Final: Celtics 124, Nets 114 - Tatum leads C's to ugly win in Brooklyn

BOSTON CELTICS at BROOKLYN NETS

8:00 p.m., NBCS Boston

Line: Boston -9.5

INJURIES

Boston: Derrick White (OUT, personal reasons), Neemias Queta (OUT, sore foot)

Brooklyn: Ben Simmons (OUT, back), Nic Claxton (OUT, ankle), Cam Johnson (OUT, calf)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Life without White: I’m curious how Joe Mazzulla will adjust with White out. Will he go with Al Horford in the starting lineup? Will he stay single big and insert Payton Pritchard? Will he go a different direction and start someone like Oshae Brissett in order to keep the bench unit together? They all have merit. 

2. Kristaps Porzingis: Claxton’s absence means the Nets will be small. The Celtics can unleash the Kraken and let Porzingis feast on post ups and then run the offense off that. The Nets will be forced to double a lot, and that's death against Boston.  

3. Focus: Boston has passed two huge tests of their focus and execution with their games in Washington and against the Pacers. I was most impressed with their start to the third quarter against Indiana, so the precedent they’ve set this season suggests this isn’t something to be concerned about. And I wouldn’t say concern is what this is about. I just want to see them keep it rolling.

4. Hot shooting: The Celtics are shooting a ton of pull-up jumpers over the first four games, and they're hitting a bunch, especially from 3 where they're 46.3% so far. That's not a sustainable number, so I’m wondering when the bottom falls out of that approach. Will it be all at once? Will it be gradual? And when it does, will they stick with it or adjust their approach? 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.