<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> April 15, 2007 - 6:00 pm ET</div> <span style="color:#009900">Boston Celtics</span> <span style="color:#000000">(23-56)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Rajon Rondo</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">SF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Gerald Green</span> <span style="color:#000000">PF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Ryan Gomes</span> <span style="color:#000000">C</span> <span style="color:#009900">Kendrick Perkins</span> <span style="color:#000000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Leon Powe, Sebastian Telfair, Allan Ray, Kevinn Pinkney</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Orlando Magic</span> <span style="color:#000000">(37-42)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Jameer Nelson</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Grant Hill</span> <span style="color:#000000">SF</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Hedo Turkoglu</span> <span style="color:#000000">PF</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Tony Battie</span> <span style="color:#000000">C</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Dwight Howard</span> <span style="color:#000000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Darko Milicic, Trevor Ariza, Keyon Dooling, Carlos Arroyo</span> Injury Report <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson is doubtful (sore knee)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce is out for season (elbow, knee, foot, eye)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak is out for season (recovering from ankle surgery)</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">Brian Scalabrine is out for season (strained left hamstring)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Michael Olowokandi is out for season (fractured bone in left foot)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Theo Ratliff is out for season (recovering back surgery)</span> Who To Watch Out For <span style="color:#009900">Ryan Gomes</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 12.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter: 13.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 11.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.4 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter: 13.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 5.1 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Gerald Green</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 10.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter: 16.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">Last 3 Games: 25.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Dwight Howard</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 17.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 1.9 bpg</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Jameer Nelson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 13.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.3 apg</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Grant Hill</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 14.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 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">6.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.6 spg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter:</span> <span style="color:#009900">9.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.7 apg, 2.3 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">4.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg</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">6.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Kevinn Pinkney</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: Undrafted</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">4.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">ORL:</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">J.J. Redick</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 11</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">6.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#000000">Development</span> <span style="color:#009900">At this point, these games are for player development and evaluation. I just want to see the young guns play hard and show us something.</span> <div align="center">Key Matchup vs. <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Jamer Nelson</span></div> <span style="color:#000000">Two St. Josephs buddies.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/Notes Orlando needs this game badly. They are currently the 8th seed, and 2 games ahead of Indiana (each with 3 games left). If Orlando wins this game, as they most certainly should, they pretty much have it in the bag. They can't blow a "gimme game" like this one. CelticBalla's Prediction I think Orlando will pull it out. They really need it and I'm sure they'll want revenge from that OT loss to us 3 weeks ago (I was there), whether we are playing Pierce/Al or not.
No we actually can win without worrying about losing draft position. Solid.Pull this one out guys. I wanna see Gerald drop 40, haha.
God..Doc's such a moronhe runs the worst plays at the end of gameswe had 2 chances to win and he blew both of them by having 2 6-foot nothing players drive to the hoop and throw up floaters with big men in the paint waiting for themhe didn't run picks, screens, nothing...what is wrong with Doc?and this jackass was smiling after the game like he has something to be proud ofget out of town..your the worst coach in the ENTIRE LEAGUE
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Apr 15 2007, 11:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>uhhhh I <3 big al jefferson just a little bit</div>I'd second that. :worthy: nice surprise to see him playing.quite timely for him to come back after the C's have locked up the 2nd worst record
