Preview and Official Report - Celtics (7-14) at Sixers (2-21) Game #22 12/15/14

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Boston Celtics (7-14) at Philadelphia 76ers (2-21)
Regular Season Game #22, Road Game #9
Monday, December 15,  2014
7:00 PM ET
TV: CSNNE, CSN-PHI, NBA-LP 753(DTV)/751 (Xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.5 The Fanatic
Wells Fargo Center
Referees:  Tom Washington, Leon Wood,  Sean Wright

The Celtics travel to Philadelphia hoping to get back on track against the tanking Sixers.  They will meet in Boston on 2/6 and 3/16.  The Celtics won their first regular season meeting 101-90 for the Sixers 11th loss and keeping them winless on the season.   The Celtics also won two meetings against the Sixers in the preseason. 

The Sixers, like the Celtics have been able to build leads against good teams but then can't hold on for the win.  In their last game, the Sixers led the Grizzlies by 18 with 7:39 to go in regulation, but lost in OT.   Several of their losses have come by 5 points or less

It's hard to believe but the Sixers have fewer wins than Rajon Rondo has triple doubles.  The Sixers have two wins which have come against the struggling Timberwolves and Pistons.   The Sixers may be taking tanking to a new level, but the Celtics can't take a win here for granted. 

The Celtics defense has a problem for them.  They are allowing teams to score 106.5 (3rd in the league0  on 46.0 percent shooting (6th)  They are even worse than the 76ers, who are allowing 103.7 points, 6th worst.   So, as bad as the Sixers have been,  they are better defensively than the Celtics. 

The Sixers, however, have been dismal on offense, averaging a league worst 91.4 points per game.  In spite of their defensive struggles, the Celtics are averaging 104.2 points per game, which ranks them 6th in the league.   The Sixers are 0-12 at home while the Celtics are 2-6 on the road.      The Sixers have improved since their last meeting with the Celtics but the Celtics should still win this.  If they don't, it will probably be because of  lack of effort on their part.



Probable Starters
 
PG Rajon Rondo....... SG: Avery Bradley

C: Tyler Zeller

SG: Jeff Green ....... PF: Jared Sullinger

Celtics Reserves
Phil Pressey
Evan Turner
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
Gerald Wallace

Injuries
Vitor Faverani (knee) out
Marcus Thornton (calf) out
Marcus Smart (Achilles) out
James Young (shoulder)  out



Probable Starters

PG: Michael Carter-Williams ................... SG:  Hollis Thompson

C: Nerlens Noel

SG: Robert Covington  ...........  PF: Luc Mbah a Moute

Sixers Reserves
JaKarr Sampson
Drew Gordon
Jerami Grant
Henry Sims
Tony Wroten
Andrei Kirilenko
Ronald Roberts

Injuries
Joel Embiid (foot) out
KJ McDaniels (ankle) questionable
Jason Richardson (knee) out



Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo vs Michael Carter Williams 
Carter-Williams, last year's rookie of the year,  is averaging 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.19 steals per game.  Rondo will be looking to be more aggressive after taking some heat for the Celtics losses in their last 3 games.   This should be a good matchup. 

vs
Tyler Zeller vs Nerlens Noel
Zeller has been playing very well lately and will be challenged by Noel, who has been coming on strong of late as well.  Noel is averaging 7.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.6 steals.  He leads all rookies in rebounding and will be a problem for the Celtics inside. 

Honorable Mention
Evan Turner vs Tony Wroten
This will be a battle of 6th men for these two teams.  Wroten brings a boost off the bench for the Sixers, averaging 17.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.76 steals per game.  With Marcus Thornton sidelined for this game, the Celtics will need to get a boost off the bench from Evan Turner. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is key to winning. Defense wins games pure and simple.  Unfortunately this has been where the Celtics have struggled the most, allowing teams to score 106.5 points, which is 3rd worst in the league.  They have to somehow figure out a way to get stops, especially late in games. 

