Van Gundy previews Game 1
A little more than an hour before Game 1 of the Celtics-Magic series, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy spoke about defending Dwight Howard, fatigue, and Kendrick Perkins.
“I don’t know what they’ll do [against Howard],” said Van Gundy. “But I very much doubt it will be anything we haven’t seen before … it’s not a matter of one guy. We need a lot of people to play well in this series.”
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Perkins is used to being challenged by the league’s best and should handle it well.
“He’s a defender,” said Rivers. “Those type of guys love playing every night. There are certain games where any guy may need a pep talk or speech. I don’t think Perk needs it this entire series. Going up against Dwight is a [heck] of a challenge.”
While the Howard-Perkins matchup seems to favor Orlando (and most certainly does on the offensive end), the Ray Allen-J.J. Redick matchup is one that should favor Boston.
“I haven’t given much thought to it,” said Van Gundy. “It’s two guys guarding each other. J.J’s going to work his butt off as hard as he can. The funny thing is, you know the perception you have of players. I didn’t hear a lot in terms of the Bulls matching up with Ray Allen, and I saw him get 51 on them.
“My guess is J.J. can probably hold him to that.”
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