Game 52 Preview: Mavericks at Celtics

Will Rajon Rondo play?

According to John Hollinger, ESPN numbers guru, the Celtics (18-33) have a 6% chance of making the playoffs, and a 6.4% chance of winning the lottery.

Head coach Brad Stevens and his squad hope the odds of the former increase, but they will only do so by defeating the Dallas Mavericks (30-21) tonight.

Dallas has won four straight, and tonight's game is the first of a four-game road trip for the Mavs. Shooting guard Monta Ellis is a game-time decision with a right hamstring strain.

For the C's, Rajon Rondo (general soreness) and Avery Bradley (right ankle sprain) are both game-time decisions. Neither played Friday night.


Projected lineups:

Mavericks: 
Jose Calderon
Monta Ellis
Shawn Marion
Dirk Nowitzki
Samuel Dalembert

Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Brandon Bass
Jared Sullinger


Keys to the game:

1. Dominate the paint: Over the last five games, Dallas leads the league in points in the paint with 57. Overall, they're fifth in the league in that category. Boston's bigs need to play stellar defense to keep Dallas' guards out of the paint and to force Dallas to take tough shots.

2. Sully be Sully: Jared Sullinger needs to be, well, Jared Sullinger. Look for Sully to get force fed tonight, especially with Samuel Dalembert covering him. The C's are 14-14 when Sully scores at least 12 points, compared to 4-17 when he doesn't.