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Atlanta Hawks (26-39) at Boston Celtics (18-45)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 • 7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #64 • Home Game #32
League Pass 756, FSN
TD Banknorth Garden - Boston, MA
Probable Starters
PG: Rondo PPG 5.4 RPG 3.20 APG 3.3 EFF + 7.64
SG: West PPG 11.6 RPG 3.00 APG 4.6 EFF + 12.74
SF: Pierce PPG 24.7 RPG 6.30 APG 4.1 EFF + 20.97
PF: Jefferson PPG 15.2 RPG 11.20 APG 1.2 EFF + 20.13
C: Perkins PPG 4.0 RPG 4.30 APG 1.2 EFF + 7.44
Off the Bench
Rondo/Powe/Scal/Telfair/Allen
Players to Watch
Al has been a beast recently and we need to look for him to continue his strong work on both ends of the court. Al in many ways sets the tone for this team. Pierce has been struggling and we need Al to play well on both ends of the floor.
Rondo is the PG of the future for this team but he is still young and has ups and downs in his play. But when he is up, he is capable of changing a game with his energy and court sense. His shot has been looking a lot better and he just needs more confidence to start hitting his shots on a regular basis.
Injuries
Szczerbiak - Ankle out
Allen- Knee out
Ratliff - Back out
Gomes - foot day to day
Probable Starters
PG: A Johnson PPG 4.8 RPG 1.40 APG 2.2 EFF + 5.35
SG: Childress PPG 12.8 RPG 6.50 APG 2.1 EFF + 16.47
SF: M Williams PPG 12.6 RPG 4.70 APG 1.8 EFF + 11.83
PF: Smith PPG 15.2 RPG 8.10 APG 3.1 EFF + 18.95
C: Pachulia PPG 11.9 RPG 6.90 APG 1.4 EFF + 13.98
Off the Bench
Lue/S Williams/Stoudamire/Jones
Players to Watch
Josh Childress came off the bench in a game against us in January to score 23 points and pull down 14 rebounds. He always seems to play well against us and containing him will be a priority.
Josh Smith has come on strong this season just as Big Al has. He scored 32 points in Saturday's win over the Wolves and is capable of a double double on any night.
Injuries
Claxton - Knee day to day
Johnson - calf out
Notes:
The Hawks won the last 2 meetings with the Celtics. Both were played with Pierce, Wally, West, Allen and Scal out of the lineup.
Both teams play Tuesday night and so will be on the second of back to back games. The Celtics have a slight advantage being the home team. Hawks are 12-21 on the road.
Atlanta is 4-6 in their last 10 games and Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
If Atlanta's draft pick this year is not among the top 3 picks, they lose it to the Suns. Good reason to lose between now and the end of the season. They have won 4 in a row, however.
Key Matchup
vs
Keys to the Game
Defense We need to play defense and not just on 2 players, but the whole team. Hustle on the defensive end usually determines the intensity on the offensive end as well.
Hustle The Bulls beat us to every loose ball and just out hustled us. We need to put out energy and effort if we want to win and not let them beat us in hustle points.
Rebounding We have to hit the boards and grab rebounds. When we allow them to get offensive rebounds it gives them too many second chance points. It should be one and done on every possession on the defensive end and we need to be the team getting the second chance points on the offensive end.
Ball Movement We won't win with players trying to do too much and forcing the offense. Pierce does it at least a few times a game. We need to move the ball and find the open man.