Rebound - The Celtics have to crash the boards in order to give themselves extra possessions as well as to prevent the Sixers from getting second chance points and fast breaks. 

Play 48 Minutes -  The Celtics have had lapses in each of their losses.  They have either fallen behind and then had to catch up or got off to a big lead and then let up and lost it.  They have to focus and play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer with no let up! 

Pace and Space - The Celtics must set the pace and run on every possession.  It seems that they run to start most games and build a lead or hang with teams but then they slow it down and walk the ball up the court and no longer keep up the pace. 

Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team.  They must be the first to loose balls and rebounds, and they have to be aggressive in driving to the basket and not always settling for jumpers.  They must be aggressive on defense and set the tone for the game. 

X-Factors
Road Game and Overconfidence
The Celtics will be on the road and young teams often struggle on the road.  If the Celtics come in overconfident and take the Sixers for granted they could come away with a 4 game losing streak. They must take the Sixers seriously and play hard. 

Official Report

Tom Washington
Over his 23-season NBA officiating career, Tom Washington has officiated 1,372 regular season games, 116 playoff games and four Finals games. He was a member of the crews that officiated the 1995 Schick Rookie Game, the 1996 Japan Games in Tokyo and the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. In addition to his 23 seasons with the NBA, Washington has two years of CBA officiating experience. He has one year of collegiate officiating experience in Division II and III, and five years of
high school officiating experience in his hometown of Philadelphia, officiating in the playoffs for both the men’s and women’s leagues.

There are two very badly called games that Washington called come to mind. In a loss to the Pistons three seasons ago, Detroit shot 46 free throws to 15 for the Celtics, Rondo was ejected, and Tommy Heinsohn called it the worst officiated game all season (are you cringing yet?). In Game 2 vs the Heat in the 2012 playoffs, the Heat shot 47 free throws to 29 for the Celtics, in spite of the Celtics attacking the basket all night. There were bad calls throughout the 4th quarter and OT, all in the Heat's favor. Pierce, Pietrus, and Dooling all fouled out. LeBron was given 24 free throws all by himself. For the most part, other than those two games he hasn't been too bad. Both teams are 2-8 in their last 10 games with Washington. His home W/L record is 8-11.

Leon Wood
Leon Wood’s connection with the NBA began as a player when he played professionally with Philadelphia, Washington, New Jersey, San Antonio, Atlanta and Sacramento, averaging 6.4 points, 3.2 assists and 1.2 rebounds as a guard during his six-year NBA career. In addition to his NBA playing career, Wood was a member of the Gold Medal winning 1984 United States Olympic Basketball Team, and he won another Gold Medal in the 1983 Pan-Am Games.
During his 18-season NBA officiating career, he has worked 1,113 regular season games and 20 playoff games. Wood has three years of CBA officiating experience and one year of collegiate officiating experience in the Ohio Valley and Trans America Athletic Conferences. He also has one year of high school officiating experience in California.

You would think that being a former player, Wood would try to be fair but he has been a fairly mediocre ref at best. Although he's been pretty good in the Celtics games he has officiated. Both teams are 0-1 this season and 4-6 over their last 10 games with Wood officiating. His home W/L record this season is 9-6.

Sean Wright
Sean Wright has officiated 532 regular season and 12 playoff games in his nine seasons. Prior to joining the NBA, Wright was an official in the NBA D-League, where he participated in the Playoffs in 2004 and the Finals game in 2005. Wright’s collegiate officiating experience includes working in the SEC, Colonial, Big South,
Southern, Ohio Valley, Atlantic Sun and Southwestern Athletic Conferences. It was Sean Wright that Rondo threw the ball at resulting in his ejection and suspension in 2012. In one game with Wright last season, a loss to Philly, Tommy called him an idiot after one particularly bad call. The Celtics are 1-9 in their last 10 games with Wright while the Sixers are 4-6 in their last 10. His home W/L record this season is 9-9.
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