at
Brooklyn Nets (9-23) at Boston Celtics (18-14)
Saturday, January 2, 2016
3:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #33, Home Game #18
TV: CSNNE, YES, League Pass 751(DTV), 751(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFAN 101.9
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard 
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Jarrett Jack
Shooting Guard
vs
Avery Bradley vs Bojan Bogdanovic
Small Forward 
vs
Jae Crowder vs Joe Johnson
Power Forward 
vs
Amir Johnson vs Thaddeus Young
Center
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Brook Lopez
Celtics ReservesMarcus Smart
Evan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
David Lee
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk
InjuriesAmir Johnson (plantar fasciitis) probable
Head CoachBrad Stevens
Nets ReservesAndrea Bargnani
Markel Brown
Wayne Ellington
Sergey Karasev
Shane Larkin
Thomas Robinson
Donald Sloan
Willie Reed
Injuries Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ankle) out
Chris McCullough (knee) out
Head CoachLionel Hollins
Game Notes The Celtics and Nets begin their second home and home series of the season. The Celtics won the first game in Boston in the earlier series by 25 points and then lost the second game 2 nights later in Brooklyn by 10 points. That 10 point victory is the Nets largest margin of victory this season.
The Celtics are coming off a tough loss to the tanking Lakers which dropped them to 8th in the East. The East is tight this season and is only a 4 game difference between the top spot and the 18th spot. The Nets have the 2nd worst record in the East, ahead of only the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets have lost eight of their last 10 and are coming off a 7 point loss to the Magic on Wednesday.
The Nets have a 4-3 record against the Celtics since moving to Brooklyn but had lost 9 of the previous 10 games before the move from New Jersey. The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 9-8 at home while the Nets are 3-13 on the road. The Nets have lost in three of their last four games at the TD Garden.
Amir Johnson continues to struggle with plantar fasciitis and is reportedly sleeping in a boot to ease the condition but is expected to play. The Red Claws also have a game on Saturday and it's possible that one or all of RJ Hunter, Terry Rozier and Jordan Mickey may be sent to Maine for that game to give them more playing time. Marcus Smart has been coming off the bench since returning from injury but may return to the starting lineup at any time.
The Nets will be missing Rondae Hollis Jefferson (ankle) and Chris McCullough (knee). The Celtics should have extra motivation to win these next two games since they own the Nets' pick in this year's draft. The more Nets' losses, the better. They also need to redeem themselves after the pitiful showing against the Lakers.
Key Matchups vs
Amir Johnson vs Thaddeus Young
Young is averaging 15.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals. In his last game vs the Celtics he had 11 points and 12 rebounds. He can get hot and he is also a good rebounder and so the Celtics need to stay on him on defense and keep him off the boards.
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Brook Lopez
Lopez will be a challenge for Sullinger to defend. He is averaging 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Lopez is one of only 2 players averaging 19+ points, 8+ rebounds, and 2+ blocks. Anthony Davis is the other. Lopez had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Nets earlier win over the Celtics. Sully needs to be able to keep him away from the basket and away from his preferred spots on offense.
Honorable Mention Isaiah Thomas vs Jarrett Jack
Jack is averaging 13.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. Jack always seems to give the Celtics problems and had 22 points in the Nets' earlier win over the Celtics. If he gets hot once again, expect to see either Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart covering him.
Keys to the Game Defense - The Celtics need to continue to play their brand of stifling team defense. Defense wins games and the Celtics' defense will be key to getting this win. In their loss to the Lakers, they completely forgot how to play defense. In their earlier loss to the Nets, it was the lack of defense that lost that game as well. The Nets shot a season high 50.6% from the field in that game.
Rebound - The Celtics have to crash the boards and win the rebounding battle to limit the Nets' second chance points as well as to give themselves extra possessions. In the earlier loss to the Nets, the Celtics were out-rebounded 49-35. In the loss to the Lakers, they were out-rebounded 52-45. They must make an extra effort to crash the boards.
Run and Move the Ball - The Celtics need to run on every possession and they need to keep the ball moving. When they run they can get easy shots before the Nets' defense can get set up. When they move the ball, they are much more effective in finding the open man and getting good shots.
Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics tend to lose focus at times and turn the ball over too much. In the loss at Brooklyn, the Nets scored 25 points off of the Celtics 17 turnovers. The Celtics have to take care of the ball and make smart passes and not give the Nets extra possessions by turning it over.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team in going after loose balls, rebounds, 50/50 balls, and in going to the basket. They also have to be aggressive on defense. They have to be the team that wants it more and they have to play that way for 48 minutes.
X-Factors It's the Nets - Hopefully the Celtics will respect the Nets and remember the previous loss. They should not underestimate them because of their record. They have played well enough to win 9 games, one of them against the Celtics. Hopefully they also realize the double benefit of beating the Nets to improve their lottery standing.
Officiating - Officiating is a factor in every single game played in the NBA. Every crew has their own biases and their own way of officiating and many times it affects the way the game is played. The Celtics can only hope for a well officiated game in which they let both teams play.
Topic: Nets (9-23) at Celtics (18-14) Game #33 1/2/16 (Read 42290 times)