<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> November 8, 2006 - 7:30 pm ET</div> <span style="color:#FF6600">Charlotte Bobcats</span> <span style="color:#000099">(1-2)</span> <span style="color:#000099">PG</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Raymond Felton</span> <span style="color:#000099">SG</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Brevin Knight</span> <span style="color:#000099">SF</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Gerald Wallace</span> <span style="color:#000099">PF</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Emeka Okafor</span> <span style="color:#000099">C</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Jake Voskuhl</span> <span style="color:#000099">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Sean May, Adam Morrison, Othella Harrington, Matt Carroll, Bernard Robinson</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston Celtics</span> <span style="color:#000000">(0-3)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Sebastian Telfair</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">SF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak</span> <span style="color:#000000">PF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Ryan Gomes</span> <span style="color:#000000">C</span> <span style="color:#009900">Theo Ratliff</span> <span style="color:#000000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Michael Olowokandi</span> Injury Report <span style="color:#000099">CHA:</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Primoz Brezec will not play (bouncing back from tiredness/dehydration)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson will not play (recovering from apendix surgery)</span> Who To Watch Out For <span style="color:#FF6600">Emeka Okafor</span> <span style="color:#000099">Season Stats: 13.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.3 bpg</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Gerald Wallace</span> <span style="color:#000099">Season Stats: 9.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.7 spg, 1.0 bpg</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Raymond Felton</span> <span style="color:#000099">Season Stats: 14.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.3 spg</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Adam Morrison</span> <span style="color:#000099">Season Stats: 16.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 24.7 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 4.3 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 24.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg</span> Rookie Watch <span style="color:#000099">CHA:</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Adam Morrison</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 3</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">16.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Rajon Rondo</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 21</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Leon Powe</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 49</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Has not played</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Charlotte's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Brevin Knight</span> <span style="color:#000099">Season Stats: 14.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 7.0 apg, 2.0 spg</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Knight has been playing excellent basketball, and he's really one of the most underrated guards in the league today. If he can keep up his strong play and cause problems for Telfair/West/Rondo, then that will help Charlotte a great deal.</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 19% FG, 29% 3FG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte has had an absolutely TERRIBLE start to the season, as the numbers tell you. He's just not himself. Now, I know he's bouncing back, but IMO his confidence has been shot down due to the Celtics going out to get 2 PG's to replace him this summer. He needs to play his natural SG role and shoot the ball like we all know he can. D-West is due for a breakout game, and we need it.</span> Key Matchup vs. <span style="color:#FF6600">Gerald Wallace</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">Wallace is one of the best defensive wings in the league and he can cause a lot of problems, even for a top offensive player in Paul Pierce. This is going to be nice matchup. Paul Pierce can explode with anybody guarding him, but that will be no easy task with Wallace on him.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/Notes Other than Morrison, they have a terrible bench. Terrible. Having a small backcourt in Felton/Knight will benefit Delonte. I am very excited to see Morrison for the first time (I mean I saw him in college and summer league, but I mean real NBA), and I am also excited to see a healthy Okafor. Also, I am very happy to see Ratliff make his Celtic debut, his defensive presence could help this team considerably. I am pissed that Big Al is hurt again though. CelticBalla's Prediction We have to win this game. If we lose this one, I don't know how the hell we will get a win vs. Utah or @ Cleveland on Friday/Saturday. This is a very winnable game. Come on, it's the Bobcats. We have to win this, and I think we finally will win one.
I really like how our bench matches up with theirs, so hopefully they can take advantage of that. They also don't have one true "scorer" so they definitely can take advantage of that too. The three previous games have been against good teams, with star players. This team has no star player so if they can shut them down that would be pretty ill.
I believe we will crush em. The O for the Cs has been flowing and with these past couple of days to practice they should come out crisp and they should play better d.
What a sh*tty game. No excuse for needing a last second shot in overtime to win it. You're not supposed to blow 8 point leads int he last two minutes, thats unfuckingacceptable. At least they were able to fight and grind one out. Paul, Wally and Ryan carried us and faught so hard tonight. Props to them.
