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Boston Celtics (48-19) at New Orleans Hornets (40-30)
Saturday, March 19
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #68, Road Game #33
TV:  CSN-NE, CST, NBA-LP 754
Radio:   WEEI, KMEZ
New Orleans Arena 

Referees:  Marc Davis, Courtney Kirkland, Tom Washington
The Celtics come to yet another dreaded back to back set.  The second game is usually the game that gives the Celtics problems but they came out completely flat and with no focus or energy in the first game and lost 77-93 in Houston.  Now they face a well rested Hornets team that has been off since Wednesday.

This is the second and final game between these two teams.  The Celtics lost to the Hornets in Boston 108-102.   The Hornets are fighting with Portland for the 6th seed in the West and should be motivated to come out strong in this game.  The Celtics are still half a game behind the Bulls for the top seed in the East and blew a great chance to move ahead of them as the Bulls lost to the Pacers but the Celtics couldn't get a win against the Rockets.

The Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 games and are 19-13 on the road.   The Hornets are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 19-14 at home.  The Celtics are coming off a loss while the Hornets have a 2 game win streak going.

 The Celtics starters shouldn't be too tired from the game the previous night since none played more than 28 minutes.   However, they have had easy games on the first night of back to backs before and still lost the second.   It seems to be a mental hurdle for them that they have to conquer.   Before last night, the Celtics had just lost one other first half of a back to back set.  After that loss, the Celtics bounced back with a blowout in the next game.  We can hope that the Celtics respond in the same way to last night's loss.     

Both teams have plenty of motivation to win this game.  The Hornets are fighting for playoff position and would love to sweep the series.  The Celtics should be motivated by the embarrassing blowout they suffered in Houston and they should also want to avoid a sweep by the Hornets.  Hopefully they can dig down deep and pull out the mental toughness needed to win this one.

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Boston Celtics (48-18) at Houston Rockets (35-34)
Friday, March 18
8:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #67, Road Game #32
TV:  CSN-NE, FSH, NBA-LP 763/764
Radio:  WEEI, KILT
Toyota Center 

This is the second and final meeting between these two teams.  The Rockets beat the Celtics in the Garden 108-102, giving the Celtics one of their 6 losses at home.  The Celtics are fighting with the Bulls for the top spot in the East while the Rockets are fighting to make the playoffs, just 2.5 games out of 8th in the West. 

The Celtics are finally starting to get healthy with Delonte finally back and the promise of the O'Neals soon to follow.  The second unit is rounding into shape and was a big reason for the Celtics win over the Pacers.    Now, the starters have to get focused and rested for the Celtics to actually show what they can do.   In the meantime, we never know whether we will see the team that beat the Bucks and the Pacers or the team that lost to the Clippers and the Nets. 

The Celtics have lost the last 2 overall to the Rockets, both in Boston and they have a 4 game win streak going in Houston.  Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games and the Celtics are coming off a win while the Rockets have a 2 win streak going.  The Celtics are 19-12 on the road while the Rockets are 19-14 at home.

If the bench continues to gel and the team regains focus, they should be able to get a win in this game.   This being the first of a back to back set, hopefully they will take care of business early and get the starters some rest.

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Indiana Pacers (29-38) at Boston Celtics (47-18)
Wednesday, March 16
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #66, Home Game #35
TV:  CSNNE, FSI, NBA-LP 753/754
Radio:  WEEI,  WFNI
TD Garden
Referees:  Scott Foster,  Tony Brothers,  Violet Palmer 
This is the 3rd meeting between the Celtics and Pacers this season.  The Celtics won the first two games 99-88 and 95-83 and they have one more game coming up on March 28.  Since the last time these two teams met, the Pacers fired head coach Jim O'Brian and his assistant Frank Vogel took over the job.  Larry Bird also questioned the heart of his players recently.    The Pacers are coming off the high of beating the Knicks in a home and home series.  

