Rockets (15-16) at Celtics (26-3) 1/2

[FLCeltsFan]

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Houston Rockets (15-16) at Boston Celtics (26-3)
Wednesday, January 2
7:30 PM ET
Game #30, Home Game #16
TV: NBA LP ch 756, CSNHD, FSNHOU
TD Banknorth Garden



Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo PPG 9.4 | APG 5.3 | SPG 1.9
(or Tony Allen) PPG 5.2 | APG 1.5 | 3P% .438
SG: Ray Allen PPG 19.1 | APG 3.1 | 3P% .382
SF: Paul Pierce PPG 21.6 | RPG 5.4 | APG 4.9
PF: Kevin Garnett PPG 18.8 | RPG 10.5 | BPG 1.5
C: Kendrick Perkins PPG 7.1 | RPG 5.6 | BPG 1.2

Off the Bench:
Eddie House, Brian Scalabrine, James Posey, Tony Allen, Big Baby Davis, Scot Pollard, Leon Powe, Gabe Pruitt

Injuries: Rajon Rondo, hamstring injury, day to day


Probable Starters

PG: Rafer Alston PPG 10.1 | APG 5 | SPG 1.1
SG: Bonsi Wells PPG 9.7 | APG 1.4 | 3P% .231
SF: Shane Battier PPG 8.6 | RPG 4.8 | APG 1.5
PG: Chuck Hayes PPG 3.3 | RPG 6.5 | BPG 0.6
C: Yao Ming PPG 21.3 | RPG 10.6 | BPG 2.4



Off the Bench
Luther Head, Louis Scola, Steve Novak, Aaron Brooks, Dikembe Mutombo, Mike James, Carl Landry, Kirk Snyder, Steve Francis

Injuries
Tracy McGrady, tendinitis, day to day

Key Matchups
vs
Yao is their go to guy with McGrady out. Yao has an 8 inch height advantage over Perk (and most everyone else in the league). Perk will have to work to keep him away from the basket and KG will have to help inside to keep him from having a huge night.

vs
Paul Pierce has been tearing it up on the road trip and Shane Battier is one of the best defenders in the league. Should be an interesting matchup. The nice thing this year is that even if Battier can shut down Pierce, there are still plenty of options to go to.

Keys to the Game
Defense, particularly on Yao. The Celtics have to continue to play tough defense. That is what has gotten them this far and what will win the next championship.

Keep their composure. The Rockets were Tom Thibodeau's last team and they are still a good defensive team. They rank 5th in points allowed at 94.3 ppg. The Celtics have to keep their composure when the Rockets' defense comes at them.

Use Home Court Advantage. The Celtics are back at home and will have the crowd behind them. They have been playing on the road and using the hostle crowds as impetus for playing hard. Sometimes teams return home flat after a road trim. They need to go with the crowd and get fired up to protect their home court.

Game Notes.
The Rockets are 13-40 all time playing in Boston. The Rockets are 4-6 in their last 10 games. They are 8-10 on the road. Not particularly stats that would strike fear in opponents but the Celtics shouldn't underestimate them. McGrady has missed 3 games with tendinitis in his knee and we will catch a break if he is out for this game. He is listed as day to day so it may be a game time decision.

Houston has been playing great defense and are 5th in the league in points allowed. They are also a very good rebounding team and are 3rd in total rebounds for games. They have out rebounded teams 16 times out of 30 and 8 of those was by double digits.

They are coming off a 112-95 loss to the Warriors on New Year's Eve. Adelman played only 9 players in that game. They had 4 players in double figures and two of those were off the bench. If the Celtics play their game and don't let the Houston defense rattle them, this should be an easy win.
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