<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> February 21, 2007 - 9:00 pm ET</div> <span style="color:#009900">Boston Celtics</span> <span style="color:#000000">(13-39)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">SF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Ryan Gomes</span> <span style="color:#000000">PF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Brian Scalabrine</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">Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green, Kendrick Perkins, Sebastian Telfair</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Phoenix Suns</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">(40-12)</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">PG</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Steve Nash</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">SG</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Raja Bell</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">SF</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Shawn Marion</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">PF</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Kurt Thomas</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">C</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Amare Stoudemire</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Leandro Barbosa, James Jones, Pat Burke, Marcus Banks</span> Injury Report <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak will not play (sprained left ankle)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Tony Allen is out for season (torn ACL/MCL)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Theo Ratliff is out for season (back surgery).</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">PHO:</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Boris Diaw will not play (back spasms)</span> Who To Watch Out For <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 26.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.1 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 14.0 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter: 15.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Steve Nash</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Season Stats: 19.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 11.8 apg</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Amare Stoudemire</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Season Stats: 19.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Shawn Marion</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Season Stats: 18.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.2 spg, 1.4 bpg</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Leandro Barbosa</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Season Stats: 16.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.1 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">5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg</span> <span style="color:#000000">In February:</span> <span style="color:#009900">9.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.7 apg, 2.4 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">2.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.5 bpg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#009900">Gerald Green</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 9.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">With no Wally, we definitely need an offensive spark off the bench. Gerald Green is our best scorer off the bench now, easily. He needs to stay out of foul trouble, unlike last night, and he has to get involved in the offense. We need some scoring off the bench badly, especially against the Suns.</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Phoenix's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Kurt Thomas</span> <span style="color:#FF6600">Season Stats: 5.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">With no Diaw, Thomas has to do his best. He is a good rebounder, he's tough, and watch out for that 15 foot jumper.</span> <div align="center">Key Matchup vs. <span style="color:#009900">Shawn Marion</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Paul Pierce</span></div> <span style="color:#000000">Marion always played great against us, and both of these two guys are top 15 players in the league (probably top 12, actually). We'll see if Marion's defense can slow Pierce down.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/Notes I'd like to see Bassy out there for 15-20 minutes again, like last night, especially against a running team like Phoenix. I think Delonte should primarily play the 2 tonight, and I'd like to see a little Bassy in there to see what he can do. CelticBalla's Prediction
Oh wow. Al Jefferson is going to get shitted on by Amare. Then Al will get into foul trouble then Perkins comes in, same goes with him. We are losing this badly.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Madness @ Feb 21 2007, 06:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh wow. Al Jefferson is going to get shitted on by Amare. Then Al will get into foul trouble then Perkins comes in, same goes with him. We are losing this badly.</div> Not necessarily, man. I think Perk is more likely to cover Kurt Thomas tonight, anyway. I think Big Al and Scal will be on Amare more often. But either way, Amare isn't going to murder Big Al 1-on-1, it's the pick and rolls and the passes from Nash that I'm worried about. Amare is a little quicker than Al, I think that could hurt him a little bit. But Amare isn't going to have a field day guarding Al either.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (YouKnowMyName @ Feb 21 2007, 07:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Dude, Thomas has been out for months. And you won't win.</div> Dude, he's back. And I never said we'd win.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (YouKnowMyName @ Feb 21 2007, 07:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Dude, Thomas has been out for months. And you won't win.</div>Yes we will.If the Suns record were reversed we would have one more win than them.Owned. :happy0144:
Wow you're cool the Suns aare 100 times better than the Celtics and you still feel the need to defend them
Congratulations to Al Jefferson for hitting the 500 rebound mark tonight and moving up to 7th in the league with 10.9 RPGhe'll hit 11 RPG with 15 next game
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (playaofthegame @ Feb 21 2007, 07:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wow you're cool the Suns aare 100 times better than the Celtics and you still feel the need to defend them</div>I don't. Don't take away from Amare's one-on-one game, CB. He can score one anyone, with or without Nash, especially this season with his mid-range doing well.
