On Saturday at 8:00 PM, the Celtics will end their 4 game season long road trip facing off against the Grizzlies. They are riding on all momentum because of the Heat game Thursday. After being away from home for a week, the Celtics are one game away from going home for a view days before their next game against the Wizards on November 17. It will be a good rest for the Celtics after a very challenging and strenuous road trip. They first beat the Thunder, lost a close one to the Mavericks, and then proceded to make a statement in Miami with a win over the Heat. If they could finish the road trip with a win against Memphis, they would go back to Boston with a 3-1 record on the road trip, a success.
The players they have to look out for tonight is Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay, along with the other solid players in Memphis' system. Randolph has thrived in Memphis' system, making his first All-Star team last season and continuing that play into 2010-11 with 16.4 PPG and 11.2 RPG. He has been a very solid player for Memphis. Rudy Gay has risen to star status and received a max contract from the Griz this summer. He currently ranks third in the NBA with a team-leading 25.6 PPG. O.J. Mayo (16.2 PPG), Mike Conley (14.9 PPG, 7.7 APG) and Marc Gasol (11.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG) flank Gay and Randolph to make a very formidable starting unit. That group can score against any team in the league, but defense continues to hamper them.
They will go home with a win, a 3-1 record for the road trip. The Celtics will light up the scoreboard tonight. Boston is clicking on offense, for they have has broken the 100-point barrier four times in its past six games. The C's are coming off of a night in Miami in which they scored 112 points and shot 54.4 percent against one of the top defensive teams in the league. When all of Boston's players are hitting shots, they are nearly unstoppable, and that may be a word to describe them by the end of tonight's game. If the Celtics could dominate an elite defensive team like Miami on the road, there's a high probability that it will be able to knife up a shaky Memphis defense as well.
This game will be extrememly high scoring. My prediction- Celtics win 117 to 108.
Sooo close w/ my prediction!
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