Game 7 Preview: Celtics at Heat

Avery Bradley has always given Dwyane Wade fits on defense.

The Celtics (2-4) won their second-consecutive game last night as they topped the Orlando Magic, 91-89. In a game that saw neither team shoot higher than 40%, the Celtics got 7 fourth-quarter points from Avery Bradley and huge buckets from Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk in the final two minutes.

Now they will really be tested as they travel to South Beach for the second leg of their back-to-back in the sunshine state. Tonight, they take on the two-time defending world champion Miami Heat (4-2). After starting the year 1-2, the Heat have won three straight. They're coming off a 102-97 victory on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The tough task for the Celtics might not be as tough as expected. Miami's LeBron James has been dealing with back soreness and is questionable for tonight's game. James has been dealing with the issue since the season began and aggravated the injury when he dove for a loose ball in the first half of Thursday's game. He told reporters at yesterday's practice that he plans on playing in tonight's game, but Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters that James will be re-evaluated before the game and a decision on his status will be made from there.

Even if James doesn't play, this is no easy task. But it sure would be a hell of a lot easier.

Projected lineups:

Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Jordan Crawford
Jeff Green
Brandon Bass
Vitor Faverani

Heat:
Mario Chalmers
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James*
Udonis Haslem
Chris Bosh

* Questionable - back soreness

Keys to the game:

1. An answer for the Birdman: Odd, right? But Andersen has been a good measuring stick for the Heat's success. In both their losses, he is shooting 25% and averaging only 2.0 points and 0.5 rebounds. In their wins, he is shooting 73% and averaging 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. When Birdman is going well, the Heat are a much better team. Limiting his effectiveness is something the Celtics need to make a priority.

2. Bradley vs. Wade: Since he started drawing the assignment of covering Dwyane Wade, Avery Bradley has excelled. In the five games they've squared off against each other, Wade is averaging 15.8 points, 3.4 turnovers, and is shooting 38%. Bradley has done a real good job of limiting Wade's impact on these games. He's going to have to do the same tonight if the Celtics want to sweep this Floridian back-to-back.

Ainge provides update on Rondo

Speaking on 98.5 The Sports Hub yesterday morning, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told The Toucher and Rich Show that Rajon Rondo has been cleared for minor contact.

"Rondo is practicing, he's been cleared to have some contact, like 1-on-1, but not 5-on-5 full-court practice yet," Ainge said. "We’re just taking it week by week right now, but he's not ready to come back this week. I'm not sure when he'll be cleared, but he's working really hard and we're anxious to get him ready to go."

Rondo told reporters after the Celtics' preseason finale that he was getting fitted for a brace and was awaiting clearance for participation in contact drills.

Game 6 Preview: Celtics at Magic

Jeff Green and the Celtics will look to win consecutive games tonight
for the first time this season.

After winning their first game on Wednesday night, the Celtics (1-4) will look to begin their first winning streak of the season tonight when they take on the Orlando Magic (3-2).

Orlando has gotten off to a surprisingly good start. After dropping their first two games of the season, the Magic have won three straight, including two against the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. They are the best rebounding team in the league, and they rank among the top ten in points scored and points allowed per game.

Suffice to say, this Orlando team has worked some magic in the early going. Try the veil, I'm here 'til April 20.

Here's a preview:


Projected lineups:

Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Jordan Crawford
Jeff Green
Brandon Bass
Vitor Faverani

Magic:
Jameer Nelson
Arron Afflalo
Maurice Harkless
Jason Maxiell
Nikola Vucevic


Keys to the game:

1. Make this a battle: Tonight is a matchup of two very good defensive teams. Orlando is holding opponents to under 40% shooting on the year, while the Celtics are only allowing 93.4 points per contest, which is good for second-best in the entire league. Orlando has six players averaging over 10 points per game. The Celtics cannot allow the entire team to beat them. They need to focus on shutting down two guys -- Jameer Nelson and Andrew Nicholson would be the two to pick -- and managing the rest of Orlando's offensive attack.

2. Beyond the arc: Boston is holding opponents to 3.8 three-pointers per game, good for the top spot in the league. Orlando is shooting 41.8% from long range, seventh-best in the league. Brad Stevens and his crew have stressed defending the three-point line from day one, and that needs to be a point of emphasis tonight.

Final: Celtics 97, Jazz 87

No matter the outcome of tonight's game, one team was going to be 0-5 and the other was going to be 1-4. Fortunately for the Celtics, they ended up being the ladder after a 97-87 victory over the Utah Jazz.

After falling into an early 16-3 hole, the Celtics would go on to outscore, 47-18, for the remainder of the first half. The C's led by as many 25, and they almost let another big lead slip away again. Utah cut the deficit to 89-83 with 4:29 to go in the game, but Boston managed to close it out. 

The win was not only the first for the 2013-2014 Celtics, but it was also the first win in the NBA head coaching career of Brad Stevens. Let's hope it's the first of many.

Here's a recap:

The good:

* Boston's ball movement tonight was better than any night so far this year. The Celtics had a season-high 22 assists on 40 field goals. It was clear from the start that the C's put emphasis on getting everyone involved. Half of the twelve Celtics that played -- that's six for those of you counting -- scored at least 8 points. This was a real collective effort.

* How about the rook? After a tough night in Memphis, Kelly Olynyk showed why many feel he is a dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate. Olynyk finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. He brought tremendous energy to the floor and made an impact as soon as he stepped on the court.

