Boston Celtics vs. Minnesota Timberwolves - NBA Preview
On Friday night March 30, 2012 Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves will be confronting each other for the 1st time in this shortened season.
Greens, looking to embark on a 4 game winning streak, will be stepping inside the arena confidently, as they swept Wolves 2-0 last season. Paul Pierce was brilliant during that stretch as he averaged 23.0 points and 6.5 boards
per game. Kevin Garnet, who played for the Wolves from 1995-2007; averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds per game against his former team last year and with Kevin Love on song, KG’s role becomes pivotal in the final outcome.
Boston also enjoys the psychological edge as they are on a 3 game winning streak, hosting a successful show at home.
C’s most recent victory was against Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Kevin Garnett paced his team with 23 points and 10 boards as Boston recovered after coughing up an 18 point 2nd half lead to trounce Utah Jazz, 94-82 at the
TD Garden.
Paul Pierce poured in 20 points and had 6 boards to push his team back into the tie for 1st position with Philadelphia 76ers in the Atlantic Division. He is averaging 19.0 points per game in this season and was all praise
for Garnett post game.
"He's been playing like that a lot since the second half of the season and we've been going to him a lot more. He really is inspiring to his teammates when he's got it going like that on both ends of the court and we kind of feed
off his energy."
They are currently struggling on the 7th spot for playoffs in the Eastern Conference with a 28-22 record so far and need to bank more victories to create a gap between the teams eyeing their spot. A win over the T’Wolves
could mathematically take them to as high as 4th in the East.
Wolves are way out of the playoff picture resting amongst the bottom teams in Western Conference with a 25-27 record. Much of this has been the result of the momentum shift after Ricky Rubio suffered a season ending injury. However
they can pose a serious threat for C’s having a player like Kevin Love on their roster.
Love has simply been sensational off late, scoring at an average of nearly 33 points and 17 rebounds in the last three game. His last performance was a double-double with 40 points and 19 rebounds in a 88-83 win over the Charlotte
Bobcats and if the Celtics are to snatch a W, they will have to contain Minnesota’s low post monster.
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