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The Celtics would seem to be walking into the Verizon Center with the numbers on their side. They took all three games against the Wizards last season by an average of 22 points per contest. The Wizards, after being the supposed Dark Horse in the Eastern conference during the preseason are now solidly at the bottom of the Southeast conference. They're embroiled in a team chemistry controversy that nobody is really talking about.  

Celtics on the other hand, they're doing okay. Their last 8 games have gone alright I think, in my humble opinion. Apparently they're tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference and they trail some obscure team in the West by a half a game for the best record in the league. Heck, even John Hollinger thinks they're not such a bad team. Seems like a good night to sit back and watch the carnage ensue, right?

Wrong! These Wizards are a lot of things this season. They're dysfunctional. They're underachieving. They're in recovery from stage four caffiene addiction. But beyond all these things, these Wizards are in their hearts unpredictable. This is a team that has lost to Toronto and Detroit (a combined 19-25), but they are also a team that beat Dallas and Cleveland (a combined 30-14). This is a team that can surprise you, and right now they're fighting for their playoff lives. With the season just barely a quarter over, the Wizards already cannot afford to have another losing streak like the one they suffered in early November.  That one lasted six games. Currently, they're on a 2 game skid, and I believe fan law dictates you cannot call it a losing streak until three games have been dropped. These Wizards cannot take another losing streak so early in the season, so expect a sense or urgency. This game, like every other game the Celtics play during the regular season, will be "just another game" to the C's, but it will be a statement game for the (Cheese) Whiz.

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ISSUE 3

First off, apologies to all the readers out there. This week’s Lobster Roll is a little tardy, there were some logistic and scheduling errors that were impossible to avoid. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Red Claws went 2-0 over the weekend, and this week we’ve got a really special edition of the Lobster Roll, with the first piece of a (hopefully) multi-part interview series, ‘Better Know a Red Claw’.  To sum up, ladies and gentlemen, We’ve got a great show tonight.

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Boston (15-4) @ Oklahoma City (10-8) Game Preview

Friday, December 4th, 8:00PM EST

Venue: Ford Center

TV: CSNNE, FOX SPORTS OKLAHOMA Radio: WEEI

Game # 20, Away Game # 10 Road Trip Game: 4/4, 2nd night of back-to-back

GAME THREAD I CHAT ROOM

The Celtics are in the middle of some sort of streak or something (shhhh...lets not talk about that), but these are not your father's thunder. The last time these two teams met, the Celtics beat the Thunder by almost 20 points, and I joke you not, Mikki Moore had a double double. The Celtics are 4-0 versus the Thonics (Sunder?) since the former Sonics tore apart their roster trading away Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. They've made virtually no roster moves since last season's trade for Thabo Sefelosha. Paves the way for a good feeling about tonight right?

Wrong! These Thunder are dangerous. Sure, we're winning a few games now, but these Thunder have been shocking people all season long. In just the last month, they've beaten Orlando, San Antonio, and Utah. They took the Lakers to overtime.  Kevin Durant is currently 4th in the league in scoring at 27+ per game. Russell Westbrook is playing like a top 10 point guard at 16 points and 7 assists a contest. They're 4-0 at home, and that's not even the worst of it.

They're winning games, but they're doing it not only on the backs of premier offensive players like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, they're doing it by some mystical magical beast known as "team defense". They're allowing just under 95 points per game, which is good for 7th in the league, while scoring about 98 points per game. 

So that's the bad news. Want the good news? Boston allows Roughly 91 points per contest and scores roughly 100, which is good for a league best +9.0 differential. Oklahoma City might be the trendy new kids on the block, but Boston is coming into town the battle tested junkyard dogs. If anyone is going to show these kids how to play defense that wins games, it ought to be us.

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Claws roll into town for home opener? You ready?

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So tonight is the home opener for the Maine Red Claws against the neighboring Springfield Armor. To prepare you for tonight's game, we got together a little link on link action so if you are at the game in Portland or just watching at home, you'll know what is going on. Follow our simple five-step-process to get easily caught up on the D-League action so far!

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Boston Celtics (13-4) @ Charlotte Bobcats (7-9) Game Preview

To take a page out of forum poster RAacker's book, ROLL C's ROLLLLLL! The Celtics are in the middle of a four game winning streak, fresh off of a victory against Miami, and the last time the Celtics beat the Bobcats, they did it by over 30 points and won their next 4 games. That's the good news. The bad news is that the Celtics are 1 game in on a 4 game road trip that includes a visit to the Spurs in the Alamo Dome.

The news gets worse too. The Bobcats are on a lil' streak of their own. On November 20th they were 3-9, but four games later including an impressive win over Cleveland they're now 7-9, and ancy to get back to .500 for the first time in almost a month.

Despite the lopsided nature of the loss earlier in the season, these Bobcats should not be underestimated. First it should not be forgotten that the Bobcats took us to overtime in 2 out of 3 games last season, taking one. On top of that the Bobcats have also added veteran "Jack" of all trades (har-har) Stephen Jackson  since the two teams met in October.

The good news for us fans is that it should be a pretty darn good game. Both teams are trying to really assert themselves and find a rhythm after uneven play throughout the season. On top of that, if history is any lesson (besides that awesome 33 point win in October), this game should be hard fought on both sides.

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Well the first week of D-League play is over, and the Red Claws made it out a solid .500, going 1 and 1. They're still obviously ironing out the kinks within the rotation, and trying to work Bill Walker into a starting spot of the rotation. Their roster seems to be coming along though, and DraftExpress has them ranked 8 out of 16 in their inaugeral D-League Power Rankings. For a full recap of the Red Claws' week, check out this fanpost by Celticsblog user JFoss.

Now that they've got some games under their belt, it's time we took a real deep look at what the Red Claws are working with. Prepare to embark on the promised FULL ON ROSTER PREVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

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More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

Tony could play

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Per MetroWest Daily News:

Tony Allen is nearing his season debut after undergoing ankle surgery in the summer. Rivers said Allen might play tonight against the Sixers, though they could hold him out until a four-game road trip begins on Sunday. "Tony looked good today," said Rivers. "I think with him, it's going to be a confidence thing. (Monday), I didn't think he looked good. Today, he looked terrific. He was exploding to the basket." ...