New York Knicks (1-0) at Boston Celtics (0-1) Friday, October 9, 2009 7:30 PM ET TV: CSN HD, MSG TD BankNorth Garden Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon Shooting Guard vs Ray Allen vs Larry Hughes
Small Forward vs Paul Pierce vs Al Harrington
Power Forward vs Kevin Garnett vs Jared Jeffries
Center vs Kendrick Perkins vs David Lee
Reserves Rasheed Wallace Marquis Daniels Big Baby Davis Eddie House Brian Scalabrine Lester Hudson Shelden Williams JR Giddens Michael Sweetney
Injuries Tony Allen (ankle) questionable Bill Walker (knee) out
Reserves Darko Milicic Toney Douglas Nate Robinson Danilo Gallinari Jordan Hill Joe Crawford Marcus Landry Chris Hunter
Injuries Eddy Curry (calf) questionable Wilson Chandler (ankle) questionable
Matchups to Watch vs While the starting point guard matchup will always be a key one. The back up PG spot is going to be one to watch for the Celtics. Doc is set on using Marquis Daniels as a point forward to back up Rondo. It will be interesting to see how this concept works with a quick and tough PG like Nate Robinson.
vs Celtics fans will be watching whichever matchup KG has until they are certain the knee is good and KG is 100%. It will be interesting to see how he does in his second outing back after the surgery and whether his minutes increase by a few in this game.
Notes: Knicks fans should enjoy this because it should be the only time this season where the Knicks have a better record than the Celtics. As with every other game, lineups and minutes are going to be very inconsistent as coaches take a look at the fringe players, decide on which rotations work best and easing their starters into the season.
The replacement refs so far have not had the best effect on games. The Celtics opener went over 3 hours and included more than 100 free throws. Calls were wildly inconsistent and of course, Sheed got the obligatory technical foul. As the pre-season wears on, either the refs will have to improve or the players are going to be worn out before the preseason is over.
The Knicks had signed former Celtic Gabe Pruitt to a training camp contract but he was cut along with 3 others to pare the Knicks roster down to 15. I hope Smilin' Gabe can catch on with a team.
Things to Watch 1. KG's conditioning and 2. Daniels ability to play the point against a quick and experience pg 3. Rondo's jumper 4. Chemistry of the second unit 5. Replacement refs and their affect on the game
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