Celtics (5-0) vs. Minnesota (1-3)
Game time: 8pm Target Center, Minneapolis. TV - CSN; Radio - WEEI-AM (850)
Team Leaders
Scoring
Bos: Pierce - 21.6 Wolves: Al Jefferson - 16.5
Rebounding
Bos: Pierce - 6.8 Wolves: Ryan Gomes - 8.0
Assists
Bos: Rondo - 10.4 Wolves: J. Flynn - 3.3
Who'll go off: Paul Pierce. Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo. Anyone wearing green. Sorry, but I have little faith in the Wolves defense. With Kevin Love out with a hand injury, Al Jefferson is getting little help in the front court. Look for KG and Co. to feast on Gomes, Brian Cardinal, Ryan Hollins and, gasp, Mark Blount.
Who needs to be stopped: Big Al. Al Jefferson is the only legitimate scoring threat on this team. He went for 34 points (15-21 FG) and 11 rebounds in his last game against the Celtics. He's still recovering from a bad achilles, but has averaged 22 points in his last two games.
The C's will lose if... the bus breaks down en route to the arena. Seriously, if they turn the ball over repeatedly or shoot poorly they can lose. But that logic applies to any team.
Wildcard: The back-to-back factor. The Celtics are an older team, and older guys generally have a tough time on the second night of back-to-back games. Fortunately, the starters got plenty of rest during the 4th quarter of last night's blowout over Philly.
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After the jump, my advanced scouting on the Wolves dancers.
