at 
Boston Celtics (7-6) at  OrlandoMagic (5-7)
Sunday, November 25, 2012
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #14,  Road Game #7
TV:   CSNNE, FSFL, NBA-LP 756(BOS)/757(ORL)
Radio:  WEEI,  WDBO
Amway Center
Referees:  Dick Bavetta, Michael Smith, Josh Tiven The Celtics face the very new look Magic for the first time in the post Dwight Howard era.  Big Baby is now the leader of this team and will look to be aggressive and get a win against his former team.  The Celtics have to be aggressive and have to play team ball.  They can't look at the Magic's record and play down to them because they are still very capable of getting a win if the Celtics come out passively.

The Magic are a good home team with 4 wins and 2 losses at the Amway Center.  The Celtics started off strong on the road but are now just 3-3 away from the Garden.  The Celtics are looking for their second straight win while the Magic are looking to win their 3rd straight game.  The Celtics swept the series 3-0 last season. 

Both teams are struggling to integrate several new players and fill in for others that have left the team.  The Celtics are 4th in the Atlantic division while the Magic are 4th in the Southwest division.   This is the first of 3 games between these two teams with one game in Boston and another on the road in Orlando. 

The Celtics need to continue with the same mindset that they had against the Thunder.  They have to be aggressive.  They have to set the pace.  And they have to play defense.  The second unit also must contribute as they did in the last game.  If they do all of those things, I like their chances for a win. 

If Rondo garners 10 or more assists in this game, he will tie John Stockton for 2nd all time with 37 straight games with double digits in assists.  Watch for him to pass early and often. 

Probable Starting Matchups  

Point Guard

  vs 

Rajon Rondo   13.3 PPG,  13.5 APG,  1.9 SPG

Jameer Nelson  11.7 PPG, 6.7 APG,  1.5 SPG

Shooting Guard

vs

Jason Terry  11.5 PPG,  1.7 APG,  ..426 3P%

Arron Afflalo    15.3 PPG,  2.2 APG,  .390 3P%

Small Forward

vs

Paul Pierce   19.8 PPG,  5.4 RPG,  2.8 APG

Maurice Harkless    4.4 PPG,  4.4 RPG,  0.7 APG 

Power Forward 

vs

Brandon Bass 9.5 PPG,  5.2 RPG,  0.9 BPG

Glen Davis  14.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG,  0.3 BPG 

Center

vs

Kevin Garnett  15.2 PPG,  7.2 RPG,  0.9 BPG

Nikola Vucevic   10.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.1 BPG

Celtics Reserves

Jared Sullinger

Jason Collins

Jeff Green

Courtney Lee

Leandro Barbosa

Chris Wilcox

Injured

Avery Bradley (shoulders) out

Red Claws

Fab Melo

Kris Joseph

Magic Reserves

Josh McRoberts

JJ Redick

Gustavo Ayon

Andrew Nicholson

E'Twaun Moore

DeQuan Jones

Kyle O'Quinn

Ishmael Smith

Injuries

Hedo Turkoglu (hand)  out

Al Harrington (knee) out

Key Matchups 

  vs 

Brandon Bass vs Glen Davis

These two players were traded for each other and have each switched roles on their respective teams.  Bass was a reserve in Orlando and became a starter for the Celtics.  Big Baby was a reserve for the Celtics and now is a starter for the Magic.  Going head to head, I'm sure they will each be looking to get the better of the matchup. 

  vs 

Rajon Rondo vs Jameer Nelson

Rondo has been facing some tough competition in recent games.  From Tony Parker to Russell Westbrook and now to Jameer Nelson.  Rondo has been playing very well and the Celtics need him to be aggressive and set the pace every time out if they expect to win.  Rondo can tie John Stockton for 2nd place if he tallies double figures in assists in this game. 

Honorable Mention

Paul Pierce vs Moe Harkless

This could be the Celtics best matchup as Harkless doesn't look to score a lot and so Pierce won't be worn down on the defensive end and may be more efficient on the offensive end because of it.  Pierce catches a break as his old nemesis, Hedo Turkoglu is out with an injury. 

Keys to the Game

Defense - Defense is the key to winning. Period.  The Celtics showed signs of their defense coming together vs the Thunder after two games where they played no defense whatsoever.   Orlando has been playing good defense and are ranked 7th allowing 93.5 points on 44% shooting.  The Celtics are ranked 19th, allowing 99.3 points on 46% shooting.  The Celtics need to commit to playing defense and make that their priority in each and every game. 

Rebound -  The Celtics did better on the boards against the Thunder, being out-rebounded by just 4 by a very good rebounding team.  The Magic are 18th with 41.46 rebounds per game while the Celtics are still last with 35.85 rebounds per game.  The Celtics have to do better as a team aggressively going after rebounds.  Much of rebounding is effort and when the Celtics put out the effort on the boards, that effort translates to the rest of their game as well. 

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be aggressive from start to finish.  They have to take the ball to the hoop and not settle for jumpers, especially if the jumpers aren't falling.  They also have to be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds as well.   And most important,  they have to be aggressive on defense.  If they play timidly in the least or show any weakness, the Magic will take advantage of it. 

Bench Play -  One of the reasons that the Celtics were able to beat the Thunder was the play of their bench.  The Celtics need Green, Lee, Sully, Wilcox,  and Barbosa to once again contribute on both ends of the court.   Green especially must step up once again. 

X-Factors

Aggressiveness and Defense

If the Celtics are aggressive and set the pace and play aggressive defense as they did against the Thunder, they should come out of this with a win.  Hopefully they won't regress to the passive team we saw against the Spurs.