Celtics Look to Avenge OT Loss as They Take on the Knicks

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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

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