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Boston Celtics (32-27) at Brooklyn Nets (39-20)
Friday, April 23,2021
7:30 pm ET
Game #60, Road Game #30
TV: ESPN, NBCSB, YES
WROR, WFAN
Barclays Center 
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Marcus Smart vs Kyrie Irving
Shooting Guard 
vs
Romeo Langford vs Landry Shamet
Small Forward 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Joe Harris
Power Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Jeff Green
Center 
vs
Tristan Thompson vs Blake Griffin
Celtics ReservesPayton Pritchard
Tremont Waters
Tacko Fall
Luke Kornet
Carsen Edwards
Aaron Nesmith
Romeo Langford
Semi Ojeleye
Jabari Parker
InjuriesEvan Fournier (health and safety protocols) out
Robert Williams III (knee) out
Jaylen Brown (shoulder) questionable
Head CoachBrad Stevens
Nets Reserves Alize Johnson
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Bruce Brown
DeAndre Jordan
Injuries Chris Chiozza (hand) out
Nicolas Claxton (covid) questionable
Spencer Dinwiddie (knee) out
James Harden (hamstring) out
Tyler Johnson (knee) out
Reggie Perry (covid) questionable
Kevin Durant (thigh) questionable
Head Coach Steve Nash
Game Notes The Celtics travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets for the third and final time this season. The Celtics lost to the Nets 123-95 on Christmas Day. They lost a second game to the Nets 121-109 on March 11. They played in Boston on Christmas and in Brooklyn in March. These two teams were 2-2 last season with each team winning one at home and one on the road.
The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games after pulling out a big win against the 2nd place Phoenix Suns at home on Thursday. The Celtics are 5-6 on the second night of back to back games. They are 1-2 when the games are home/road. The Nets are playing in the 3rd game in 4 nights, having played Tuesday and Wednesday at New Orleans and Toronto.
The Celtics are 6th in the East, half a game behind the 4th place Knicks. They are tied with Atlanta (5th) and 1 game ahead of Miami (7th). They are 3 games ahead of Charlotte, with the Hornets still playing as I post this. The Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games and 13-16 on the road. They are looking for their second straight win.
The Nets are 2nd in the East and 5th overall in the league. They are half a game behind the first place Philadelphia 76ers. They are 3 games ahead of the 3rd place Milwaukee Bucks. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 23-7 at home. They are coming off a loss, but could get Kevin Durant back for this game or for their game on Sunday vs the Suns.
Both Robert Williams (knee) and Evan Fournier are questionable for this game and will likely be a game time decision. Danny Ainge said that both players are very close and could play as soon as this weekend. Since they haven't had any practice time, it's likely both will miss this game and possibly return on Sunday vs the Hornets. Jaylen Brown missed Thursday's game with bursitis in his shoulder and is also questionable for this game.
The Nets have a long list of players out. In spite of using 35 different starting lineups this season, they still have been able to keep winning. For this game, Nicolas Claxton and Reggie Perry are both questionable due to health and safety protocols. Chris Chiozza is out after surgery on his hand. James Harden remains out with a hamstring injury. Spencer Dinwiddie is out for the season after tearing his ACL. Tyler Johnson is out with a knee injury. Finally, Kevin Durant is questionable with a thigh bruise but Steve Nash expects him to play this weekend, either in this game or on Sunday vs the Suns.
Key Matchups vs
Marcus Smart vs Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving is averaging 27.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. He is shooting 51.3% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc. He is capable of putting up a lot of points as evidenced by his 40 point game against the Celtics in March. He also seems to try harder against the Celtics and will likely do so in this game as well. With Kemba sitting on back to back games, Marcus Smart will likely move up to point guard.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Joe Harris
Harris is averaging 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. He is shooting 51.5% from the field and 48.2% from beyond the arc. I'm hoping that the one game off will be enough for Jaylen Brown to return to the starting lineup and I'm including him here due to wishful thinking. If Jaylen can't play, then I would guess that Romeo Langford will once again get the start here.
Honorable MentionJayson Tatum vs Jeff Green
Jeff Green is averaging 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. He is shooting 44.3% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc. Kevin Durant may return for this one and if he does, he will likely pick up right from where he left off, shooting lights out.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense will always be the key to winning. The Nets are 25th with a defensive rating of 113.2 while the Celtics are 13th with a defensive rating of 111.6. The Celtics must make defense a priority as the Nets are second in the league in scoring with 118.8 points per game and the Celtics will not win a shoot out with them. The Nets are 1st in the league, shooting 49.4% from the field and 4th in 3 point percentage with 38.9%. The Celtics must play tough defense both inside and on the perimeter.
Rebound - Along with defense, rebounding is a key to winning. You have to have the ball to score and one way to get the ball is to grab rebounds. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics need to put out the extra effort to beat the Nets to the rebounds. Both teams are averaging a little over 44 rebounds per game. The Celtics need to crash the boards and beat the Nets to the rebounds.
Play Team Ball - When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man they are tough to beat but when they lapse into hero ball, they struggle. The Nets are averaging 26.7 assists per game and that shows that they thrive on ball movement and trusting each other. The Celtics are averaging 23.4 assists per game and they need to move the ball more. When the Celtics have high assist totals they usually win and they play well. When they have fewer than 20 assists per game, they usually lose. They must trust each other and play team ball.
Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics seem to go through periods in the game where they turn the ball over one possession after the other. They need to be more careful with their passes and also avoid dribbling into double teams. They need to be less careless when dribbling as well. They had 20 turnovers against the Suns and that is way too many.
X-Factors Who's Playing - Both teams have key players who may or may not play in this one. If Durant is out, advantage Celtics. If Brown is out, advantage Nets. They Celtics will miss Kemba, especially after his big game on Thursday but hopefully others can pick up the slack and help the Celtics get a win in this one.
Revenge Factor and Fatigue - The Celtics lost to the Nets on the national stage on Christmas Day. They also lost to the Nets in March. This game is also on National TV and the Celtics should come out with a chip on their shoulders looking to avenge the two losses. Both teams are playing short handed and while the Celtics are playing back to back, the Nets are playing in their 3rd game in 4 nights and fatigue could come into play, especially down the stretch.
Officiating - Just as defense will always be a key to the game, officiating can always be an x-factor. NBA officiating is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get. They got a fairly friendly whistle against the Suns and so they need to be ready to get a less than friendly whistle in this one. The Celtics have to adjust to however the officials are calling the game.
Topic: Celtics (32-27) at Nets (39-20) Game #60 4/23/21 (Read 34493 times)