Utah Jazz advance scout Jeff Nelson, of Bradford has seen the Celtics play nearly two dozen times and he’s seen Orlando twice.
He sees another knock-down, drag-out, seven-game series.
And guess what? The ex-Tewksbury High and Reading High boys basketball sees the Celtics prevailing.
Here are a few of his thoughts:
Keys for Celtics: “Everyone worries about fatigue, but I do not think it is a factor. Fatigue is a factor when you have 4 games in 5 nights in 3 different cities. The travel wears you out, but now the Celtics our home for the next 5 days — counting Sunday. To me the key is consistent scoring and rebounding from Paul Pierce. Last series Salmons did a good job harassing him and challenging his shots. This series Turkoglu is not as a good a defender, Pierce can get out on the open full and get to rim. The Celtics must run and attack more. They will struggle if they walk the ball and take 10-12 seconds off the shot clock before they get into a play. Beat them down the floor!! defensive rebounding is also critical for the celtics to advance.”
Keys for Orlando: “Orlando needs to maintain balance in their offense. They are 3-point shooting team that ranks in bottom part of league in offensive rebounding — something like 26th out of 30 teams. They must not fall in love with perimeter shot and establish Howard inside — often and early. If they shot alot of 3′s and miss, it means long rebounds for Rondo who get start the Celtic fast break. Orlando has improved defensivley, and must find and anwer for Ray Allen.”
Who will win?: “If the Celtics can avoid anymore significant injuries (Perkins or Rondo) they can win in 7 games. Doc Rivers is a better game coach than Stan Van Gundy, Ray Allen will be a handful for the Magic. If the Celtics run and do not lose the battle on the boards they will be fine.”
