Preview by Jack Simone, CLNS Media
TIP OFF 7:30 p.m @ Barclays Center
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: ESPN
The Boston Celtics (32-27, 29-29 ATS) took home the win on night one of their back-to-back, beating the Suns 99-86. They now face off against former-Celtic Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets (39-20, 29-30 ATS).
- Point Spread: Nets -4.5
- Over-Under: 227 points
- Money line: Celtics +157, Nets -177
Predicted Starting Lineups
G: Marcus Smart
G: Evan Fournier
SF: Romeo Langford
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Tristan Thompson
G: Kyrie Irving
G: Landry Shamet
SF: Joe Harris
PF: Jeff Green
C: Deandre Jordan
- Brad Stevens has turned to Carsen Edwards as he searches for some scoring
- The Celtics have managed to cut it to 11. They're trying one last run.
- Payton Pritchard has caught fire. A deep 3 cut the lead to 7.
- A Marcus Smart drawn charge and a Tatum 3 have inexplicably cut this game to 3. The Celtics are on an 11-0 run
- The Celtics committed 3 turnovers after this, including Marcus Smart throwing the ball to his bench when he though teammates standing on the sideline were someone spotting up in the corner
- The Celtics open up the second half with some tough defensive lapses, mostly from Romeo Langford.
- Marcus Smart has been very aggressive, scoring three straight baskets on drives to cut the lead to 7
- The Celtics continue their turnover prone ways. They're up to 11, leading to 13 Nets points
- The Celtics have managed to cut the lead to 6 again as Marcus Smart's monster quarter continues. He's up to 12 points so far in the 3rd.
- And just like that the Nets whip off a 10-0 run. Joe Harris had 2 3's and a layup
- The beginning of the second quarter is about as bad as this team has looked all month. Brooklyn starts on a 12-3 run with Bruce Brown scoring 7 straight points. The Celtic are turning it over and missing shots badly
- Brooklyn hit 5 straight 3-pointers at one point building up a double digit lead. Luckily for Boston, they were able to hit a couple to keep it close
- Scratch that keep it close stuff. The Nets are getting out in transition off Celtics misses and turnovers. This is a very rough quarter. The extended run is 34-13 Nets.
- Jayson Tatum continues his hot shooting. He has 25 points at the half and he's helped the Celtics get back within single digits.
- The Celtics came out on a 9-2 run behind two 3-pointers from Jayson Tatum, which was nice to see considering his recent struggles
- The Nets answered off some tough Celtics misses to get points in transition
- Tristan Thompson should never post up DeAndre Jordan ever again after getting blocked twice on the same possession
- Tatum picked up two fouls, which puts him in a tough position. That's going to sap his aggression to the rim for a while
- Thompson is doing much better sticking to his role of banging the glass and he has 6 points and 6 rebounds with about 4 minutes to go
- The shorthanded Celtics are rolling with a lineup of Evan Fournier, Jabari Parker, Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, and Grant Williams
- Predictably, that stretch was very ugly, but the C's survived
Brooklyn has quite the injury report. James Harden is still out indefinitely, while Nicolas Claxton (COVID-19 protocols), Reggie Perry (COVID-19 protocols), and Chris Chiozza (wrist) are all listed as out as well. Tyler Johnson is doubtful with a knee injury, and Durant is listed as questionable as he continues to deal with a thigh ailment.
Not to be outdone, the C’s have a fairly lengthy injury report. Kemba Walker (knee injury management), Jaylen Brown (shoulder), and Robert Williams III (knee) are all officially listed as out. Evan Fournier, however, is not listed on the team’s injury report.
The Skinny
Irving leads the stacked Nets roster in scoring, putting up 27.4 points a night (38 PPG vs. Boston). He has also played more games this season (43) than his big three counterparts. Harden has played 34 with the team and Durant has only appeared in 24. Joe Harris and Jeff Green have also played significant roles in terms of scoring, putting up 14.4 and 10.3 points a night, respectively, Bruce Brown has also been an impact player on the defensive end.
Kemba Walker has provided a nice spark for the C’s recently, averaging 22.8 points a night over their last five games. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum is averaging 23.8 over that stretch but has struggled in the team’s last two games. He has shot 3-17 from the field two games in a row. Marcus Smart (13.8) and Payton Pritchard (10.4) round out the team’s double-digit scorers over the last five games.
The Celtics continue to roll after a slight bump in the road against Chicago. They have won eight of their last ten games and sit at 32-27 on the year. They are tied with the Hawks for fifth place in the East, but since they lose that tiebreaker they currently sit at sixth.
Prediction
If Durant is out, which is the most likely scenario, priority number one will be to contain Irving. Smart did a spectacular job last night on covering Booker and will have to replicate that performance in this one in order to slow down his former teammate. Irving puts up nearly 30 points a game and has been able to lead this team to many victories whilst dealing with injuries.
Tristan Thompson had a productive game last night against the Suns, and with Brooklyn’s lack of depth at center, he will have another chance to shine. Outside of DeAndre Jordan, the Nets will most likely be playing Blake Griffin a lot at center. Thompson can use his size and strength to not only body him in the post but fight for lots of offensive rebounds.
The third, and final, key in this one will be to close out on shooters. Landry Shamet caused Boston’s demise the last time these two teams played each other. The tandem of him and Harris can cause havoc from behind the arc on any given night. The Celtics are going to have to close out on everyone tonight.
Celtics 113, Nets 109