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Game Preview (Round 2, Game 3): Celtics at Magic
 |
vs. |  |
|---|---|---|
| 5-3 | Record | 5-4 |
| 95.8 | PPG | 110.0 |
| 91.6 | PPGA | 105.2 |
| 45.8 | FG% | 44.9 |
| 45.2 | Opp. FG% | 44.0 |
| 38.9 | Rebounds | 45.0 |
| 18.4 | Assists | 24.3 |
| 12.9 | Turnovers | 13.3 |
| 7.0 | Steals | 8.3 |
| 4.9 | Blocks | 6.1 |
| 1-1 | Series | 1-1 |
Now Playing:
- Celtics Documentary
- Dancers at Foxwoods
- Shamrock Shootout
- Media Day
| Point Guard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Johnsonn |
Rajon Rondo | ||
| Shooting Guard | |||
J.J. Redick |
Ray Allen | ||
| Small Forward | |||
Hedo Turkoglu |
Paul Pierce | ||
| Power Forward | |||
Rashard Lewis |
Glen Davis | ||
| Center | |||
Dwight Howard |
Kendrick Perkins | ||
| Sixth Man | |||
Mickael Pietrus |
Eddie House | ||
Friday, May 8, 2009
Amway Arena, 7:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN
RADIO: WEEI 850 AM
What many called a "moral victory" came in Game 1. A real victory came in Game 2. What will come in Game 3?
At 7 p.m. tonight in Amway Arena, we'll find out, when the Celtics take on the Magic in the third game of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series.
Since squandering the first 24 minutes of the series, Boston has emerged as the better, more composed team of the two. The Celtics have dominated the last six quarters of play and, with the exception of Paul Pierce's foul trouble in Game 2, seem to be clicking on all cylinders.
The Magic, however, have struggled at both ends of the court and have allowed the C's to completely take them out of their game. Normally a happy-go-lucky type of team, Orlando had two of their starters show extreme signs of frustration during the second half of Wednesday night's Game 2.
J.J. Redick, who is filling in for injured starting shooting guard Courtney Lee (more on him later), had a rough night on defense as he tried to keep up with future Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen. He racked up six fouls in only 24 minutes of play and tacked on two technicals as he made his exit to the bench -- and eventually the locker room -- after he fouled out of the game with 4:45 remaining.
Redick still managed to score 15 points, but it was obvious that he couldn't handle what the Celtics were throwing at him when he was playing defense.
His point guard, Rafer Alston, might not have been ejected from Game 2, but his actions proved much more costly than Redick's. After Eddie House drained one of his 11 shots on the night, he turned to make his way up court but accidentally ran into Alston. The Magic point guard thought the contact was purposeful and retaliated by smacking the back of House's head. A double-technical was assessed, but Alston also received a one-game suspension from the NBA due to his actions.
Already short-handed at point guard after Jameer Nelson's shoulder injury, the Magic will have a choice between three players to take over Alston's point guard minutes behind Anthony Johnson, who will likely get the start.
Tyronn Lue is listed as the only other point guard on Orlando's roster and will most likely see very limited minutes. That leaves the job up to Hedo Turkoglu and Lee.
After Nelson went down with his shoulder surgery, Turkoglu served as the primary ball handler (other than Johnson) until Alston was acquired from the Houston Rockets. He is more than capable of facilitating the offense, as he averaged just a shade under five assists per game as a small forward.
Lee is the other guard capable of running the point, but he is returning from sinus surgery and hasn't played in the Magic's past three games. It has also been more than two months since he has seen any extended time at point guard and he is still getting accustomed to the protective mask he must wear during play.
"[Lee] worked out [Thursday], actually felt a lot better than he thought he would," Stan Van Gundy said. "But he's not comfortable yet to play."
If he is practicing, the odds are that his competitive juices will be flowing and the rookie will tell Van Gundy he's ready to go tonight. Lee would give Van Gundy another option at point guard, but his defensive abilities will be most important. He is a great outside shooter with above average quickness and should be able to give a formidable effort against Boston's guards.
No matter if he plays or not, the Magic's game plan will be very different with the unexpected point guard situation, and whatever their solution is, it probably won't include a player who will be able to handle Rajon Rondo. He has come out with a purpose over the last three halves of basketball and played with an extra level of speed at both ends.
"Rondo didn't wait [Wednesday]. He came out from the start and really applied the pressure defensively and offensively," Pierce said. "When he's doing that, it makes us a hard team to stop because he's picking up the ball, he's making their offense hectic, and on our side of the ball when he's pushing the ball he's putting pressure on the defense constantly."
While the Magic try to slow down Rondo with their starting point guard on the bench, the Celtics hope that their least productive starter from Game 2 returns to his old self.
Pierce scored only three points in 15 minutes as he battled with his own foul troubles Wednesday night. Pulling out an 18-point victory with your star captain on the bench isn't something Doc Rivers expects to be a regular occurrence.
"Listen, we won a game with Paul obviously not playing a lot in the game," he said. "That's not anything we can count on game to game, we know that."
The low minutes gave Pierce an opportunity to recover from what has been a brutally physical playoff run thus far.
"They beat on Paul more, clearly, because he's our best offensive player," Rivers said of Pierce. "He's clearly the target every night for teams... they have to play him physical."
Ray Allen has taken his own beating throughout the season and playoffs, and after he played limited minutes in Game 5 against the Bulls, he exploded for 51 points in Game 6 in Chicago. The Celtics can only hope for a similar performance from a well-rested Pierce.
The C's disrupted Orlando at both ends of the court in Game 2, attacking them with speed, quickness and absolutely no fear. Rondo's thunderous dunk in the third quarter was symbolic of the Celtics' play all night. Two of Orlando's top defenders, Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis, were split on both sides of the lane but Rondo had no inclination to settle for a floater. He soared to the rim and threw one down with power, sparking his team and crowd to an even higher level of energy.
That type of play will be necessary again tonight. Boston's aggressive, hard-nosed play took Howard out of the game and limited him to only 12 points, 12 rebounds and zero blocks. The C's racked up 25 free throw attempts in the process, making 21 of them, and that is clearly a point of emphasis they would like to continue into Game 3 tonight.
If you expect the Magic to come out with similar energy and execution to their Game 2 performance, you're probably grossly mistaken. This is a 59-win team that the Celtics expect to come with a purpose in front of their home crowd.
So far, this series has been a tale of (mostly) blowouts. Both of these teams are extremely competitive, with great coaches and great players. Blowout losses happen, but good teams don't allow them to happen in succession.
Rivers knows that, and he knows his team will need to perform at an even higher level to continue winning in this series.
"We didn't play great in Game 1, they didn't play great in Game 2," he said. "Eventually, we're going to have to win a game where they play great, and that might be Game 3."
