VS 
At the illustrious...
Starting Lineups
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Last time, T.J. Ford got absolutely torched by the younger Rajon Rondo. The Celtics point guard had his way, notching his first career triple-double en route to a victory at TD Banknorth Garden. While bigger names such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen dominate the Celtics lineup, this matchup may very well decide the game. If T.J. Ford must find a way to circumvent the defensively savvy Rondo, and move the ball more effectively than he did against Cleveland, where he only notched two assists. Defensively, he must negate Rondo's speed with his own, and deny the lanes that Rondo so easily exploited on Wednesday.
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Everyone knows that Ray Allen is a threat on the outside, but he can drive it as well, and he's having a great scoring year, after spending most of last season adjusting to playing with Garnett and Pierce. Marquis Daniels should take advantage of his length and contest every shot, or it's going to be a long night for Indiana. The most recent matchup between the two saw Ray Allen hitting 6 threes and netting 31 points total. Most of his points came from open threes, and containing this threat is key to disrupting a potent Celtics offense.
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Paul Pierce, after getting an NBA Finals trophy last season, has proven that he is a great player and one of the best closers in the NBA. While the offense flows through Garnett in the post, it's the ace player Paul Pierce who can absolutely take over a game. Danny Granger should drive a more against the Celtics highly-vaunted defense to create more opportunities for open threes and draw fouls. Granger's free-throw attempts have gone down recently, as he's been operating more from beyond the arc. That kind of play will not work against the Celtics.
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The rebound differential in the last matchup was a depressing, with the Pacers getting outgained by the Celtics, 31-54, a horrific -23 on the boards. With Kevin Garnett almost guaranteed to reel in 10 or more in any given game, Troy Murphy must prove himself on the glass on both ends. The Celtics had 14 offensive rebounds, many of them coming because the Pacers weren't in good positions due to bad box-outs. Rajon Rondo's double-figure outing in that category proves this. Troy has been a beast off the glass, but he'll need help in order to edge out this victory.
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While the hero of the last meeting was Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins quietly scraped together a double-double, while Rasho Nesterovic only managed 8 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes due to foul trouble. His presence will be needed, as Roy Hibbert is still inexperienced in the fine art of under-the-basket mobility in rebounding situations. Winning the battle of the boards will tip the odds in favor of the Pacers.
The Key Reserves
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With Foster ready to bring some hustle and energy off the bench, the Pacers may very well have superior reserves, especially if Tony Allen misses tonight's game. Leon Powe will need to be kept off the glass, and Eddie House can light it up. Brandon Rush was supplanted by Stephen Graham against the Cavaliers, so it'll be interesting to keep an eye out for who gets more minutes off the bench. In either case, whoever is on the floor should take advantage of Tony Allen's absence and provide some scoring off the bench.
The Coaches
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Jim O'Brien has caught a lot of flak for not being able to win the close games this season. Against a team like Boston at home, the crowd will be a lift, but matchups will be tricky to play, and he should substitute with judgement. Doc Rivers is a coach who is lucky enough to have one of the greatest teams ever assembled in basketball, with a franchise that Jim O'Brien called home before he was replaced by Doc Rivers. While it may seem that there is some drama, there really isn't, at least on the surface, but it's not unlikely that all Jim wants to do is stick it to his old team.
Injury Report
Nets
Tony Allen: Doubtful (Ankle)
Pacers
Mike Dunleavy: Out (Sore Knee)
Travis Diener: Day-to-Day (Sore Foot)
Final Points
-Play tough defense like the first meeting.
-Don't be discouraged if the Celtics are being the Celtics (the home crowd should help some).
-Box out. We can't have another lopsided affair. He who controls the rebounds, controls the universe.
-Don't be afraid to take it inside. The game where I saw live at Boston had the Pacers heaving 30 trey attempts. This is foolhardy and unacceptable. Draw fouls. It would be great to get any of the starting five for Boston in foul trouble, as they aren't really good when relying on their bench.
Tradition
Raise your hand if you just scrolled down to here without reading the carefully written analysis.
*sigh*
