The good teams have potential, but injuries can derail them. The great ones fight through the health struggles and win anyway.
At the moment, the Celtics look to be a part of that latter group. They’ve had their fair share of setbacks — Shaquille O’Neal’s hip, Jermaine O’Neal’s knee, Rajon Rondo‘s foot, and now Delonte West‘s wrist — but they’ve persevered, and they lead the Eastern Conference at 13-4. The Portland Trail Blazers are hoping to crack into that group as well.
The Blazers have faced plenty of adversity themselves this season. Greg Oden, their potential franchise center, is out for the season with a knee injury once again, and Brandon Roy has knee issues of his own but is working to play through it.
Roy is banged up, but he’s still going to be a handful as he takes on Rajon Rondo and the Celtics. Roy will start at shooting guard, but he can still work wonders with the ball in his hands. Expect the Blazers’ star to take plenty of shots and make Rondo work on the defensive end.
Here’s the lineup card for these two battle-tested squads:
Celtics
Rajon Rondo, PG
Ray Allen, SG
Paul Pierce, SF
Kevin Garnett, PF
Shaquille O’Neal, C
Blazers
Andre Miller, PG
Brandon Roy, SG
Wesley Matthews, SF
LaMarcus Aldridge, PF
Marcus Camby, C
