out night from Starbury.

it concerns me that we have to rely on Starbury to get them going. I'd have preferred to add a defensive SF and just worked Pruitt and House for the backup PG minutes.

KyleCleric wrote:

SportsCap12 wrote:

SportsCap12 wrote:...I think the C's win this one easy.

After seeing the Bobcats play today, I'm not so sure. I think we'll still win, but I agree it probably wont be easy. I hoping for another break out night from Starbury.

it concerns me that we have to rely on Starbury to get them going. I'd have preferred to add a defensive SF and just worked Pruitt and House for the backup PG minutes.

Maybe not the defensive SF that you were looking for, but I still regret releasing Darius Miles.

Actually, he would have been perfect for us. He was playing great D with the team back in the fall and he can play both forward positions. He's just a very different player than what we have on this team right now.

KyleCleric wrote:

SportsCap12 wrote:

SportsCap12 wrote:...I think the C's win this one easy.

After seeing the Bobcats play today, I'm not so sure. I think we'll still win, but I agree it probably wont be easy. I hoping for another break out night from Starbury.

it concerns me that we have to rely on Starbury to get them going. I'd have preferred to add a defensive SF and just worked Pruitt and House for the backup PG minutes.

I agree with you for the most part. Billy really doesn't cut it, he's definitely not the defensive sf that you are talking about. But, you have to be satisfied with the Starbury pick up though. As of late, he's been the back up pg that the team has been needing. He's a guy that can run the offense seamlessly when RR is on the bench.

19 assist just from the pg position alone in the last game. If you throw in House, that's 22. If we have a similar offensive night, I'm confident.

There will be a blowout, by the Celtics!!!! yahoo!!!!

Double OT, Ray Allen hitting some huge shots, C's trail by 1 with just over 1 minute to play in 2 OT

C's win 111-109 in Double OT. Ray Allen was huge.

damn. too bad i missed the game. glad we won though.