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Celtics Visit Other Garden for Tilt with Knicks

	VS.
29-42	Record	19-50
97.9	PPG	96.0
99.6	PPGA	102.3
46.4	FG%	45.0
45.7	Opp. FG%	46.2
39.6	Rebounds	42.1
21.1	Assists	17.9
15.6	Turnovers	17.0
6.8	Steals	6.5
5.2	Blocks	3.3
2-0	Season Series	0-2

The Celtics kick off the first of three straight road games when they visit the Knicks Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The C's haven't seen the Knicks since back on December 4 in New York, and both teams are quite different now than they were back then.

While the Celtics got a heavy dose of promising rookie Channing Frye in their last match up, Frye is done for the year thanks to a sprained left knee. Meanwhile, the Knicks (19-50) also acquired Steve Francis and Jalen Rose as GM Isiah Thomas continues to shuffle the deck in Manhattan. And of course, the Celtics remade the team with the January 26 acquisition of Wally Szczerbiak.

So even while the Celtics hold a 2-0 advantage over the Knicks in the season series, that number is probably meaningless given the overhauls to both squads. The teams also get together for one final contest on April 9 in Boston.

POINT GUARD
Delonte West Points: 11.9 Rebounds: 4.1 Assists: 4.5	Stephon Marbury Points: 16.4 Rebounds: 3.0 Assists: 6.5
Marbury continues to make news, but mostly for the wrong reasons. His feud with Coach Larry Brown has been well-publicized and just one of the many problems the Knicks have faced this season. Marbury is a shoot-first, ask questions later type of guard, and while he can be an electric scorer, his scoring has dropped off almost four points this season (16.4 PPG) from his career average (20.3 PPG). Look for West to play off Marbury and challenge him to shoot from the top of the key rather than encouraging him to drive. You also have to respect the pick and roll with Marbury, so it will be interesting to see whether the Celtics opt to trap him or not.

SHOOTING GUARD
Wally Szczerbiak Points: 18.9 Rebounds: 4.4 Assists: 3.0	Steve Francis Points: 15.1 Rebounds: 4.4 Assists: 5.1
Here's the major (mis)match-up of the game, with the smaller, quicker Francis lining up against the larger, stronger Szczerbiak. As you would imagine, each player will go to their strengths to dismantle their opponent, which means Francis will try to take Wally off the dribble, while Wally will probably look to take Francis on the block early and often. Francis' scoring is down to just under 12 PPG since he joined the Knicks, mostly because he doesn't dominate the ball or play nearly as many minutes as he did in Orlando.

SMALL FORWARD
Paul Pierce Points: 27.1 Rebounds: 6.7 Assists: 4.8	Jalen Rose Points: 12.6 Rebounds: 2.9 Assists: 2.5
Jalen Rose is a player who appears to be on the decline and another guy who looks for his own offense first. He's never been regarded as a tough defender, which means Paul Pierce should be able to get where he needs to go against him. Pierce has had some rough fourth quarters as of late, as teams appear to be letting him get going early so they can change up their defense at crunch time to force other Celtics to try to beat them. Then again, the Knicks don't really have a defensive stopper on their roster so it may be tall order for them.

POWER FORWARD
Ryan Gomes Points: 6.5 Rebounds: 4.5 Assists: 0.7	Malik Rose Points: 4.2 Rebounds: 3.4 Assists: 0.8
Gomes and Rose are both "tweeners" who were each considered too small to play the four spot coming out of college, but Rose made a name for himself with the San Antonio Spurs as a workhorse who does the little things. This will be an interesting match up to watch, as Gomes has quietly continued his strong play. Despite poor shooting from the field in Cleveland (3-12), his 15-rebound effort in 29 minutes against the Cavaliers last Friday was still impressive.

CENTER
Raef LaFrentz Points: 7.7 Rebounds: 5.0 Assists: 1.4	Eddy Curry Points: 13.8 Rebounds: 6.3 Assists: 0.3
The Knicks probably see the Curry-LaFrentz match-up as their most favorable mismatch on the floor, as Curry should be able to operate against LaFrentz. In fact, with Kendrick Perkins putting in his best performance Sunday since the shoulder injury that took him out of the starting lineup, it wouldn't be out of the question to see Perkins possibly get the start at center either. LaFrentz would obviously look to draw Curry away from the hoop, but as Doc Rivers always stresses, LaFrentz can only be effective on the perimeter if the Celtics are moving the ball well and getting him open looks.

BENCH
Tony Allen Points: 5.4 Rebounds: 2.0 Assists: 0.9	Jamal Crawford Points: 13.0 Rebounds: 3.1 Assists: 3.5
Quentin Richardson has a sprained right thumb and will likely be inactive, so look for Crawford to give the Knicks their scoring punch off the bench. Crawford dropped 20 points to lead New York in their last loss to the Timberwolves. For the C's, Tony Allen continues his inspiring comeback, and he's working hard on both ends of the floor. Allen will likely find himself guarding Marbury or Francis if either one of them gets it going.