<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> January 5, 2007 - 8:00 pm ET</div> <span style="color:#009900">Boston Celtics</span> <span style="color:#000000">(11-20)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Tony Allen</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">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine</span> <span style="color:#000080">Memphis Grizzlies</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">(8-25)</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">PG</span> <span style="color:#000080">Damon Stoudamire</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">SG</span> <span style="color:#000080">Rudy Gay</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">SF</span> <span style="color:#000080">Mike Miller</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">PF</span> <span style="color:#000080">Alexander Johnson</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">C</span> <span style="color:#000080">Pau Gasol</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#000080">Stromile Swift, Chucky Atkins, Dahntay Jones, Hakim Warrick, Eddie Jones</span> Injury Report <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce will not play (stress reaction in left foot)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Theo Ratliff is out for season (lower back)</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">MEM:</span> <span style="color:#000080">Lawrence Roberts will not play (recovering from knee surgery)</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">MEM:</span> <span style="color:#000080">Kyle Lowry will not play (broken left wrist)</span> Who To Watch Out For <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 13.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg As A Starter: 16.3 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 1.6 bpg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 16.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Tony Allen</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 10.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg As A Starter: 15.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.7 spg</span> <span style="color:#000080">Pau Gasol</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Season Stats: 17.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000080">Mike Miller</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Season Stats: 16.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.2 apg</span> Rookie Watch <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">3.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.0 spg</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">3.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.6 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Allan Ray</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: Undrafted</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">2.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">MEM:</span> <span style="color:#000080">Rudy Gay</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 8</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#000080">9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.8 bpg</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">MEM:</span> <span style="color:#000080">Alexander Johnson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 45</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#000080">5.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.7 bpg</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">As A Starter:</span> <span style="color:#000080">7.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 bpg</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">MEM:</span> <span style="color:#000080">Tarence Kinsey</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: Undrafted</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#000080">2.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.5 spg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 16.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally has been hurt, and he has been shooting the ball very poorly as of late. He needs to get something going... soon. Tonight would be nice, because Memphis can really put points up on the board.</span> <span style="color:#000080">Memphis' X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#000080">Stromile Swift</span> <span style="color:#4169E1">Season Stats: 10.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.1 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000080">Stro has been playing very well over the past 3-4 games, he needs to keep the consistency of late going, especially when Perk is still hurt and has a sore right hammy. It'll be interesting to see how he responds.</span> Key Matchup <div align="center"> vs. <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000080">Pau Gasol</span></div> <span style="color:#000000">Pau is obviously one of the best bigs in the league. Big Al has started to break out this season, and he has consistently been racking up double-doubles. Big Al wants to be at the status of Pau Gasol, while Pau Gasol will want to prove that he can take this young kid. This should be a good one.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/Notes Memphis is healthy this time around, we aren't. I'm excited to see Gasol, and I'm excited to see how differently Memphis plays under Barone. CelticBalla's Prediction It could go either way, it's the battle of the lotto teams, but I'll predict yet another loss. It's in Memphis and Pau is back. If we had Pierce, I'd predict a win, but we don't. Memphis now has Eddie Jones back as well. He's going to be playing limited minutes at first, just like Perk is right now for us, but he can still shoot the ball. Some might look at Memphis' record and say "we should win this game," but I disagree. A healthy Grizzlies team is a playoff team. A healthy Celtics team isn't guaranteed a playoff spot in the East. I'll say Memphis wins it.
Big Al is gonna have a really tough time defending Gasol, and I'm anxious to see how he will handle himself with that matchup tonight. Doc also really needs to put Wally with the 2nd unit, because G played amazing with the first unit the other night.
Guys, I don't think Big Al going to play tonight. That SUCKS. He missed practice because of that sore hamstring, and if I were a betting man, I'd bet he doesn't play tonight.
God f*cking damnit... this injury business is really, really pissing me off. If he really is out, Perk's plantar fasciitisiistiitisisisis or however you spell it will really be tested. Also, O will have to step up and play some solid minutes in the middle too. Tony's really gotta pick up the slack, and if Wally is ever going to find his stroke, tonight would be a nice night.
Great game its good to see my dude wally is back and knocking down them outside shots. We got this. but D-west is hurt so cant write too much now.
