Celtics (48-12) at Grizzlies (15-46) 3/8

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Boston Celtics (48-12) at Memphis Grizzlies (15-46) Saturday, March 8
8:00 PM ET
Game #61, Road Game #29
TV: NBA LP ch 756, CSN HD, SportSouth
Radio: WEEI, Sirius 152
Fed Ex Forum




Probable Starters

Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen/Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Kendrick Perkins

Off the Bench
Eddie House,, James Posey, Tony Allen, Big Baby Davis, Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine, PJ Brown, Sam Cassell

Injuries
Scot Pollard, ankle, out




Probable Starters

Mike Conley/Mike Miller/Rudy Gay/Hakim Warrick/Darko Milicic

Off the Bench
Kyle Lowry, Casey Jacobson, Juan Carlos Navarro, Andre Brown, Jason Collins, Javaris Crittenton, Brian Cardinal, Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie

Injuries
None

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo PPG 10.7 RPG 4.30 APG 5.1 EFF + 14.29
Mike Conley PPG 8.7 RPG 2.20 APG 4.4 EFF + 9.69

vs
Paul Pierce PPG 20.4 RPG 5.40 APG 4.7 EFF + 20.08
Rudy Gay PPG 20.0 RPG 6.10 APG 1.8 EFF + 18.27

Honorable Mention
Kendrick Perkins PPG 7.4 RPG 5.90 APG 1.1 EFF + 11.58
Darko Milicic PPG 7.1 RPG 6.20 APG 0.9 EFF + 10.06

Keys to the Game
Bench Play This is the second of back to back games and so the starters may be tired. The Celtics will need some production from the bench. It would be nice to see PJ Brown and Sam get some minutes in this one.

Defense Sometimes when teams get tired, they slack off on defense. It is very simple. When the Celtics play tough defense they win. When they don't play defense, they lose. The Grizzlies have players who can hit the three and some who can score inside so the Celtics need to defend both the paint and the perimeter.

Be Aggressive The Celtics need to be aggressive on the boards, going after loose balls, and taking it to the hoop. They shouldn't settle for jumpers because when teams are tired, jumpers usually don't fall.

Game Notes
The Celtics and Grizzlies have some ties. James Posey played 2 seasons with the Grizzlies. Kendrick Perkins was drafted by the Grizzlies and traded to the Celtics on draft day. And of course, Chris Wallace, of Vin Baker fame, is now the Grizzlies' GM.

Memphis is 11-21 at home and Celtics are 20-8 on the road. The Grizzlies are 1-9 in their last 10 games and won their last game.

With the easy win over the Bulls, the Celtics starters were able to get rest as Perk, Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG all played 27 minutes or less so hopefully fatigue won't be a problem.