Game 22 Preview: Celtics at Rockets

The Boston Celtics (12-9) begin their brief trip through Texas tonight as they pay a visit to the Houston Rockets (10-11). 

Boston is coming off a grueling double-overtime victory on Wednesday night over the Dallas Mavericks. On the other hand, Houston is coming off a win on Wednesday night as well, as they defeated the Washington Wizards.

Houston is a tricky team to figure out. They score a lot, but they give up more than they score. They rebound really well and can dish out assists, but they turn the ball over more than any other team in the league. Who knows what to expect out of them tonight.

As far as the Celtics are concerned, one red flag that could come into play is a possible hangover from the high minutes from Wednesday night. It was the first double-overtime game for the C's since 2009. Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Paul Pierce -- the three players whose minutes coach Doc Rivers cares about the most -- all had a season-high in minutes on Wednesday. It'll be easy to tell if the Celtics are tired. If they opt for jump shots early on instead of trying to push the ball up the court, then this will be a long night for Celtics fans.

Projected lineups:

Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Jason Terry
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett

Rockets:
Jeremy Lin
James Harden
Chandler Parsons
Patrick Patterson
Omer Asik

Keys to the game:

1. Force turnovers: The Rockets are averaging 16.6 turnovers a game, the most in the league. The Celtics are coming off a 13 turnover performance (keep in mind that was with 10 extra minutes) while Houston is coming off an 18 turnover night on Wednesday. The Celtics were 14-7 on points off turnovers on Wednesday, and they needed every single one of those points. If the Celtics can duplicate that performance, they'll be in good shape.

2. Crash the boards: Houston comes into tonight 6th in the league in rebounding, and the Celtics are still dead-last. While center Omer Asik brings down 11.5 a game, Houston enjoys success on the glass because it's a team effort. They have 8 players averaging at least 3.8 rebounds per game as opposed to the Celtics who have 5. The way to compete with Houston on the glass? Beat them at their own game: get everyone on the boards. It's the only way the Celtics compete for rebounds on a nightly basis, but that is especially the case tonight.

3. A tough test for the "D": Tonight will be a big test for the Celtics defense because Houston is third in the league in scoring. While the Celtics defense has shown improvement of late, they didn't turn in impressive defensive performances against the two teams ahead of Houston in scoring which are San Antonio and Oklahoma City, as the Celtics allowed 112 and 100 points respectively. The Celtics should aim to keep Houston under 100 points. When the Rockets are held to less than 100 points, they're only 4-6. When Boston holds teams to under 100 points, they're 9-4. 100 is the magic number tonight.