Game 41 Preview: Celtics at Cavaliers

The Celtics need to get off to a fast start, and it starts with Rajon Rondo.

After tonight's game, we will have officially arrived at the halfway point in what has been a rather disappointing season for the Celtics thus far.

Doc Rivers has had enough, evident by his postgame outburst on Sunday night in Detroit where he threatened changes if the team's play did not improve immediately.

Danny Ainge has tempered that sentiment, saying yesterday that it is still too soon for big changes.

Rajon Rondo said after Sunday's game that some players are too relaxed and that the Celtics need to alter their approach. Rondo even said, "Until guys get sick and fed up with it, I don't know if things are going to change."

From the aforementioned information, things appear to be plummeting. Fortunately, the Celtics (20-20) have a chance to right their wrongs tonight when they travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers (10-32), who possess the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. But don't be fooled: this does not guarantee a Boston victory, considering the Celtics have fallen to teams such as the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Hornets, and Detroit Pistons (twice) this season.

This is a matchup of two cold teams. The Cavaliers have lost 4 of its last 5 games and are coming off a 109-98 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. The Celtics come in losers of three straight.

The good news for the Celtics is that they won't have to deal with Cleveland center Anderson Varejao. Varejao is out for the season after knee surgery, but after the surgery, he suffered a blood clot in his lung. Let's hope he has a speedy recovery.

After a surprise start on Sunday, Avery Bradley should start tonight, but his status may still be up in the air, considering he only played only 19 minutes and did not look himself.

In an effort to make up for the loss, Cleveland made a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies today, a trade that would send big man Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, and Josh Selby to Cleveland for Jon Leuer and a future first-round pick.

Here's a preview:


Projected lineups:

Celtics: 
Rajon Rondo
Avery Bradley*
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett

Cavaliers:
Kyrie Irving
C.J. Miles
Alonzo Gee
Tristan Thompson
Tyler Zeller

* subject to change

Keys to the game:

1. A big start: On Sunday night, Boston's starters shot 35%. Every Celtic starter needs to step up. Whether it be Brandon Bass (whose shooting percentage hasn't been this low since 2006) and Paul Pierce (whose shooting 39% over his last 6 games) mired in shooting slumps, or Kevin Garnett not looking like his normal self, each member of the starting quintet needs to step up. 

2. Playing with the lead:  How many times this season have the Celtics led from start to finish? Every time you look up, the Celtics are usually behind. It's a rarity for the Celtics to completely dominate a game this season. In the past, we've seen the Celtics strangle their opponents and take games by the throat. Especially against a team as bad as Cleveland, Boston needs to give a full 48-minute effort, and more importantly, they need to be on top for the majority of those minutes.

3. Point of attack: Rajon Rondo, where you at bro? I know he's put up some nice stats of late, but Rondo needs to be the dominant aggressor that makes this team so successful. Yes, he scored 30 points last Friday. O.K., he registered his 26th-career triple-double last Monday. But he needs to take over games on a more consistent basis. Tonight would be a great place to start, but he'll have his hands full with Kyrie Irving. Irving is one of the league's young, bright stars, but Rajon Rondo is one of the elite point guards in the game, and Rondo should get the better of this matchup.