The bad:

* This team is still learning. They need to learn quickly how to close out teams. Like, ASAP. This is becoming a bad trend. I can see blowing 12-15-point leads. But blowing over 20-point leads consistently? Eh, not a good sign.

Game 5 Preview: Jazz at Celtics

Avery Bradley will most likely draw the difficult assignment of guarding
Gordon Hayward.

Just when you think no one else can have it any worse, in come the Utah Jazz!

Yes, tonight is a matchup of two 0-4 teams in the Jazz and Celtics.

Utah is coming off a 104-88 loss last night in Brooklyn to the Nets.

The Celtics are coming off a 95-88 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Gerald Wallace left that game with a bruised right knee and did not return. His status for tonight's game is questionable.

These teams are in similar positions. They both lost their two best players in the offseason, lost their first four games, and are currently in rebuilding mode.

Buckle up for this one, everyone!

Projected lineups:

Jazz:
Jamaal Tinsley
Gordon Hayward
Richard Jefferson
Derrick Favors
Enes Kanter

Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Gerald Wallace*
Brandon Bass
Vitor Faverani

* Questionable

Keys to the game:

1. Put the biscuit in the basket: To put it simply, this team needs to score more points. The C's are averaging 87.5 points per game. That's under 90. That's not very good. They haven't cracked the 100-point mark yet this season. Part of the lack of scoring is due to the fact that this team does not have a legitimate number-one scorer -- my apologies, Jeff Green. While Gerald Wallace feels this team is selfish at times, it certainly isn't reflecting on the scoreboard. More guys need to be involved, and it might be time for Brad Stevens to try some new things to spark this offense (cough cough, Marshon Brooks).

2. REBOUND!: The Jazz are 6th in the league in rebounding, and the Celtics sit at 28th. To be captain obvious, this could be a problem. Once again, maybe Brad Stevens should try something different -- play Kris Humphries, a guy who pulled down 9 rebounds in 21 minutes of the only game he's played so far?!?! Jeff Green has to do his part on the boards, as well as the guards.

Final: Grizzlies 95, Celtics 88

The fourth quarter doomed the Celtics (0-4) once again as they dropped this one tonight to the Memphis Grizzlies, 95-88.

The Celtics had a lead as late as 2:11 left in this one, but they let an opportunity to get Brad Stevens his first win slip away. Jerryd Bayless led the Memphis charge in the final frame with 15 points off the bench to help his team pull away from the Celtics.

Boston's 0-4 start is its worst start to a season since 1969. Welcome to rebuilding, folks.


The good:

* Jeff Green scored a game-high 22 points on 6-of-12 from the floor. Let's see if he can actually string together at least two games in a row.

* Avery Bradley had himself a solid night. He showed off his defensive prowess tonight against Tony Allen and the rest of Memphis' guards. He also had 13 points and 3 assists.

* Boston did a nice job of competing on the boards with a great rebounding team that Memphis is. The Grizzlies had a slight edge in the rebounding category, 36-32.

The bad:

* The fourth quarter doomed the Celtics once again. They were outscored 29-16. They only scored 2 points in the final 4:19 of the game. This team's inability to finish and their lack of a closer is killing them.

* As expected for a rookie, Kelly Olynyk struggled. He went 1-for-8 from the field and had 4 turnovers in 24 minutes. Give him some time. He'll figure it out.

Boston will practice Tuesday and return to action Wednesday night at TD Garden when they host the Utah Jazz.

Game 4 Preview: Celtics at Grizzlies

Brad Stevens and company will look to right the ship tonight in Memphis.

My apologies for being MIA. I was a tad under the weather over the weekend, but the batteries are recharged and good to go.

A lot has happened since last Wednesday night's season opener. The Celtics (0-3) dropped three straight, the Red Sox won the World Series, and the Patriots continue to look like, well, the Patriots.

With that said, the Celtics could easily be 3-0 right now. They've held leads in the fourth quarter in each of their three games and have only lost by an average of 7.5 points. They've shown they can compete, but they're just not there yet.

It doesn't get any easier as the C's encounter the second night of their first back-to-back of the season, and the first of six in the month of November. Yikes. To make matters worse, they travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies (1-2), who last year reached the Western Conference Finals. The Grizz are coming off a 111-99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.

Here's the lowdown:

Projected lineups:

Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Gerald Wallace
Brandon Bass
Vitor Faverani

Grizzlies:
Mike Conley
Tony Allen
Tayshaun Prince
Zach Randolph
Marc Gasol


Keys to the game:

1. Closing it out: In all three of their games, the Celtics have had their struggles in the final frame. In the fourth quarter, they've been outscored 80-50 by their opponents. The C's also rank second to last in the league in fourth quarter points per game at 16.7. If Boston is to get off the schneid and tally their first win, they're gonna have to do a better job of closing out games.

2. No "I" in team: For the second time this season, Gerald Wallace called out his teammates for being too selfish and padding stats. He did so after Boston choked away a 22-point lead on Friday night and eventually fell to the Milwaukee Bucks, 105-98. For those that think Wallace is out of line, think again. So far this season, Boston has the worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the league with the lowest amount of assists and the highest number of turnovers. Part of this is the lack of a pure point guard and the absence of Rajon Rondo, but part of it has been Boston's unwillingness to generate consistent ball movement. Everyone needs to get involved. This team is not good enough to rely on one guy (sorry Jeff Green) to go out and run the show.