CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Thoughts from Nets Game And Knicks Preview

The Celtics bench basically beat the Nets' starters 111-108. The Pierce, KG and Ray all sat last night. Well, they sat after the Celtics finally scored a field goal, which wasn't until Giddens finally scored with 6:49 left in the first and the Celtics down 13-1.

While Tony was very impressive with 32 points on 11-18 shooting, 10-12 from the line and a good defensive showing, I wouldn't anoint him a starter or better than Posey, yet. The one thing that Posey brought was consistency. We always knew what we would get from Posey game in and game out. So far, we still see one great game from Tony Allen and then he regresses the next. I will wait to see some consistency before anointing him the next James Posey.

Gabe Pruitt has been impressive in this preseason. He should give Eddie House a run for the back up point guard spot. Last night he had 14 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and most importantly, no turnovers in 29 minutes. He definitely has a place on the roster. It still makes me wonder what they are going to do with Sam. Today's papers insist he is here to play and not coach. But we already have 3 point guards ahead of him. Although, Eddie may be best used as instant offense off the bench as the 2 guard. Eddie had 21 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists last night. I love Eddie, but I think Gabe is the better option at PG right now.

Miles isn't doing much to make a case that he can contribute. He had only 1 point in 9 minutes last night and still is showing considerable rust. Scal finally scored last night. He had 11 points, but was only 4-11 and 3-7 from beyond the arc. But his line was respectable with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals to go with his points and some decent defense to boot. But he always reminds me of Antoine's volume shooter concept and that makes me cringe.

Leon is so steady and is solidifying his spot on the team. He has played well both at the 4 and the 5 spot. You always know that he is going to give you toughness and hustle ever single game. Big Baby wasn't too bad, either with 8 points and 6 rebounds and has played better after those first two games where he tried to do too much.
I think the Celtics may have some of the best rebounding guards in the NBA. Rondo had 3 rebounds, Pruitt had 4 rebounds, House had 3 rebounds and all are capable of big nights on the boards.

The Celtics play again tonight and Doc has said to expect the starters to play more and he will start to get them into more of a rotation than just trying out players. It may give us a look at who is in and who is out.

New York Knicks (1-1) at Boston Celtics (4-1)
Friday, October 17
7:30 PM
TV: CSN
Radio: WEEI
TD Banknorth Garden

Probable Starting Matchups
PG Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon
SG Ray Allen vs Jamal Crawford
SF Paul Pierce vs Quentin Richardson
PF Kevin Garnett vs David Lee
C Kendrick Perkins vs Zach Randolph

For the third season in a row, the Celtics and Knicks will face each other in a home and home series in the preseason. New York last won in Boston in 11/24/06 and the Celtics swept the series last season.

The Knicks are entering a new era without Isiah Thomas at the helm. It is certain that Mike D'Antoni will try to have them run and they have a new outlook. However, they are still stuck with some of the players and big contracts that Isiah brought in and so they are sure to struggle again this season in spite of a new GM and a new coach.

Matchup to Watch

Last season, the matchup between Paul Pierce and Quentin Richardson got very chippy. At one point, QRich called Pierce out to fight him. This is a matchup to watch as there is bad blood between these two players.

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