Game 3: Celtics at Sixers preview

By Gary Dzen

May 16, 2012

1 minute to read

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

PHILADELPHIA — The location has changed, but the issues that surrounded the Celtics following their Game 2 loss in Boston continue to surround them in Philadelphia. The team had a full complement of players for shootaround this morning at the Wells Fargo Center, but Paul Pierce’s knee, Ray Allen’s ankle, and Avery Bradley’s shoulder are not expected to heal anytime this series. It is what it is.

In terms of the building, the Sixers tweeted this morning that about 1,000 tickets remained for Game 3, and the team is expecting them to be sold by game time. With the Pacers beating the Heat last night, the Eastern Conference suddenly seems very wide open, and Philly fans would not be wrong to give their team a legitimate shot.

Here are the details for tonight’s game:

Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Series: Tied at 1.
Broadcast info: TNT, 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:

Pierce’s movement: Of the Celtics’ injuries, the one to Pierce is the most concerning. Pierce was unable to beat his defender off the dribble in the first two games, taking away his crucial ability to get to the line. If Pierce is limited, the Celtics are down their most important offensive player.

Shot selection: Speaking of offense, Brandon Bass can’t be Boston’s leader in shot attempts. Doc Rivers said after Game 2 that the Celtics tried to get Kevin Garnett going early Monday night but were unable to. Rivers and the Celtics need to figure out how to do that earlier and more often tonight.

Matching up: Evan Turner continues to be a difficult matchup for the Celtics, who don’t have a guard of his size. Jrue Holiday took advantage of Rajon Rondo a couple of times on pick-and-rolls in Game 2. The Celtics had success going small in the fourth quarter, and they undoubtedly have to do more of that.

@GlobeGaryDzen