Celtics-Jazz Preview
BOSTON (CBS) - The Celtics look to close out their six-game homestand with a win against the Utah Jazz Friday night at the TD Garden.
Now is a good time to match up with the Jazz, who are a little out of tune after dropping back-to-back road games against the Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets.
It will be Kevin Garnett's third game back from a calf injury, and it looks like he barely missed a beat. But KG knows it will take a little time to return to "Big Ticket" form.
"It's like being at a party, and the record skips, and you've got to get back on beat," Garnett said after Wednesday night's 86-82 win against the Pistons. "So you know, the record skipped a bit. But I'm at the party. I've just got to find that groove again."
Garnett tallied 11 points and six rebounds against Detroit, below his season average of 15 points and nine rebounds per game. But his defensive play was a big part of the win, as it was in his return Monday night against the Orlando Magic. Garnett came up with a steal with just 16 seconds left in the game, sealing the 109-106 victory over their Eastern Conference rival.
Along with Center Shaquille O'Neal, Garnett will be busy with Jazz Center and former Celtic Al Jefferson. "Big Al" returns to Boston, where he spent the first three seasons of his NBA career before becoming the centerpiece of the trade that put Garnett in green.
In his first season with the Jazz, Jefferson is averaging over 16 points and eight rebounds per game.
One matchup to keep an eye on is the battle of the point guards. The Celtic's Rajon Rondo and Jazz' Deron Williams are arguably the two best floor generals in the NBA. Rondo is tops in the league with 13.2 assists per game, while Williams is in fourth with 9.5 per game. Williams is a much more prolific scorer, averaging over 22 points a contest. Keeping him in check will be key to a Celtics victory.
"He's been anointed as one of the best one or two point guards in the NBA," Ray Allen told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Tom Cuddy. "We want to make sure Rondo keeps doing what he's doing, and we take away the things Deron Williams been able to do. Great players get easy baskets and make it to the free throw line. That's something we have to take away from him."
Ray Allen's jump shot is as smooth as jazz, but he hit just two shots Wednesday night. One of them just so happen to give the Celtics their first second-half lead with 25 seconds left in the game.
Allen is just 28 3-pointers away from tying Reggie Miller's all-time record. He is hitting a career best 47-percent of his shots from beyond the arc this season.
