The Celtics head from Miami to Brooklyn as they look for back to back wins. The Celtics play the Nets for the 3rd of 4 games between them this season. The Celtics won 108-104 in overtime in Boston on November8. They also won the second game 139-114 in Brooklyn on November 13. They will play for the 4th, and final, time in Boston on March 18.
The Celtics won the series 4-0 last season. The Celtics are 143-74 overall all time against the Nets and they are 67-40 all time in games on the road. The Celtics have won their last 7 games on the road against Brooklyn. The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games. They are 6-4 in the second of back to back games and 2-2 when both games are on the road.
The Nets went into rebuild mode this off season when they traded their most valuable player, Mikal Bridges, to the Knicks. They received Shake Milton in a sign and trade from the Knicks. They got Bojan Bogdanovic and Ziaire Williams from Memphis. They received their own ‘25 and ‘26 draft picks back from Houston and 5 first round picks in the Bridges trade.
The Nets lost Keita Bates-Diop, Jacob Gilyard, Dennis Smith, Jr, and Lonnie Walker IV from last year’s team. The Nets were also active at the trade deadline, sending Dennis Schroder to Golden State for De’Anthony Melton and Reece Beekman. They also bought out Ben Simmons contract, who then signed with the Clippers.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 8.5 games behind 1st place Cleveland, who have won their last 16 games. They are 5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 10.5 games ahead of 4th place Milwaukee. They are 25-7 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 32-11 against Eastern Conference teams. They are coming off a win over the Heat in their last game.
The Nets are 13th in the East. They are 34 games behind first place Cleveland and they are 6 games behind 10th place Chicago, who are in the final play in spot. They are 7.5 games ahead of last place Washington and half a game behind 12th place Philadelphia. They are 19-21 at home and 1-9 in their last games. They are 12-29 against Eastern Conference teams. They have lost their last 2 games.
The Celtics just finished a 5-2 home stand and are playing in the second straight road game, coming off a win in Miami on Friday night. After this game at Brooklyn they will return home to play Brooklyn for the final time this season. They then head out on a 6 game Western road trip through Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, San Antonio and Memphis. They play 5 of their last 7 games at home.
The mid-day injury report is out for the Celtics with a few expected names and a couple of surprises. The biggest surprise for me was that Kristaps Porzingis has been upgraded to probable. Derrick White is listed as doubtful after a big game on Friday. As expected, Al Horford is also listed as doubtful. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are questionable. My guess is that one of them will play (probably Brown since he was out Friday) and Tatum will likely get a night off to rest his balky knee. With this in mind, I’ve included Sam Hauser to replace the doubtful White and included probably KP and both of the questionable Jays in the starters.
The Nets have 5 players on their injury list as of now, with 2 starters out. Nicolas Claxton will sit out this game for rest as it is the first of back to back games. Nets leading scorer Cam Thomas is out due to hamstring injury management. Noah Clowney is out due to an ankle injury. De’Anthony Melton is out with a knee injury. Trendon Watford is out with a hamstring injury. I’m taking a guess that Sharpe will start for Claxton and Tyrese Martin will start in Thomas’ spot.
Probable Celtics Starters
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Celtics ReservesPayton PritchardNeemias QuetaXavier Tillman, SrJordan WalshBaylor Scheierman
Torrey Craig
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonMiles Norris
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (knee) questionableJaylen Brown (knee) questionableDerrick White (knee) doubtfulKristaps Porzingis (illness) probableAl Horford (toe) doubtful
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Nets Starters
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Nets ReservesKeon JohnsonMaxwell LewisJalen Wilson
Two Way PlayersReece BeekmanTosan EvbuomwanTyson Etienne
Injuries/Out Noah Clowney (ankle) out De’Anthony Melton (knee) out Nicolas Claxton (rest) out Trendon Watford (hamstring) out Cam Thomas (hamstring) out Dariq Whitehead (G-League) out
Head CoachJordi Fernandez
Key Matchups
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Sam Hauser vs Cameron JohnsonJohnson is averaging 18.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He is shooting 47.8% from the field and 40.2% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics in 2 games so far, he averaged 13.5 points, 6 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc. He is a good 3 point shooter and the Celtics need to defend him well on the perimeter.
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Jrue Holiday vs D’Angelo RussellRussell is averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He is shooting 40.1% from the field and 30.1% from beyond the arc. This is his first game against the Celtics this season.
Keys to the Game Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 5th in the league with a defensive rating of 110.3. The Nets are 23rd in the league with a defensive rating of 115.3. The Nets are averaging 105.3 points per game (29th). The Celtics are 7th in the league averaging 116.8 points per game. The Celtics have to especially guard the perimeter as the Nets are 11th with 38.7 three pointers attempted per game.
Rebound – The Celtics must box out and crash the boards. They can’t score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part beat the Nets on the boards. The Nets are 28th with 41.1 rebounds per game. The Celtics are 10th with 44.9 rebounds per game. . The Celtics have to put out more effort to get to the rebounds before the Nets and prevent second and third chance shots.
Don’t Underestimate – The Celtics need to stay focused and be aggressive from start to finish. The Nets have not been playing well, but they are still playing hard and will always try to beat the Celtics. The Celtics can’t underestimate them because they are sitting 5 players, including 2 of their best starters or because they are under .500 or because they have lost 9 of their last 10 games. No matter who sits for the Celtics, they should still have enough talent to beat the Nets as long as they put in the effort.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to be aggressive on defense, driving to the basket, rebounding, diving for loose balls and just playing harder in general. What the Nets lack in star power, they make up for with effort. The Celtics need to match their effort and aggressiveness. They also have to play hard right up until the final buzzer. This Nets team without stars play hard and win by giving more effort than their opponents.
X-Factors Road Game and Fatigue – The Celtics are playing on the road on the second night of back to back games, and had to travel for the game. They will be playing in front of a hostile crowd and have the distractions that go with playing on the road. The Celtics need to focus on the game and not on the distractions of travel and playing in an unfamiliar arena. Hopefully they get production from their reserves to avoid fatigue down the stretch.
Who’s Playing and Who’s Not – Both teams have long injury lists for this game. The Nets are resting 2 of their starters along with having 4 others for various reasons. The Celtics have White and Horford doubtful while Tatum and Brown are questionable. Surprisingly Porzingis is probable. If he plays, I imagine there will be a minutes limit and that he will be a bit rusty. I’m going to take a wild guess that Tatum will likely get the night off and Brown will play. With both teams playing short handed, play of the reserves could be an x-factor.
Officiating – The officiating is always an x-factor. Sometimes a crew will call the game tight and blow a whistle on every play. Other times they will let them play and let the game get physical. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the game is called and not let missed calls or bad calls affect their focus. If the calls are bad, they just need to play harder to make up for them and not waste time arguing with the officials.
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