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3 hours ago

5 Questions With Josh McRoberts

I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden.  Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, had to say. 1. How have you guys been able to deal [...]

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5 hours ago

5-on-5: Predicting All-Star Reserves

I was a panelist on the 5-on-5 today at ESPN, choosing reserves for the Eastern and Western Conference all-star teams. I took two Celtics, as noted below. Hit the link to read the rest. 1. Which East and West point guards should be chosen as All-Star reserves? Ryan DeGama, CelticsHub: East: Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo [...]

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1 day ago

Greg Stiemsma’s Contract To Become Fully Guaranteed

The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]

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2 days ago

5 Questions With Kemba Walker

I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night.  Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]

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3 days ago

I Am Awesome!

Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]

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3 days ago

Pierce Wins Eastern Conference Player Of Week

One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]

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Game 68/82: Celtics (43-24) at Rockets (35-31)

 

Moochie Ain't Walkin' Through That Door Ladies and Gents!

 

Boston at Houston
8:30 P.M. EST.
TD Garden
Local TV/Radio: CSN/WEEI

Offensive Efficiency:

Boston: 107.2 points/100 possessions (15th)

Rockets: 107.3 points/100 possessions (14th)

Defensive Efficiency:

Boston: 102.3 points allowed/100 possessions (1st)

Rockets: 106.9 points allowed/100 possessions (15th)

Probable Rockets starters:

Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola, Trevor Ariza

Injury Report

Rockets: OUT: Yao Ming PROBABLE: Kyle Lowry

Thumbnail: The Rockets have been playing really well as of late and might actually be the tougher Texas team to beat this weekend.  With notable wins against Memphis, San Antonio, and Denver within their last ten games, it’s pretty clear that Houston not only made out like bandits at the trade deadline, but also won’t go down easy tonight.  The Celtics need a win they can hang their hats on and tonight would do just fine.

The Bad News

Like I wrote above, the Rockets made out like bandits at the trade deadline.  They gave up one of their best players for one of the King’s best players yet come out looking like geniuses with the improved play of Luis Scola.  Scola has stepped up admirably filling in for the departed Carl Landry.  Unfortunately for the Celtics, Scola is another energy player in the Anderson Verajao mold the Celtics hate to play.

The Rockets also have a unique mix of offensive fire power (sporting players like Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin) and defense prowess (Trevor Ariza and Shane Battier).

The Good News

This Rockets team usually goes as Aaron Brooks goes.  Brooks is an incredibly fast point guard with which Rajon Rondo just happens to matchup well.  Couple that with Nate Robinson matching up well with Brooks’ backup, Kyle Lowry, and things already seem to be looking green.

Scola may be an effective energy player who is playing very well as of late, but he’s not as good as Kevin Garnett and he is barely bigger than Glen Davis.  The bottom line is that the on paper matchups overwhelmingly favor the Celtics.

What I want to “C” tonight:

I feel like a broken record, but it seems like every game I preview is the perfect game to get Shelden Williams off his butt.  The Rockets rely on the bulk of their bigs (Hayes and Scola) and it would behoove the C’s to use Shelden to push them around a bit.

The Celtics also need to maintain the intensity.  I believe the Celtics have put the kibosh on their tendency to get caught looking past the task at hand.  After losing a devastating game to Cleveland, they came out and smacked Detroit in the mouth and never let up.  The C’s of six weeks ago could easily be thinking Dirk instead of Aaron, but I believe these C’s know what they need to do.

Prediction

Celtics 105, Houston 95 Why? Because I can, that’s why.

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