GameDay: Bobcats vs. Celtics

The Charlotte Bobcats open the 2009-10 season tonight in Boston taking on the mighty Celtics, fresh off their win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

The Bobcats will be without starting SG Raja Bell, who sustained a torn wrist ligament during the preseason. Bell could be back as early as next week after opting to not have surgery.

“I’m going to (sit out) for another week to see if it continues to progress as it has,” Bell said. “If it doesn’t, then we’ll have to go back to the drawing board.”

Charlotte will also be without SG Flip Murray, who is out with a stress reaction in his left shin.

Stephen Graham will start at SG for the Bobcats, as head coach Larry Brown doesn’t want to thrust rookie first round pick Gerald Henderson into an awkward position right out of the gate.

“I’m not afraid to play Gerald Henderson, but I don’t want his first NBA game chasing Paul Pierce and Ray Allen around right off the bat,” Brown said.

Tonight marks the first official game for newly-acquired center Tyson Chandler, who came to Charlotte in a trade for C Emeka Okafor.

“Health-wise I’m OK, but still the timing, getting my legs under me and getting back in rhythm, that’s the difficult part,” Chandler said. “But I’m going to be fine.”

Boston won two out of three games last season against the Bobcats, however two of the games went into overtime (and one into double-overtime), and the other was decided by less than five points.

We’ll see if the Bobcats can play the Celtics tough.

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