CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Celtics Visit the Raptors Looking for the Preseason Sweep

Boston Celtics (4-1) at Toronto Raptors (2-4)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
3:00 PM ET
Preseason Game #6 – Road Game #3
TV: CSN HD, DTV 751
Air Canada Centre
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Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
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Marquis Daniels vs Jose Calderon

Shooting Guard
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Ray Allen vs Demar DeRozan

Small Forward
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Paul Pierce vs Hedo Turkoglu

Power Forward
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Kevin Garnett vs Chris Bosh

Center
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Kendrick Perkins vs Andrea Bargnani

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Reserves
Eddie House
Rasheed Wallace
Marquis Daniels
Shelden Williams
Tony Allen
Brian Scalabrine
Lester Hudson
Michael Sweetney
Big Baby Davis
JR Giddens

Injuries
Tony Allen (ankle) out
Bill Walker (knee) out

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Reserves
Reggie Evans
Marco Belinelli
Jarrett Jack
Amir Johnson
Patrick O'Bryant
Marcus Banks
Quincy Douby
Sonny Weems

Injuries
Reggie Evans (foot) out
Antoine Wright (knee) day to day

Team Connections
Joey Graham and Tony Allen are former Oklahoma State Cowboys
Raptors Strength and Conditioning Coach Keith D’Amelio was an assistant to Ed Lacerte for three season
Amir Johnson and Rasheed Wallace were teammates in Detroit from 2006-09
Marcus Banks played for the Celtics from 2003-06
DeMar DeRozan and Brian Scalabrine are former USC Trojans
Reggie Evans and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2003-06
Rasho Nesterovic, Jarrett Jack and Marquis Daniels were teammates in Indianaduring the 2008-09 season
Nesterovic and Kevin Garnett were teammates in Minnesota from 1998-2003
Patrick O’Bryant played for the Celtics during the 2008-09 season
Quincy Douby and Shelden Williams were teammates in Sacramento during the 2007-08 season

Key Matchups
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Marquis Daniels vs Jose Calderon
Doc has said that he plans to start Marquis Daniels along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Doc is still deciding on the rotation behind Rajon Rondo at the point and will be taking a longer look at Daniels at the point along with Lester Hudson. It will be interesting to see how Calderon defends Daniels and vice versa.

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Kevin Garnett vs Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh started Wednesday's game strong and had 20 points in the first half. Then the Celtics upped their defense and got more physical and Bosh disappeared, scoring just 1 point the rest of the game. In spite of all the talk about his putting on muscle and wanting to stand up to the more physical teams, it doesn't seem to be working so far.

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce vs Hedo Turkoglu
These two always seem to bring out the best in each other. There have been a few games where Turkoglu has hit the winning shot for Orlando against the Celtics and Pierce typically has good games vs Turkoglu.

Game Notes
Doc is planning to start Marquis Daniels at the point in this game. It isn't clear whether Rondo will play or if he will be given the day off. Doc could be trying to get an extended look at the players who figure to be in the running for the back up pg spot.

Both teams should be well rested and the starters for both teams are healthy. The Raptors will be looking to avenge Wednesday's loss and the Celtics will be looking to make a statement to a division rival.

When these two teams first met, Rasheed Wallace was sitting off and he should be available for this game. Even without Sheed, the Celtics bench outplayed the Raptors bench and that shouldn't change in this game. The Celtics' bench is much deeper than the Raptors' bench and that will probably be the difference once again.

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