Celtics Look to Avenge OT Loss as They Take on the Knicks
at 
Boston Celtics (2-4) at New York Knicks (2-1)
Preseason Game #7 – Road Game #5
Saturday, October 20, 2012
7:30pm ET
TV: CSNNE, MSG, NBA-LP (DTV 752/753)
Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Referees: Marc Davis, Tony Brown, Eli Roe
This
is the second preseason game between these two division rivals. The
first game was a spirited affair with the Knicks coming out on top 98-95
in OT. The Knicks are playing in the second of back to back games and
although most of their regular starters are listed they may sit them.
In
the Knicks' 107-88 loss to the Raptors, Amare played 26 minutes and
Melo played 33 minutes. They may or may not play in this one. Amare has
pretty much said that he doesn't play to play. Ordinarily, the starters
would sit in back to back games but this is New York and this is the
Celtics, and after a sub-par effort with porous defense, their coach may
want to try to work through some issues. But, who knows.
The
game notes have the regular starters listed, but they haven't been
right yet, so why start now? Doc has said that he will sit Paul Pierce
and Brandon Bass tonight, both of whom sustained minor injuries in the
last game, I've put Jeff Green into the starting lineup for Pierce, but I
have a funny feeling that Doc may start Kris Jospeh to keep some
continuity with his core bench group.
Sherrod
Blakely tweeted that both KG and Darko will also be out tonight. It
looks like Rondo is playing but may be in limited minutes. No word yet
whether Barbosa has reported to the Celtics yet. Last word was he was
going through visa paperwork and may be available for Sunday's game.
On
an interesting note, Marc Davis will be calling a Celtics game for the
first time since his incident with Rondo that resulted in Rondo's
suspension. If you recall, a series of terrible and very obviously
wrong calls led to Rondo bumping him after yet another terrible call.
Let's hope they are both on their best behavior in this one.
Probable Starters
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Courtney Lee
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Jared Sullinger
C: Kevin Garnett
Reserves
Brandon Bass
Leandro Barbosa
Jason Collins
Micah Downs
Kris Joseph
Rob Kurz
Jason Terry
Fab Melo
Darko Milicic
Injuries
Chris Wilcox (back) day to day
Darko Milicic (wrist) questionable
Avery Bradley (shoulders) out
Paul Pierce (ankle, knee) out
Brandon Bass (knee) out
Probable Starters
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Raymond Felton
SG: Mychel Thompson
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Kurt Thomas
C: Tyson Chandler
Reserves
JR Smith
Steve Novak
Jason Kidd
Henry Simms
John Shurna
Pablo Prigioni
Chris Copeland
Oscar Bellfield
Injuries
Ronnie Brewer (MCL) out
Marcus Camby (calf) out
Iman Shumpert (ACL) out
Chris Smith (patella) out
Amare Stoudamire (knee) questionable
Rasheed Wallace (out of shape) questionable
Probable Starters
PG
SG SF PF CPG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Courtney Lee
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Jared Sullinger
C: Kevin Garnett
Reserves
Brandon Bass
Leandro Barbosa
Jason Collins
Micah Downs
Kris Joseph
Rob Kurz
Jason Terry
Fab Melo
Darko Milicic
Injuries
Chris Wilcox (back) day to day
Darko Milicic (wrist) questionable
Avery Bradley (shoulders) out
Paul Pierce (ankle, knee) out
Brandon Bass (knee) out
Probable Starters
PG
SG SF PF CPG: Raymond Felton
SG: Mychel Thompson
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Kurt Thomas
C: Tyson Chandler
Reserves
JR Smith
Steve Novak
Jason Kidd
Henry Simms
John Shurna
Pablo Prigioni
Chris Copeland
Oscar Bellfield
Injuries
Ronnie Brewer (MCL) out
Marcus Camby (calf) out
Iman Shumpert (ACL) out
Chris Smith (patella) out
Amare Stoudamire (knee) questionable
Rasheed Wallace (out of shape) questionable
Keys to the Game
No more injuries.
Get young guys experience
Make it through a game without a horrible call by Marc Davis
Get the preseason finished and get ready for the Heat on opening night
