Run 'em Ragged

The Western Conference leading San Antonio Spurs take on the Eastern Conference leading Celtics tonight in Boston in a matchup that heavily favors the Spurs. The Spurs have an incredible 29-5 record going into tonight, and have been playing quality basketball behind the leadership of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, and clutch scoring ability of Manu Ginobili. Duncan and DeJuan Blair will be looking to dominate the boards the way the Raptors and Timberwolves did in the Celtics' last couple of games with all-star forward Kevin Garnett out due to a calf injury. Glen Davis needs to play his game and try to be dominant inside the paint the way he did for his entire career, and not hang around the perimeter the way he has so far this season. His jump shot is much improved, but should not be his greatest asset to Boston's offense. His size should be.

When healthy, the Celtics and Spurs play a very similar style of basketball, with a great deal of emphasis on tough physical defense, as well as a commitment to smart conservative play on both sides of the ball. Both teams typically like to slow down the pace of the game, and rely heavily on their stars to win games for them. San Antonio may have a better record, and the edge in this game as Big Baby will absolutely have his hands full dealing with Tim Duncan as Garnett sits out another game... but the Celtics have this guy named Rajon Rondo.

The Celtics like to play a clean and slow paced game, but so do the Spurs, so Rondo needs to quarterback Boston to a faster-than-usual pace to run San Antonio's older star players ragged. San Antonio lost their fifth game of the year last night in a back and forth scoring barrage against the fast-paced New York Knicks, who the Celtics defeated earlier this year. Both the Spurs and Celtics got caught up in the heat of the game and wound up playing New York Knicks style of basketball which features a lot of scoring, and not a lot of defense, however the Celtics were able to keep up and emerged victorious while San Antonio's players became worn out and could not get important baskets down the stretch. If the Celtics can use this to their advantage, meaning that Rondo runs a hurry up offense with quick outlet passes, and drives and dishes to stretch out and exhaust San Antonio's defense, the Spurs' veteran fatigue will absolutely catch up to them. While many of Boston's players are also older veterans, they have truly been energized over the last few games by their younger role players such as Marquis Daniels, Von Wafer, and even Luke Harangody in his ability to help keep Kevin Love's rebounding total below 30 on Monday night. The Celtics are at a disadvantage, but can pull out a win tonight if they can keep the game at a fast pace without turning the ball over excessively, and get some rebounds for a change. Until Garnett returns, or the Celtics can find a way to not get killed on the boards every night, I continue to hope that Doc Rivers lets Semih Erden back on the court for some much needed energy under the hoop.