Eek....12 TO's by Pierce! Because of that he had a triple double!Great game for you guys, congrats on getting your first win!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Eek....12 TO's by Pierce! Because of that he had a triple double!</div>yikes is right
wow, I really had no clue pierce had 10 turnovers, that's pretty ridiculous.but yankshater is right, this game should never have had to go into OT. I was about to assassinate wally after his first half performanc, but he really stepped up huge with 20 3rd quarter points.Ryan Gomes was incredible with his first career triple-double. 10/12/10.It's utterly ridiculous that Rondo had a DNP tonight. I can't believe he rotted on the bench while TA logged 15 minutes. should've been vice versa.I hope Delonte's game winner finally gave him some confidence. he's been playing like sh*t, honestly. lmao at what he said in the post game interview. "I'm gonna go home and do 10 pushups (because he shot an airball)". one other thing, I'm really surprised that gerald wallace didn't play much D on pierce. for the majority of the first half, raymond felton was actually guarding him. Wallace had some fould trouble tonight tho.
Wow. We made WAAAAAAY too many stupid mistakes. Turnovers were outrageous (eh hem.. Pierce with 12, the team totalling 25 of them), we made TERRIBLY STUPID fouls at the end. I mean we were up by like 7 or 9 with 1 minute to go, and then they forced OT, and it came down to a buzzer beater. Unacceptable. We rebounded well though. Needless to say, I am incredibly happy we got our first win. Phew. Paul Pierce <u>35 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals... <span style="color:#FF0000">12 turnovers!!!!</span> (record is 14)</u> Paul scored like Paul Pierce, and he rebounded like an absolute monster as usual. He found Delonte open for the GW jumper at the end. He hustled. But jesus christ 12 turnovers? Other than that, Pierce was a god. Wally Szczerbiak <u>35 points (career high as a Celtic), 5 rebounds</u> Wally was absolutely phenominal in the 3rd quarter, wow. He nailed everything. He played excellent ball tonight and he brought a lot of intensity. Wally has been unbelievable the past 2 games. Ryan Gomes <u>10 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists (first career triple-double), 1 block</u> You don't get a triple-double and not have a monster game. Gomes was incredible tonight. He did everything, he knocked down some shots, made some great passes, banged the boards, and hustled. I love Gomes, excellent game. Theo Ratliff <u>4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks (yes, he had 3. The NBA.com stat sheet is wrong, I saw all 3 with my own eyes, plus replays)</u> Theo looked awesome out there for only practicing twice in the past month. He moved well, blocked shots, changed shots. He gives us a new look downlow on the defensive end, and I absolutely love it. Theo looked good tonight, and he's only going to look better as time rolls on. Please stay healthy though. Delonte West <u>7 points, 4 assists, the Game-Winning buzzer beater in overtime</u> D-West didn't shoot well tonight, but he looked a hell of a lot more comfortable playing PG again. But, he saved the day and made 2 big defensive plays down the stretch. He needs to be more consistant with his shot though, like last year. Delonte for prez! Michael Olowokandi <u>8 points (4-6 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 steal in 16 minutes</u> Kandi-Man played excellent tonight. That hookshot is money, well tonight at least. He gave us some offensive firepower, used his body, used his fouls, and he was active. He helped on the boards. O is going to have to keep this strong play up for the next month or so when Al is out. Sebastian Telfair <u>3 points (1-4 FG), 3 assists, 0 turnovers</u> Well, Bassy didn't do anything spectacular at all tonight. A huge plus is no turnovers in 29 minutes, but he did make mistakes. Those mistakes were at the end of the 4th quarter when he basically gave Charlotte points. He made STUPID fouls. STUPID. He needs to be more consistant. He can't get 24 points and 6 assists one night, then play like this the next game. Not going to cut it. Kendrick Perkins <u>2 points, 1 rebound, 1 block... 5 fouls in 9 minutes</u> 5 fouls in 9 minutes. WTF PERK!!!! This is friggen atrotious. Perk is doing this on a nightly basis (fouling like an idiot). He's fouling right away when he comes in, 4/5 of them are stupid fouls. He needs to stop this BS. You just got an extension bro, you are a hard worker and you had a good season last year, WTF is this crap? Tony Allen <u>2 points (0-2 FG), 3 fouls, 3 turnovers in 15 minutes</u> He turned the ball over and tried to do too much offensively, nothing new. But I can't argue that he played good defense on Adam Morrison, and he really bothered him. Solid job defensively, TA, but pass the damn ball. Gerald Green <u>1 point, 3 rebounds, 1 assist in 9 minutes</u> Doc followed up on his word, and he played Gerald tonight. I'm happy, good. Gerald was active and he rebounded well. He made 2 nice passes (got an assist on 1), and he got 2 shots off (2 pretty good looks, just didn't make them). I'm just happy he's getting out