Another game, another loss, another retarded coaching job by Doc Rivers. What did Doc do wrong tonight, you ask? Here, I'll show you: 1. Gerald Green played well in the first half. He shot 3-5 or something like that, took good shots, didn't turn the ball over, grabbed 4 boards, he didn't get into foul trouble. What does Doc do after Gerald leads the 2nd unit in scoring? He doesn't play him in the 2nd half until about the 4 minute mark in the 4th. Are you joking? 2. Rondo only played 10 minutes. WTF is that? I understand Bassy was doing a solid job, and I'm glad to see him play well, but are you serious? Bassy played 20+ minutes and Rondo plays 10? Idiot. I hope that's because Bassy is being showcased for the deadline, otherwise that's just ridiculous. 3. When Rondo or Bassy are in the game with Delonte, WHY DOES DELONTE BRING UP THE BALL??? He's not a point guard, Rondo and Bassy are. This went on all night long, I was pissed. 4. Doc had one lineup of Bassy, Delonte, Rondo, Gerald, and Gomes in together. WTF? All dumb coaching aside, I loved the fight tonight, and I loved to see Bassy have another solid game. He played smart, he didn't turn the ball over, he made some nice feeds, and he was aggressive offensively (although he did pass up a couple wide open jumpers within his range). Big Al was a BEAST tonight. He had some trouble defending Amare, but that is something that even Tim Duncan has problems with. But Al was a monster on the glass tonight, as usual, but he was really attacking the rim. He dunked 3 times tonight, 2 of them were power dunks. I'm so happy he's taking it strong this year. Delonte had a pretty nice game. I don't like him bringing up the ball and playing point guard, especially when Rondo or Bassy are in with him, but he didn't make many horrible decisions tonight. He played calmly and didn't force much and he really knocked down that shot. He also made some terrific classic Delonte hustle plays, and he did very well with the pick n' roll. Gomes didn't do so hot in the first half, but he really did an excellent job in the 2nd half. He knocked down his jumpers, he played hard, and he was active on the boards. God damn he's so solid. Pierce really had a tough 2nd half. He was forcing it and he looked very frustrated out there. Like I said above, Gerald Green did a very good job in the 2nd quarter, but of course Doc didn't play him in the 2nd half but 3 minutes even though he was doing well. That's just Doc. Scal did a decent job out there as well. He always hustles and runs, we know that. But he knocked down a couple open jumpers and he really didn't make any mistakes out there. Player Stat Lines <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson: 23 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks on 8-16 shooting, 7-7 FT Paul Pierce: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists on 7-20 shooting, 2-5 from 3, 8-9 FT Ryan Gomes: 21 points, 7 rebounds on 7-15 shooting, 7-8 FT Delonte West: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists on 7-14 shooting, 3-5 from 3 Sebastian Telfair: 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal on 3-8 shooting Brian Scalabrine: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal on 3-5 shooting, 2-3 from 3 Gerald Green: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal on 3-6 shooting, 2-4 from 3</span> <span style="color:#6600CC">Amare Stoudemire: 32 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists on 11-17 shooting, 10-12 FT Steve Nash: 14 points, 13 assists on 5-11 shooting Leandro Barbosa: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists on 10-16 shooting, 6-7 from 3 Raja Bell: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists on 6-13 shooting, 3-6 from 3, 5-6 FT Shawn Marion: 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks on 6-14 shooting</span> Next Game: Friday (2/23/07) @ LA Lakers at 10:30 pm ET. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ASUFan22 @ Feb 22 2007, 12:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't. Don't take away from Amare's one-on-one game, CB. He can score one anyone, with or without Nash, especially this season with his mid-range doing well.</div> I personally think Amare's 1-on-1 game is overrated. A lot of his points are off pick and rolls with Nash, or dunks on the fly. No question, Amare is a hell of a player, but I do think his 1 on 1 game is overrated.
CB, you did see that his numbers went up when Nash, and even Diaw, and also Kurt(who helps his game) were out, didn't you? They went up, and he's not even as good as he can be yet(expect the best around playoff time). He can take over the game at anytime. He can shoot the mid-range shot, go past you or just muscle it in for the score. He doesn't have any amazing post moves but he knows how to get the ball in the basket no matter who is at PG for him. Nash contributes to about 4-6 of his points every game, but he can easily make that up without him and carry the team.