The Celtics are coming off a loss to the Nets and have lost 3 of their last 4 games.   The Celtics have had a day off while the Pacers are playing in the second of back to back games.  The Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 games and the Pacers are 3-7 in their last 10 games.   The Celtics are 28-6 at home while the Pacers are 11-23 on the road.   The Celtics are 10-2 overall and 6-0 at home vs the Pacers since the beginning of the 2007-08 season when KG and Ray Allen joined the team. 

There will be plenty of excitement in the Garden as Wednesday is Mike and Tommy night, honoring Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn for their 30 years together broadcasting Celtics games.  That should give the Celtics added incentive to get a win in this one.   The Celtics are now half a game back of the Bulls for the top seed and just 2 games ahead of Miami for the 3rd seed.  The Pacers are half a game in front of the Bobcats for the 8th seed so this game has playoff implications for both the Celtics and the Pacers and we should see a strong effort from  both teams.  However, lately the Celtics don't seem to have any sense of urgency and they have been losing on a regular basis to teams they should easily beat.    Since this could be a first round preview, the Celtics need to bring some urgency and make a statement with a strong win. 

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Boston Celtics (47-17) at New Jersey Nets (20-43)
Monday,  March 14
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #65,  Road Game #31
TV:  CSNNE, YES,  SNET1, NBA-LP 751/752
Radio:  WEEI
Prudential Center

 Referees:  Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Collins, Mark Lindsay
This is the 4th and final meeting between these two division rivals.  The Celtics won the first 3 games 89-83, 100-75, and 94-80.  All 3 meetings were before the trade deadline and both teams changed considerably at that point.  The Nets new point guard has been away from the team for personal reasons but is expected to practice on Sunday and play against the Celtics on Monday.  Williams' presence has given the Nets new hope of making the playoffs.  They are just 5.5 games out of 8th place and are making a push having won their last 4 games. 

The Celtics have struggled somewhat to find their rhythm and chemistry since the trades that brought in 5 new players.    They are hoping to get some help as players return from injury and make a push of their own for the top seed in the East but Chicago is right there with them and if the Celtics stumble, the Bulls are ready to charge.  Big Baby's return was a big success on Sunday.  Delonte is expected to make his return on Wednesday. 

The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games while the Nets have been off since Friday.  The Celtics starters were able to get rest in the 4th quarter and no starter played more than 31 minutes.    In their last 10 games, the Celtics are 7-3 and the Nets are 4-6.   The Nets are 16-16 at home while the Celtics are 19-11 on the road.  The Nets are on a 4 game win streak after losing their previous 6.  The Celtics bounced back to win their last game after losing 2 in a row. 

If the Celtics come out with the same intensity they had when facing the Bucks, there is no doubt that they will be able to get a win in this game. 

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Milwaukee Bucks (25-38)  at  Boston Celtics (46-17)
Sunday,  March 13
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #64,  Home Game #34
TV:  NBA-TV, CSN-NE, FSN-WI, NBAC
Radio:  WEEI, WTMJ
TD Garden\

Referees:  Ken Mauer,  Leroy Richardson, Gary Zielenski 
This is the 3rd and final meeting between these two teams and the second game between them in a week.  The Celtics won in Boston 105-102 and in Milwaukee 89-83 a week ago.   In that game, the Celtics had just 9 players available and Bogut was out for the Bucks.

The Celtics are expecting to get a boost from Big Baby's return to active duty in this game.   They need a boost of something after two very lackluster performances in the 2 losses leading up to this game.    Big Baby's return could begin the process of getting healthy and solidifying their playoff roster.  Delonte West is expected back next week.  Shaq and JO should be getting close as well.  Their returns can't come soon enough with Chicago now tied with the Celtics atop the standings right now.

The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 27-6 at home.  Every one of those 6 losses have come against Western Conference teams.  The Celtics are 19-0 at home against Eastern conference teams at home.  The Celtics have lost their last 2 games.  The Bucks are 5-5 in their last 10 games but have won their last 2 games. The Bucks have had some injury problems of their own and are playing better since the return of Andrew Bogut to the starting lineup.    The Bucks are 9-22 on the road.