Interesting, after the Celtics lock up the 2nd worst spot, suddenly Al Jefferson is alright. Hmmm... Regardless, it was great to see the big fella back on the floor. He was dominant in the post, Orlando couldn't do anything with him. Overall, this was a very solid effort from the team. It was a blow-out in the making, Orlando eventually build up an 18 point lead, but it isn't over until Big Al sings. The Celtics just went on a surge in the 4th quarter, and we actually almost ran away with a victory. The Celtics played excellent help defense in that fourth quarter, as they did in the first quarter (Perkins/West, anyway), and they converted those stops into quick buckets. Had it not been for a couple mental mistakes late in the game (Delonte losing the ball out of bounds a broken play at the end of the game) mixed with hustle defense by Orlando and questionable officiating, the Celtics could have played spoiler. It was nice to see a great effort by the young guys, to say the least. That's all we can ask for at this point. Back to the broken play coming out of a timeout, I'm not quite sure what happened. It didn't look like much of a play to begin with. Now, I'm sure half of the reason is the young players failed to execute the play, but at the same time you have to wonder if Doc sincerely drew up a good play to begin with. There was no movement. Allan Ray ran around in a circle while Rondo caught the inbounds pass. Rondo then dribbled over to the top right corner, and due to no movement by the rest of the Celtics on the floor, Rondo was forced to make a last resort drive to the basket. His shot was blocked, the play was completely unsuccessful. Was is more Doc's fault for not drawing up a good play or was it more the players' fault for not executing? My take: the Celtics never run a successful play in that situation this season, take that for what it's worth. Side Note: Congratulations to the Orlando Magic for clinching a playoff berth. Player-by-Player Analysis Well, Big Al Jefferson is back. He was absolutely dominant in the low post. Darko, Battie, or even Howard couldn't stop him. Al proved right there why there is buzz around the league of people thinking Al Jefferson is right there with Dwight Howard. Jefferson's post game is unreal, and he displayed pretty much all of it last night. Up-and-under's, reverse layups, quick jab steps, hook shots, floaters, shot jumpers, you name it. Get used to it, folks, because he's going to be doing this for a long time. Did I mention that he's only 22? Delonte West had himself a pretty solid night as well. He shot the ball fairly well, he picked his spots nicely, and he was aggressive going to the rim. Delonte isn't intimidated by anybody, he'll still take it strong to the basket if Dwight Howard is standing underneath it. Delonte did, however, make a very costly mistake in the rear end of the 4th quarter. A ball was passed to him, but he tried to "turn on the jets" before he actually gained control of the basketball. Therefore, the pass went behind him and out of bounds. Other than that play, Delonte had a very solid night. His help defense, grit, and attack mentality was huge for the C's in this game. Rajon Rondo had himself a nice night. He was aggressive as usual and he was disruptive on the defensive end as usual, but that's not what was the most promising aspect of it. It was how he got into the lane at will and had the floater and the short jumper going for him. Rondo wasn't hesitant with his shot tonight, and that's big. He actually hit 3 or 4 pull-up jumpers. It's all about confidence with Rondo's jumper, and he had the confidence going for him in this one. Perk did well at times, but not consistently throughout the whole game. In the first quarter, he was an animal defensively. He must have had 2 or 3 of his 4 blocks in the first 7 minutes of the game. He was moving well, he was bailing the perimeter players out when they got beat off the dribble by Hill/Nelson, and he was rebounding. In the 2nd and 3rd quarter, that kind of died down. In the 4th quarter, mainly in the last 4 minutes of the game, Perk really locked down again and gobbled up every loose ball that came his way. He came up big, and without the big fella dictating the defense down low, the Celtics would have lost by more than just 2 points. Leon Powe did a good job off the bench. He was extremely active on the glass and he pulled down a couple "man's rebounds" that really got my attention. The effort Leon brings on a day in and day out basis is phenomenal, and that alone will keep him in this league. Ryan "Mr. Consistent" Gomes was pretty quiet in this one. His shot wasn't falling and he lost confidence after he saw himself draw nothing but iron early on. Don't be alarmed, I expect him to bounce back in Miami. Gerald Green had an awful game. Gerald did have a stomach issue, so I'm sure he wasn't as effective due to his illness, but there is still no excuse for him to pass up that many wide open shots. Tommy Heinsohn grunted every time Gerald passed a shot up, and that was a good 6-7 times. He caught the ball and waited for the defense to commit until he actually made his move. By that time, it was too late. He was also burned a few times on the defensive end, as he had trouble with both Ariza and Turkoglu. Gerald finally ended up heading to the locker room with roughly 30 seconds remaining in the game, let's hope he feels better and is ready to go in Miami. Allan Ray and Sebastian Telfair had terrible games as well. Ray's blatant "rookie mistakes" in this past week have been very noticeable, especially the past 2 games. On Friday, we all know how he made two horrible decisions to close out the game; tonight was no different. There was one possession that sticks out, where the shot clock was winding down and Allan was just dribbling in place on the left corner for about 7-8 straight seconds. In the meantime, Sebastian Telfair was shouting and literally jumping around calling for the ball (the closest defender in front of Telfair was about 10 feet away, mind you). Ray decided not to swing the ball, and he decided the wait until the last second to throw up a shot. Result: air ball. Sebastian Telfair, on the other hand, wasn't aggressive enough, once again. It baffles me that this kid fails to be aggressive offensively, especially after he had a great game in Indiana due to his aggressiveness. You'd think that that night would have triggered something to click in his head, but it hasn't happened. He's aggressive one night, and he's not for the next 3, then he's somewhat aggressive one more night, and not the next 2-3 games. He needs to play attack basketball every night if he wants to make it in this league. Player Stat Lines <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block on 14-20 FG, 0-2 FT Delonte West: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals on 7-17 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-5 FT Rajon Rondo: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals on 5-9 FG, 6-7 FT Kendrick Perkins: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 blocks on 3-4 FG Ryan Gomes: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal on 3-10 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-2 FT Leon Powe: 3 points, 5 rebounds (4 offensive) on 1-4 FG, 1-1 FT Gerald Green: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist on 1-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-3 FT Allan Ray: 3 points, 3 assists, 1 steal on 1-4 FG, 1-2 3FG Sebastian Telfair: 0-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 7 minutes</span> Next Game: Tonight (4/16/07) @ Miami at 7:30 pm ET. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticFan @ Apr 16 2007, 08:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>quite timely for him to come back after the C's have locked up the 2nd worst record </div> I know, right? It wasn't obvious or anything...
