The Celtics go from playing the Hawks at home to facing the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclay’s Center. This is the second of 4 games between these two teams this season. The Celtics narrowly beat the Nets 108-104 in Boston on November 8. They will meet for a third game in Brooklyn on March 15 and for a forth and final time in Boston on March 18. The Celtics won the series 4-0 last season. The Celtics are 142-73 overall all time against the Nets and they are 40-66 all time in games on the road.
After this game at home, the Nets will play 2 games on the road against their cross-town rival, the New York Knicks. They will return home for a game against Charlotte before heading out on the road for a 4 game road trip through Philadelphia, Sacramento, Golden State and Phoenix. They will return home for a 2 game series against the Magic in Brooklyn.
The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games after losing to the Hawks by 1 point on Tuesday. They played at home on Tuesday against the Hawks. This is their second back to back set of the season, having won both halves of the first against the Hornets. After this game, the Celtics will host Toronto and then Cleveland before a game on the road in Washington. They will return home for games against the Timberwolves and the Clippers.
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. They lost Keita Bates-Diop, Jacob Gilyard, Dennis Smith, Jr, and Lonnie Walker IV from last year’s team.
The Celtics may be without a key player in this game. Al Horford has not been playing in back to back games last season or this season so far. He played against the Hawks on Tuesday so I am guessing that he will be out for this game and I am also guessing that Queta will start at center if Al does sit out. Jaden Springer has missed the last two games and is questionable with a knee injury. Kristaps Porzingis remains out as he rehabs from ankle surgery.
Bojan Bogdanovic will miss this game while he continues to rehab from off season foot surgery. He has yet to suit up and play this season. Day’Ron Sharpe will be out until at least mid November with a hamstring strain. Trendon Watford is questionable for this game with a hamstring injury. Dorian Finney-Smith is questionable with an ankle sprain. If he is unable to play, Ziaire Williams or Jalen Wilson will likely start in his place.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Jaden Springer (knee) questionable
Al Horford (toe/rest) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Nets Starters
Nets Reserves
Keon Johnson
Shake Milton
Ben Simmons
Dariq Whitehead
Ziaire Williams
Jalen Wilson
Noah Clowney
2 Way Players
Jaylen Martin
Tyrese Martin
Cui Yongsi
Injuries/Out
Bojan Bogdanovic (foot) questionable
Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring) out
Trendon Watford (hamstring) questionable
Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle) questionable
Head Coach
Jordi Fernandez
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Cam Thomas
Thomas is averaging 24.5 points, 3.4 rebounds 3.1 assists and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 43.4% from the field and 34.9% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics in the first game, he finished with 31 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics definitely need to stay with him on defense.
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
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Dennis Schroder
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Dennis SchroderSchroder is averaging 19.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.5 steals. He is shooting 48.4% from the field and 47.2% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics in the first game, he finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while shooting 39.1% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must defend him both inside and out as he can shoot the 3 very well and can also get to the basket and hit from mid range. They also have to play him for the pass as he has been moving the ball very well.
Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Cam Johnson
Johnson is averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting 47.4% from the field and 38.6% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics in the first game, he finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, while shooting 46.2% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to box him out to limit his rebounds and defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 6th in the league with a defensive rating of 108.7. The Nets are 17th in the league with a defensive rating of 113.2. The Nets are averaging 110.8 points per game (18th). The Celtics are 5th in the league averaging 120.2 points per game. The Celtics have to especially guard the perimeter as the Nets are 7th with 40.4 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 40.5 rebounds per game. The Celtics are 15th with 43.5 rebounds per game. The Celtics were out rebounded 58-40 by the Hawks on Tuesday and they were out rebounded 20-6 on offensive rebounds. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics have to put out more effort to get rebounds. Losing the rebounding battle by that much shows a lack of effort on the Celtics part.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have had several slow starts in recent games and they have to do better to start the game. 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. The Celtics have been outplayed by several teams recently that they should have beat easily but instead they just squeaked by or lost because they didn’t give as much effort as their opponents.
Stay Focused – The Celtics have to stay focused on playing the right way. They turned the ball over 20 times on Tuesday and that shows a lack of focus on their part. They have to focus on moving the ball but doing so carefully. They have to move the ball and not settle into iso ball. They have to focus on taking good shots and making them and not take quick shots. The Celtics need to stay focused on playing team ball, taking care of the ball, playing defense, and rebounding.
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.
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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