Boston (0-2) at Indiana Pacers (2-0)
Friday, April 23, 2004
At FleetCenter, 7:00 PM
TV: Fox Sports Net, ESPN
Radio: WWZN 1510 AM The Zone

Playoff Series: Indiana leads 2-0

The popular phrase nowadays in the NBA Playoffs is "You don't have control of a series until you win a road game"...That's where the Celtics stand right now...The Pacers held court in Indiana, successfully defending their home floor, and now it's the Celtics turn...If the Celtics can find a way to pull it together for Game 3, then they are right back in this series and will have some momentum entering Game 4, Sunday at the FleetCenter...So far this series has been about runs, mainly the Pacers runs, which have been the difference in both games...The Pacers used a 24-7 run in the second quarter of Game 1 and an 18-2 run in the final frame of Game 2...The Celtics will need to be more consistent and find ways to slow the Pacers big runs down.

Key Matchup
Boston Bench Points: 21.5 Rebounds: 8.0 FG%: 38.5		Indiana Bench Points: 37.5 Rebounds: 15.5 FG%: 53.7
Skinny: The bench numbers in this series have been staggering, but that's why the Pacers had the best record in the NBA and are one of the deepest teams in the league...The Celtics need someone to step up and have a huge game off the bench if they want to have a chance to get back into this series...It should be even more difficult with Al Harrington moving back to his Sixth Man role since Ron Artest will be returning from suspension...The likely candidate is Ricky Davis, but he can't do it by himself, he needs Marcus Banks to come in and apply defensive pressure to Indiana's guards and he needs Chris Mihm to attack the boards off the bench...The Pacers have been destroying the Celtics on the offensive glass, so Mihm's play should be really important if he gets the minutes...If the Celtics get their usual game from Paul Pierce, Chucky Atkins and Mark Blount, and the bench can come in and hold off big Indiana runs in the second and late third quarters, then the Celtics should be right in Game 3 and primed to get a win.

Series Team Leaders
Boston		Indiana
Pierce	Points: Pierce - 23.5 Rebounds: Pierce - 8.5 Assists: Atkins - 5.0	Artest	Points: Artest - 24.0 Rebounds: Harrington - 11.5 Assists: Tinsley - 6.5

Etc: The Celtics, who finished 10th in the NBA in field goal percentage at 44.3 percent, are shooting just 40.3 percent in the first two games of the series...In Game 2 Mark Blount recorded his first career playoff double-double with a playoff career-high 10 points and a playoff career-high 10 boards...Chucky Atkins is averaging 20.0 points per game in the first two games of the series, his season average with the Celtics was 12.0 points per game.

Compiled by Brian Gleason