Game 63/82: Memphis (33-31) @ C’s (40-22)
Posted by Brian Robb on Mar 10, 2010
Memphis at Boston
7:30 PM EST.
TD Garden
Local TV/Radio: CSN/WEEI
Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 106.8 points/100 possessions (14th)
Memphis: 108.5 points/100 possessions (12th)
Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 101.8 points allowed/100 possessions (1st)
Memphis: 109.3 points allowed/100 possessions (23rd)
Probable Grizzlies starters:
Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley
Injury Report for Grizz: OUT: Ronnie Brewer, Steven Hunter QUESTIONABLE: Zach Randolph (back)
Thumbnail: The Celtics come back home on the 2nd night of a back to back to face the upstart Grizzlies, who are still battling for the 8th seed out West. It was an entertaining back and forth affair the last time these two met with the C’s getting the win down south, but with Memphis winning their last six road contests, Boston better be ready to shake off the fatigue and battle with one of the most formidable front lines in the Western Conference.
WHAT THE GRIZZ DO WELL:
Offensive Rebounding
Say it with me now…..uh oh. Yes the Celtics new potential achilles heel will be brought front and center tonight by the Grizz who statistically are the best offensive rebounding team in the league. Zach Randolph is the ringleader in this department, with him gathering 13.1 percent of all potential offensive boards, good for 3rd in the league behind Ben Wallace and Brendan Haywood. Marc Gasol is also a top 20 rebounder in the league so those two guys are strong anchors down low. Perk, KG and Sheed will have their work cut out for them tonight.
Shoot from the 2 PT Range
The Grizz rank 8th in the league in FG Percentage at 47.% despite shooting 33% from downtown. I’m not a math major so i won’t try to crunch those numbers but numbers wise The Grizz would have to be close, if not tops in the league from shooting inside the arc. Thus it will be crucial tonight for the C’s to cut off penetration and the low post game, and instead make Memphis fire away from deep.
WHAT THE GRIZZ DO POORLY:
Defense (Clap, Clap) Defense!
The Grizz have gotten a bit better on the defensive end since their first meeting with the C’s last year, but not by much. They rank 27th in the league in opponent’s FG percentage allowing 47.8% shooting per game. Should be quite a nice change from the pesky Bucks of last night for The Green.
The Grizz also don’t force many turnovers or defensive rebound as a team particularly well, which probably just means we will see three or four offensive boards by Big Baby in the 2nd quarter tonight, only to be stuffed on half of his putbacks. The one thing the Grizz do well on the defensive end is keeping their opponents off the line, but that’s due to a matador type defense more than anything else.
PLAYER WHO MAKES ME WORRY:
The Grizzlies front line
Gay’s athleticism and strong all around play could prove to give Paul Pierce fits tonight as he attempts to defend him all over the floor. Another tough matchup for Perk tonight, who has been extremely up and down lately himself. Marc Gasol doesn’t have Bogut’s postgame but he still does enough down low to cause some headaches, and he has Zach Randolph as well to help him score some points and hit the offensive glass. Randolph is coming off missing the NJ with a back injury, but he should be back in uniform.
PLAYERS WHO DOES NOT MAKE ME WORRY:
Memphis’ Bench
Sam Young, Marcus Williams, Hamed Haddadi. These are not names that cause Celtics fans to lose sleep at night. Hell, these are names Celtics fans wouldn’t even recognize. The C’s bench has a been a major sparkplug for this team in the majority of recent games and tonight should be another key opportunity. They should get more run coming off of a back to back and the matchups indicate they will have an edge at pretty much every position off the bench. Time to take advantage.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM THE C’s TONIGHT:
As I mentioned earlier, the Grizz don’t like to defend, so it would be wise for the C’s to jump out and move the ball early tonight to frustrate Memphis. The ball movement was really stagnant for large portions of the game against Milwaukee and was extremely ugly against Washington as well until the final 6 minutes of that game. This team is at its best when it is making the extra pass and punishing lazy defensive teams like The Grizz. Time to get back to basics and have a feel good game offensively. Getting Ray Allen involved early and often would help too.
It also goes without saying, this team needs to box out with a purpose tonight against Gasol and Randolph.
PREDICTION:
As I wrote in last night’s recap, I was encouraged by the overall effort, especially the movement on the defensive end. It was one of the more consistent efforts in a loss that we’ve seen from this team this year and I mean that in a good way. A failure to execute on the offensive end ultimately led to their downfall. Tonight, with a more forgiving defensive team in town, I expect a rebound effort. A sense of urgency is also an issue against mediocre teams at home, but we’ve seen progress in this department lately. A close game for a half, the C’s will pull away at the end.
Celtics 105, Grizzlies 95
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