<div align="center"> @ Things to think about: - The Rockets have won 6 on a row - The Celtics have won 5 in a row - Houston pwns the season series 1-0 - The Celtics are just 11-19 on the road. Boston is still rolling after the return on Antoine Walker. They've won 9 of the last ten, but this may be the toughest challenge. If the Celtics are the hottest team in the league, then the Rockets are second. The Rockets are fresh off defeating the likes of Seattle, Sacramento, and Phoenix. Beating both the Kings and Suns by more than fourteen points. The Celtics, however, have been struggling to collect their wins. Four of their last five wins have been by five points or less. Team Leaders Points- P. Pierce 21.8 Rebounds- A. Walker 9.1 Assists- G. Payton 6.0 Steals- P. Pierce 1.7 Blocks- A. Walker 1.6 Points- T. McGrady 25.7 Rebounds- Y. Ming 8.5 Assists- T. McGrady 6.0 Steals- T. McGrady 1.7 Blocks- Y. Ming 1.9 Key Injuries ? Juwan Howard - Out ? Moochie Norris (IL) ? Charlie Ward (IL) Key Matchup Paul Pierce vs. Tracy McGrady [imgr]http://www.nba.com/media/act_tracy_mcgrady.jpg[/imgr][imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/act_paul_pierce.jpg[/imgl] Paul Pierce was given the award for Player of the Week last week for the Eastern Conference. So who was the winner for the Western Conference? That would be Tracy McGrady. McGrady is the definition of matchup problem. He's a shooting guard in a power forward's body. Paul will have his hands full if he guards him, but so will McGrady if the matchup goes both ways. Pierce has been vital in the team's success as of late. He looks like the old Pierce that we remember now that Toine is back. This will definitely be an interesting matchup to watch in this game. Prediction Once again, much like the Detroit game, I'm picking against the Celtics. The Rockets are a great team, and on top of that, they're hot. The Celtics have been lucky to win some of the games that they have, and I haven't been impressed with their recent play, despite the victories. Houston 102 Boston 100</div>
44, I almost want you to keep picking against the C's, because it seems like whenever you do, we win. Blountiful! <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This one's going to be short folks because I came pretty close to a DNP-CD tonight. That's Did Not Publish-Celticsblog Decision, due to the annual sinus infection that accompanies the coming of spring.(this is what I get for not drinking hard on St. Patricks Day. Alcohol kills everything, right?) However, due to the importance of the game, I had to suck it up enough to provide the Celtic Nation with something. Here's what you need to know: While part of the Celtics success tonight can be hung around the fact that most of the Rockets couldn't hit sand if they fell off a camel, the C's also played some decent defense tonight. Lot's of hands deflecting passes in the lanes, poking balls loose, marking thier man relatively closely, etc. I won't overblow it, but it was an improvement overall, IMO. Mark Blount showed up tonight, after Raef got into foul trouble. Blount was the benefactor of the C's driving and kicking out to him for his trademark baseline 15fter. He played some defense tonight and did a nice job, not only staying out of foul trouble, but also affecting some shots on the interior. The C's moved the ball well, changed up tempo and attack, working both inside and out. The guards brought the attack to the Rockets and guys like 'Toine and Al Jefferson did thier fair share of post work as well. The C's also benefitted from Yao Ming getting into foul trouble in the 3rd, when he collected 3 fouls within a 3 minute stretch. PP and Sura both got tossed with less than a minute left in the game. Not sure exactly what was said, but the two had to be seperated more than once. No punches were thrown. This was one of those nights where one team showed up ready to play and the other pretty much didn't. Both teams were on hot streaks and it was inevitable that one team had to cool off. Them's the breaks and I'm glad it wasn't us.</div>
There he is. Blount was the man tonight. Get him the ball for that mid-range shot, and he's going to knock it down. The whole rest of the team played great as well. Here I was all worried, and it wasn't even a game. EDIT- hags, now that you mentioned it, it's not going to work anymore.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">EDIT- hags, now that you mentioned it, it's not going to work anymore.</div> That's OK, I don't want it to work anymore, it hurts my eyes. I couldn't think of another way to affect karma, other than saying something. "You are free of your burden my son"