Excellent game! Great win, a LOT of players had excellent games tonight. We played hard on both ends all night (except the first quarter was awful defensively). I loved the effort, and I loved the win! Wally Szczerbiak <u>26 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists on 9-14 shooting, 4-7 3FG</u> Wally played really well tonight. FINALLY his shot was falling. We need this from Wally every night. Wally's defense really wasn't half bad tonight, either. He got in front of his man and he played aggressively. Tony Allen <u>20 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals on 7-13 shooting, 6-9 FT</u> TA played ANOTHER excellent game. Wow.. just wow. TA has been playing out of his mind consistently for an entire month. Miller started off hot, but TA didn't make it easy for him in the second half. Tony was attacking the basket, as usual, all night long. I love it! Delonte West <u>16 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists on 5-7 shooting, 5-7 FT</u> D-West played really well in Cleveland on Wednesday, but he played even better tonight. Th numbers were better, obviously, but that's not why I say he played better. He really picked good shots, he made some great passes off penetration, he hurt his back again but still finished the game strong, and he really hustled. Keep it up Delonte! Kendrick Perkins <u>10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks on 4-6 shooting in just 18 minutes</u> Perk was outstanding tonight! He was a force defensively and on the glass, he had that lazer hook shot going for him, and he really played HARD. This is the Perk we see every night when he's healthy. It's great to see him do this already. I give Perk my player of the game award. Brian Scalabrine <u>16 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal on 5-8 shooting, 4-4 3FG</u> What the Scal?!?! Scal was incredible tonight. He did a better job on Gasol defensively than Big Al by far, he played hard, and he REALLY was on fire tonight. He shot the ball very well. Way to go Scal! Ryan Gomes <u>16 points, 5 rebounds on 7-12 shooting</u> Gomes played alright. I'm happy his shot was falling for him a little bit tonight, and he made some nice finishes around the basket, but the aggression on the glass wasn't there like it usually is. I don't know what it is lately, but his aggressiveness on the boards is on and off lately. Al Jefferson <u>12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks on 4-9 shooting, 4-5 FT</u> Al struggled tonight. You look at the stat sheet and see 12 and 9, but he didn't have a great game. He couldn't get the rolls offensively, he got into foul trouble, and he had a really tough time trying to defend Gasol (as expected, but still...). I hope Big Al can bounce back STRONG on Sunday, he'll have Dwight Howard to deal with. Sebastian Telfair <u>7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists on 3-5 shooting</u> Not a bad night, not a good night. He made some good things, some bad things. Some of the good things were running hard, making 3 good passes in transition, and penetrating. Some of the bad things were his defense (which is every night) and passing up 2 wide open jumpers. Gerald Green <u>5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal on 2-6 shooting (0-2 3FG) in 15 minutes</u> Gerald only played 15 minutes tonight, but don't get mad. Doc had every reason to only play him 15 tonight. Wally was shooting very well, Scal was playing very well, Tony Allen was playing very well... and to top it off, Gerald really made a lot of mistakes in those 15 minutes. He got lost defensively, he lost the ball a couple times, and he wasn't knocking down his shots. That alley-oop, however, was beautiful, and he did make a really nice drive to the basket then pull up to knock down a 15 footer. Rajon Rondo <u>1 assist, 6 minutes</u> He didn't play much, again. Grrr. For Memphis, Mike Miller played an excellent all around game. He made some great passes and he hit shots. Pau Gasol was very affective, Damon Stoudamire played pretty well, and Stro played a solid game off the bench. Next Game Sunday (1/7/07) @ Orlando at 6:00 pm ET.
Great game glad we took a W without Paul. This team is coming together with injuries on big players and scorers going away well do this alot more often.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kingjamez @ Jan 5 2007, 11:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wasn't Big Al also injured going into this game.</div> there was a lil talk that he was, I believe that his calf muscle was sore.Player of the Game should be Wally or Scal hands down.A Celtics loss your not loosing it on me balla are you?? lol jp.Im talking to everyone who gives him sh*t.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kingjamez @ Jan 5 2007, 11:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wasn't Big Al also injured going into this game.</div> Yeah, sort of. I didn't even expect him to play tonight, but I'm obviously very happy he did. He missed the last practice, though, due to a sore right hammy. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>nice write up..I also have a suggestion to add to your writeups maybe a "Player of the night"</div>I do that on my blog, check it out (link in my sig). <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Player of the Game should be Wally or Scal hands down.A Celtics loss your not loosing it on me balla are you?? lol jp.</div> I didn't get the last part of this post, but Perk played so well tonight. He played VERY tough down low, he played good defense, he had his offense going (three hook shots right in a row, too), and more importantly: he played with the same aggression that he does when he is healthy. He had SUCH A BIG impact on this game in limited minutes, I don't understand how you can't give him the player of the game. Hell, even Mike Gorman gave him the award.
What a solid win. An offensive outburst like this was actually the last thing I expected. Good to see Scal and Wally contributing too.
hmmm.... 128 119 wery pour defense... it's probobly first time this season when I see that seven players scores more than 10 pts :happy0144: good team play...
You predicted a Celts loss and I said are you loosing it on me as a joke. The team played great last night, good to see the kids get some time and some points.
