vs 
Brooklyn Nets (2-12) at Boston Celtics (8-7)
Friday, November 21, 2025
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #16,  Home Game #8
TV:  NBCSB, YES, NBA-TV
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 101.9 FM, Serius XM
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Egor Demin

Shooting Guard
vs
Payton Pritchard vs Terance Mann

Small Forward
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Michael Porter, Jr

Power Forward
  vs
Jordan Walsh vs Noah Clowney

Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Nic Claxton

Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Chris Boucher
Xavier Tillman
Josh Minott
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Sam Hauser

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams

Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla 

Nets Reserves
Tyrese Martin
Ben Seraf
Day'Ron Sharpe
Nolan Traore
Ziaire Williams
Jalen Wilson
Danny Wolf 

Two-Way Players
EJ Liddell
Tyson Etienne

Injuries/Out
Haywood Highsmith  (knee) out
Cam Thomas (hamstring) out

Head Coach
Jordi Fernandez

Game Notes
The Celtics and Nets face off for the second straight game.  This is the 2nd of 4 games between these two teams this season.  They will meet for the final two times on January 23 in Brooklyn and on February 27 in Boston.  This game is an NBA Cup group play game.  The Celtics are (1-1) so far in group play while the Nets are (0-2).  The Celtics will play the Pistons on Wednesday for their final Group B game. 

The Celtics have won 9 straight games against the Nets, sweeping the series in the last 2 seasons.  The Celtics are 146-74 overall all time against the Nets and they are 77-34 when playing in Boston.  The Celtics are 4-3 at home so far this season and although the Nets are winless at home, they are 2-5 on the road.   

The Celtics are 9th in the East, tied with 10th place Orlando and 11th place Milwaukee.  They are 1/2 game behind 7th place Chicago and 8th place Philadelphia and they are 1 game behind 6th place Miami.  They are 5-5 against Eastern Conference opponents and they are 2-3 against Atlantic Division teams.  They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have won their last 3 games. 

The Nets are 13th in the East, 10.5 games behind first place Detroit and 5.5 games behind  9th place Boston.  They are half a game ahead of 14th place Indiana and 1 game ahead of last place Washington.  They are 2-9 against Eastern Conference opponents and 0-4 against the Atlantic Division.  They are 2-8 in their last 10 games and lost their last game. 

After this Emerates NBA Cup game at home against Brooklyn, the Celtics then play Orlando, and Detroit also at home.  They then head out on the road to play at Minnesota and at Cleveland before one game at home vs New York.  Then, they play at Washington, at home against the Lakers and at Toronto before a break for the NBA Cup games.

After this game against the Celtics, the Nets will play at Toronto before two games at home against New York and Philadelphia.  Then it's on the road to Milwaukee and back  home to play Charlotte.  Then it's one game at Chicago before playing Utah and New Orleans at home.  Then they have a break for the NBA Cup tournament.

Jayson Tatum remains the only player on the Celtics' injury report as he rehabs from the torn Achilles.  For the Nets,  Haywood Highsmith had off season knee surgery and is expected to be out until mid December.  Cam Thomas has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and will also be out until mid December.  Ben Seraf is questionable due to an ankle sprain. 

Key Matchups  
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Michael Porter, Jr
Porter is clearly the Nets best player and is averaging 24.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.  He is shooting 47.4% from the field and 36.0% from beyond the arc.  In Tuesday's game, Porter led the Nets with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics need to defend him better in this game.

vs
Neemias Queta vs Nic Claxton
Claxton is averaging 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.  He is shooting 57.6% from the field and hasn't hit a 3 pointer. On Tuesday, he finished with 7 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block while shooting just 11.1% from the field.  He struggled on Tuesday,  but likely won't struggle like that in two straight games.  The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint and be aware of him on defense as he is a good rim protector.   

Honorable Mention
Jordan Walsh vs Noah Clowney
Clowney is averaging 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 35.8% from the field and 32.1% from beyond the arc.  He had a good game on Tuesday, finishing with 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 75% from beyond the arc. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - As always, defense is a key to winning this, and every, game.  The Celtics are 11th  with a defensive rating of 112.6.  The Nets are last in the league with a defensive rating of 123.7.  The Celtics allowed the Nets to shoot 36.8% on threes on Tuesday. They must play tough lock down defense in this game to give themselves the best chance of winning.

Rebound -  Rebounding is also a big key to winning.  The Celtics are 1-5 in games in which they are out-rebounded by their opponents. The Celtics are 12th with 44.2 rebounds per game while the Nets are last in the league with 38.9 rebounds per game.  The Celtics out-rebounded the Nets 49-39 on Tuesday and they have to work even harder on the boards in this game. 

Take Care of the Ball -  The Celtics are the best in the league at taking care of the ball.  They average only 11.6 turnovers per game.  The Nets are 14th, averaging 15.1 turnovers per game.  On Tuesday, the Celtics uncharacteristically turned the ball over 20 times to just 13 for the Nets.  The Celtics have to take better care of the ball in this game an avoid careless passes and dribbling into a double team. 

Effort and Energy for 48 Minutes-  The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In most of their losses, they played with effort and energy for part of the game but then allowed their opponents to come from behind to get the win.  The Celtics need to make playing with more effort and energy their identity this season and play that way for the entire game, not just a quarter or two. 

X-Factors
Home Game -   The  Celtics need to feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully, the Nets will be distracted by travel and the very loud crowd.   The Celtics need to take losing on their home court personally and make home court advantage a strength.  It is also an NBA Cup game and the Celtics need to use that as extra motivation to get a win. 

Officiating - The officiating is always an x-factor.  Some referees call the game tight and others let them play.  Some favor the home team and others call it evenly.  Some refs just seem to have an agenda that doesn't fit the events on the court.  At times they miss important calls that change the momentum of the game as in the call on Jaylen Brown against the Jazz.  The Celtics need to play well enough not to leave the game in the hands of the officials at the end and they can't let bad calls take away from their focus.