Game 2: Sixers at Celtics preview

By Gary Dzen

May 14, 2012

2 minutes to read

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

Get used to the every-other-day schedule of this series for a bit. The Celtics and Sixers have games tonight, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s something Doc Rivers said he wasn’t thrilled about when the schedule was announced. All 15 Celtics players participated in shootaround this morning, and no one is expected to miss any games because of the schedule, but there’s not much time for rest, either.

The Celtics closed well Saturday night, but Philadelphia players seemed happy just to hang with the Celtics on the road in Game 1. They’ll be thrilled if they can steal one tonight and head back home for Games 3 and 4.

Here are the details for tonight’s game:

Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Series: Celtics lead, 1-0.
Broadcast info: TNT/CSNNE, WEEI/850 AM/93.7 FM (Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell)

Probable starters:

Celtics:
PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Brandon Bass
C: Kevin Garnett

Sixers:
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Evan Turner
SF: Andre Iguodala
PF: Elton Brand
C: Spencer Hawes

Story lines:

KG’s dominance: Kevin Garnett set a season-high in points with 29 on Saturday, following up his 28-point performance in Game 6 vs. Atlanta. Garnett is playing his best basketball of the season and some of the best basketball since he came to the Celtics. Can he dominate again?

First half: The Celtics are almost Belichickian in making second-half adjustments, but let’s see if they can start the game out a little better this evening. Rajon Rondo in particular needs to be on his game from the start; he had 11 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds after halftime in Game 1. That’s remarkable, but he doesn’t have to be such a hero if he’s on his game from the jump.

Paul Pierce: Pierce was 3 of 11 in Game 1. Remember how he followed up a poor shooting performance in Game 1 vs. the Hawks with 36 points in Game 2? The big Paul Pierce game is coming, probably sooner rather than later.

Energy play: A bonus key here is the Celtics matching the energy of players like Philadelphia’s Lavoy Allen, who has 12 points and 6 rebounds off the bench in Game 1. Brandon Bass had 10 points and 4 rebounds in a starting role. Bass needs to be better than Allen, and better overall.

@GlobeGaryDzen