Recap: Bill Walton is an amazing orator and the Celtics squeeze out an ugly one against the Blazers.

Bill Walton gushes over Shaq (during his Phoenix days. So. Funny. And much more deserving of the top spot of this post than any highlight from last night)

This was not a pretty win, to say the least. This was a back and forth game until the end of the third, when the Celtics went on a 12-2 run, which spilled over in to the beginning of the fourth frame. In the fourth, Rondo set the pace, Ray Allen hit back to back three pointers and Von Wafer came off the bench with some energy and spark. The Celtics went up 10 with 9 minutes remaining. Portland clawed back in to it, but the game was never really in danger.

The Celtics won this game because they're better than Portland, and that's about it. Boston had 21 turnovers, leading to 22 points, and allowed Portland to grab 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 15 points (that's 37 total points because the Celtics were playing scrubby). Fortunately for the Celtics, the Blazers just weren't able to take advantage of that, and ended up scoring just 41 points outside of the 37 aforementioned points they made of Boston mess-ups. The Blazers shot 36 percent from the field for the game. Eek. Boston was able to win by simply outperforming that miserable stat: the Celtics took 26 less shots, but were 46 percent from the field for the game. They also attempted 33 free throws, to Portlands 13... But I gotta add that the Blazers committed what were in my mind, a couple of over the top and unnecessarily rough fouls. Rondo spent half the game on the deck, and Ray Allen took a couple of hard hits, as well.

Injury updates after the jump

Girls talk sports: looking ahead to Celtics-Blazers.

The Celtics, coming off a nice comfy home stand, have lost 4 of their last 6 on the road. The good news is, they're playing in Portland tonight, where they've won 7 of their last 10 visits. We all know the Celtics have been plagued by injuries, but no team has been more battered than the Blazers. All Star point guard Brandon Roy and veteran center Marcus Camby are both sidelined indefinitely with knee injuries. Nobody even mentions Greg Oden anymore. LaMarcus Aldridge (Western Conference Player of the Week) has stepped up big time for the Blazers, but has been bothered by an injury to his right hip. MRI results came back negative, but he managed only 9 points in a Portland loss to Sacramento on Monday.

Even with all of these injuries, the Blazers were riding a 5 game win streak before losing to Sacramento. Aldridge, as was aforementioned, has been playing quality basketball. He scored 37 points and pulled down 12 rebounds against Minnesota on January 17th, and followed that performance up with several more high scoring outings, with 23, 28 and 25 points. The Blazers have had several other people step up for them, as well.

Wesley Matthews has done an admirable job filling in for the injured Roy, averaging 22 points per game. He had a 28 point night against the Clippers during the Blazers win streak, and shot 40 percent from beyond the arc. When Andre Miller came to the Blazers, he was supposed to be the piece that brought them to the next level. That hasn't happened, but he has been playing solid basketball. He leads the team in assists, with 7 a game, and also leads the team in steals, with 72. After expressing his discontent in Portland all summer long, Rudy Fernandez has stepped his game up. With the Portland back court injury rattled, Fernandez has averaged 30 minutes a game, along with 8 points and 2 assists. Some other names that you might not be familiar with but should be on the look out for tonight are Nicolas Batum (can get it going from 3 point land) and Dante Cunningham (thrust in to more minutes and a starting role, due to all of the injuries).

What do the Celtics need to do to win this game?

Come out strong: Portland has been prone to slow starts as of late. They have trailed after the 1st quarter in 5 of their 6 last games, and opponents have averaged 27 points while shooting 52 percent from the field. The Celtics need to capitalize on this, and come out aggressive.
Attack the paint: The Blazers lost their premier shot blocker when Marcus Camby got injured, leaving LaMarcus Aldridge as the lone threat. The Celtics need to take advantage of their size and aggressively attack the paint.
Stay home on defensive rebounds: Portland ranks third in the league in offensive rebounding. Let's cross our fingers that the Celtics remain alert on the boards all night and make sure to keep a body on Aldridge and Batum.

Marquis Daniels will probably play tonight, having traveled to Portland to meet the team. Shaq is a maybe. Lastly, I'll be keeping an eye on Perk, to see how he plays in his second return to game action. Go big man!