there. Defensively, nothing great, but he was ok. Brian Scalabrine <u>3 points, 1 rebound, 4 fouls in 16 minutes</u> He hit a 3 late in the game, and he did hustle. But I've said it plenty of times before, and I'll say it again - I hate Scal. I know Doc was basically forced to play him a little bit due to Big Al being out, but I would rather bring in Powe. He will actually rebound. Rajon Rondo Did not play. Now, don't go off and say "I told you he's not that good!" That's not the case. We wanted a win, Doc played the vets more tonight, Delonte played PG and played solid ball. Rondo will play, and he will produce as usual. I wouldn't worry about this at all. Doc Rivers Did a good job tonight with the subs. The only thing I would have done was take out Telfair late in the 4th and put Delonte on Knight. Knight was owning Bassy and Bassy fouled way too much, and they were stupid fouls on important posessions. He finally played Gerald, by the way. In closing, I'm still keeping my Fire Doc club, and I still stand by everything bad I've said about him. Good job, we finally got the win. We are better than the Mavs! Haha I'm just kidding. Next Game: Friday at home vs. Utah (4-1). <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nitro1118 @ Nov 8 2006, 10:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Eek....12 TO's by Pierce! Because of that he had a triple double!</div> Well, obviously it doesn't count as a triple double lol. Gomes got a real one though (10/12/10).
oh, I just wanted to add that charlotte shot a ridiculous 52 FREE THROWS TONIGHT! that's unacceptable. you can blame some of it on the refs, but we've got to play better defense than that. we were pathetic on the boards tonight, too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nba dogmatist @ Nov 9 2006, 12:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>oh, I just wanted to add that charlotte shot a ridiculous 52 FREE THROWS TONIGHT! that's unacceptable. you can blame some of it on the refs, but we've got to play better defense than that. we were pathetic on the boards tonight, too.</div> Yeah there were a few questionable calls, but I am not blaming that on the refs. I mean it's obvious that we did foul, and way too much. Perk especially, he's never going to slow down is he? It's ridiculous how many of his fouls are stupid/pointless. He will have a guy driving the lane with a clear layup, and instead of using his body to REALLY foul him, he just reaches and lets him go by. That's so stupid. And Bassy, he fouls way too much when he's quarding penetration. Big Al fouls a little too much sometimes too, but he has gotten a lot better with that. Too bad he's out for so long.
Just a note on Scals.He is not as bad as Tony Allen. Tony Allen hurts the team way too much, Scalabrine just stand there like a goon.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Nov 9 2006, 05:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Just a note on Scals. He is not as bad as Tony Allen. Tony Allen hurts the team way too much, Scalabrine just stand there like a goon.</div> Scal doesn't stand there, I can't argue that Scal is a good guy that loves basketball. He really does hustle. My beef with Scal is that he has no real basketball skills besides hustle, and that's not even technically a skill. Tony Allen, on the other hand, has a lot of skills, he just doesn't exlpoit them. That bugs the hell out of me.
Tony Allen has problems on the transaction. Why would you take the ball for yourself when Pierce was like right in front of him. I'm very surprised that Pierce had 12 turnovers last night. Finally the Celts got a win.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Tony Allen has problems on the transaction. Why would you take the ball for yourself when Pierce was like right in front of him.</div>transition u mean.....I agree though, Tony Allen is having problems with everything. Making decisions, knowing when to shoot, knowing when to pass, he is simply awful right now.oh yeah why wasn't this in the gameday thread? I posted a game thread in the Celtics section a week ago and 7 people bitched at me for it....what's the deal?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (WELCOMEtotheJUNGLE @ Nov 9 2006, 04:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>transition u mean.....I agree though, Tony Allen is having problems with everything. Making decisions, knowing when to shoot, knowing when to pass, he is simply awful right now. oh yeah why wasn't this in the gameday thread? I posted a game thread in the Celtics section a week ago and 7 people bitched at me for it....what's the deal?</div> I guess Balla only wants nationally televised games (ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, ABC, etc.) in the gameday forum. I personally hate that, and I've expressed that, but he wants it this way. :ranting:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DRob-50-Forever @ Nov 9 2006, 08:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Scals>Allen</div> :cry2: sad but true right now.and yes, TA has been god awful in the open court. does anyone remember that idiotic charge he got? he had the lane, but decides to go middle and runs right into brevin knight.
