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Boston Celtics (35-10) at Phoenix Suns (20-24)
Friday, January 28
10:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #46, Road Game #21
TV:  ESPN, CSNNE, FSA, SNET1
Radio:  WEEI, KTAR
US Airways Center
Referees:  Steve Javie, Bennie Adams,  Brent Barnacky 
After playing in Portland last night, the Celtics continue their road trip in Phoenix.  The Celtics are the more talented and the deeper team, but they are at a disadvantage because of the travel and playing in back to back games.

Last season, the Suns won the series over the Celtics 2-0.  Kevin Garnett scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his only game against the Suns last season.  Ray Allen averaged 15.5 points per game while Rajon Rondo added 13.5 points and 9.5 assists per game. Amar’e Stoudemire led the Suns with an average of 24.0 points per game last season against the Celtics while Steve Nash added 13.5 points and 10.0 assists in the two contests.

Shaq is expected to come back tonight against his old team and should start with Perk coming off the bench once again.  Pierce left the game last night with what has been described as a knee/ankle/thigh bruise/injury.  He is listed as a game time decision.  The Celtics may decide to sit him out in this one, even if it isn't serious in order to have him 100% for Sunday.  Or, knowing that Pierce is a warrior, he may insist on playing anyway.  


The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 13-7 on the road while the Suns are 6-4 in their last 10 and 11-10 at home.  The Suns have lost 3 in a row and you know that they will be motivated to end their losing streak there.  The Celtics are coming off a win in their first game on the road trip and would love to continue the trip with another win in this one and go into Sunday's game vs the Lakers on a winning note. 

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Boston Celtics (34-10) at Portland Trailblazers (25-21)
Thursday, January 27
10:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #45,  Road Game #20
TV:  TNT, CSNNE, TSN2
Radio:  WEEI, KXTG
Rose Garden
Referees:  Ed Malloy,  Matt Boland,  Haywoode Workman

The Celtics begin their first Western road trip with a visit to the Portland Trailblazers.  This is the second meeting between these two teams this season with the Celtics winning at the Garden 99-95 after a frenzied Blazers comeback and a game winner by Ray Allen who had been just 2-11 up to that point. 

As with many of the Celtics games recently, there is a different cast for both teams in this game.  Marcus Camby and Brandon Roy will miss this game with Joel Przybilla and Wesley Matthews replacing them.  For the Celtics Shaq will more than likely be out and in his place will be Semih Erden.  And coming off the bench for the Celtics will be Perk in his second game back from injury.  LaMarcus Aldridge underwent an MRI on his hip after Monday's game but there was no damage and so he is expected to play in this one.  Wes Matthews tweaked his ankle in the last game and is likewise expected to play in this one.   Paul Pierce also tweaked his ankle in Tuesday's game but is also expected to play in this one. 

The Celtics have beaten the Blazers in 10 of their last 11 meetings.  And have won the last 7 times these teams have met.  The Celtics are 12-7 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games.  The Blazers are 16-6 at home and 6-4 in their last 10.  The Celtics are looking for their second straight win while the Blazers are hoping to avoid a 2 game losing streak after their 5 game winning streak was stopped by Sacramento on Monday.   

Portland’s .402 (39-59) all-time winning percentage against Boston is its lowest mark among all current NBA opponents. The Celtics are the NBA’s only active team with  a winning record in Portland (26-23).

According to an article in Oregon Live the Blazers are planning to come out strong and  establish themselves as the aggressor early.  The Celtics must match their early aggression and take their aggression a step further.  The Celtics can't take the Blazers for granted due to their injuries because the Blazers are still a dangerous team, even with Camby and Roy out. 

Referees:  Mike Callahan, John Goble,  Scott Twardoski
This is the 3rd and final meeting between these two teams.   The first meeting between these two teams came on the second night of the season.  The Celtics were playing in the second of back to back games, having won an emotional home opener against the Heat the night before.  The Cavs were playing in their home opener and played with a lot of energy and fire while the Celtics came out flat and lacked intensity and focus throughout the game.

The second game was a different story as the Celtics went into Cleveland and beat the Cavs 106-87.   The Cavs have had even more injury problems than the Celtics.  They have played a couple of games with just 9 players available.   Their energy guy, Varejao is out for the rest of the season.  Mo Williams is out indefinitely and they have had others in and out of the lineup all season.

After their lackluster performance against the Wizards, the Celtics have said that they know that they have been playing down to competition and know that they can't do that and expect a win.  Every game matters when you have the goal of winning the championship.  These are the games they must win and hopefully the Celtics learned a lesson in their loss to the Wizards that will serve them in this game and in the future vs teams that are struggling.

The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Wizards after having won their previous 4 games.  The Cavs are 0-10 in their last 10 games and have lost 17 in a row, after losing to the Nets on Monday night.  The Celtics are 21-3 on their home court while the Cavs are just 3-21 on the road.  Anything less than 100% effort from the Celtics will be inexcusable in this game after their loss on Saturday.  Otherwise, they might find themselves being the only team to lose their series to the Cavs this season.