Boston Rottweilers & Orlando Poodles Begin Series

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Boston Celtics (0-0, 8-3) at Orlando Magic (0-0, 8-0)
Sunday, May 16
3:30 PM ET
Playoff Game Game #12 , Road Game #6
TV: ABC
Amway Arena
Today's Referees:  Dan Crawford,  Ken Mauer,  Michael Smith  

Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Rajon Rondo 18.0 PPG 6.3 RPG 11.1 APG 2.1 SPG 3.4 TO/G
Jameer Nelson 20.5 PPG 2.6 RPG 5.3 APG 1.6 SPG 1.4 TO/G

Shooting Guard
vs
Ray Allen 17.4 PPG 3.0 RPG 2.8 APG ..425 3P%
Vince Carter 16.9 PPG 4.5 RPG 2.4 APG .250 3P%

Small Forward
vs
Paul Pierce 16.3 PPG 5.1 RPG 3.5 APG
Matt Barnes 7.4 PPG 4.8 RPG 1.6 APG

Power Forward
vs
Keven Garnett 17.6 PPG 8.3 RPG 2.3 APG 0.7 BPG
Rashard Lewis 14.7 PPG 4.9 RPG 2.6 APG .5 BPG

Center
vs
Kendrick Perkins 6.3 PPG 7.3 RPG .9 APG 2.3 BPG
Dwight Howard 15.4 PPG 11.3 RPG 1.9 APG 3.9 BPG


Key Matchups
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Kendrick Perkins vs Dwight Howard
Slowing down Dwight Howard and keeping him off of his favorite spots around the basket is key to slowing down the Magic. Perk is one of the few centers in the league who has been able to cover Howard one on one. Strangely, Sheed also gives Howard problems. The Celtics need Perk to contain Howard with single coverage as the Magic have so many outside threats, it is dangerous to double off of any of them. Perk sat out Saturday's practice with a flare up of the tendonitis that sidelined him earlier as well. He is expected to play.

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Kevin Garnett vs Rashard Lewis
Another key matchup between these two teams is at the power forward spot. KG and Lewis both have the ability to play on the perimeter as well as taking the ball inside. If Perk does his job on Howard, the Magic will turn to Lewis for more of it's offense and so the Celtics will need KG to be on his game on the defensive end to keep Lewis from putting up big numbers. In their regular season meetings, KG was still struggling to come back from his injuries. KG is now playing better than he has all season and this should be a matchup that favors the Celtics.

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Rajon Rondo vs Jameer Nelson
Rondo has been playing at an All Star level in the playoffs and has been the Celtics best player. Nelson has also been playing very well, but hasn't faced a challenge of the caliber that Rondo will present him. Rondo must continue to play aggressively on both ends of the court for the Celtics to win this series.

Keys to the Game
Focus - The one game that the Cavs won, the Celtics seemed to have completely lost focus, especially on defense. When the Celtics put their mind to it and kept their focus, especially on the defensive end, they were able to dominate the Cavs, even when they had to play 5 on 8 in a couple games. The Celtics need to come out focused and keep their focus for 48 minutes. They can't afford a sluggish start or to have a lapse of focus down the stretch.

Defense - Defense is the key to winning. Period. In the Cavs series, the Celtics proved that they still have the ability to play shut down defense as a team. Perk's defense inside will be especially important in this game to keep Howard from having a big game. They also must defend the perimeter because the Magic are a very good 3 point shooting team and can kill you from beyond the arc if left open.

Rebound - Dwight Howard can take over a game on rebounds and putbacks alone The Celtics must box out and crash the boards as a team. They have to commit as a team to crashing the boards and going after every single rebound. Rebounding takes effort and desire and the Celtics must show both if they want to win this game.

Ball Movement - The Celtics need to move the ball and find the open man. When they have their passing game going, they are hard to beat. If they resort to too much dribbling and too many iso's, it will allow the Magic defenses to set up and the Celtics will struggle to score.

Bench Play - The Celtics got some key contributions from their bench in the Cavs series, especially from Tony, Big Baby and Sheed. The Celtics must continue to get help from their bench in this series especially since the Magic have a very strong bench with Pietrus, Redick, Anderson, Gortat and Williams.

X-Factor
Rust vs Rest
The Magic have been sitting since Monday while the Celtics have only had 2 days rest. The Magic faced very little resistance in their first two rounds while the Celtics faced two very tough teams. The Celtics come into this game in stride, while the Magic have been sitting and waiting after two fairly easy opponents. If the Celtics catch the Magic a bit rusty, this could be a great opportunity to steal a game in Orlando.