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at 
Los Angeles Lakers (704) at Boston Celtics (9-1)
Friday, November 23
7:30 PM ET
TV: NBA LP ch 753, CSN HD, KCalHD
TD Banknorth Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
vs 
PG: Rajon Rondo vs Derek Fisher
vs 
SG: Ray Allen vs Kobe Bryant
vs 
SF: Paul Pierce vs Vladimir Radmanovic
vs 
PF: Kevin Garnett vs Lamar Odom
vs 
C: Kendrick Perkins vs Andrew Bynum
Off the Bench
James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen, Scot Pollard, Brian Scalabrine, Big Baby Davis, Leon Powe
Key off the Bench
Posey's defense off the bench will be needed in this game, especially on Kobe.
Off the Bench
Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Chris Mihm, Sasha Vujacic, Rony Turiaf
Key Off the Bench
Walton always has a good game against us and his offense off the bench will give the Lakers a boost.
Key Matchups
vs 
Kevin Garnett PPG 20.7 RPG 13.00 APG 4.2 EFF + 31.20
vs
Lamar Odom PPG 13.1 RPG 8.30 APG 2.0 EFF + 16.29
KG vs Odom should be a good matchup with KG getting the better of it.
vs 
Ray Allen PPG 20.3 RPG 4.50 APG 3.3 EFF + 19.10
vs
Kobe Bryant PPG 26.9 RPG 6.60 APG 4.8 EFF + 26.00
I expect to see Pierce and Posey on Kobe and a double team whenever possible.
Keys to the Game
Stop Kobe Don't expect the Garden crowd to be cheering for Kobe this game. Kobe can single handedly beat a team and so Doc needs to do whatever it takes to stop him and take him out of his game. Pierce should see some time guarding him as should Posey and we should see double teams coming at him whenever he touches the ball.
Take Care of the Ball. The Celtics must get their turnovers under control. They can get away with 19 turnovers with some teams, but the better teams will take advantage of them.
Defense After a lapse in Orlando, the Celtics were back to playing good defense against the Warriors. The Celtics can't afford to have defensive lapses against the Lakers or they will capitalize on them. For the Celtics to be an elite team, they have to make defense second nature and make it a priority.
Game Notes:
The Celtics- Lakers rivalry is one of the most storied in all basketball. In recent years it just wasn't the same because the Celtics had fallen on hard times. But, with the resurgence of the Celtics this year, we should see the rivalry heat up. The Lakers have been playing well even though they are coming off a loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday. It would be good to hear the Beat LA chants in the Garden again. Ray Allen and KG are both big on history and I am sure the history of the rivalry between these two teams won't be lost on them. Should be a good game.
