When: 7:30 pm; Wednesday, November 28th, 2012
Where: TD Garden; Boston, MA
TV: YES Network
They might be on the road tonight, but the Nets hope the three-game winning streak they developed in Brooklyn continues against their division rival, the Boston Celtics, up in Massachusetts. Brooklyn won the first meeting between these teams back on November 15th at Barclays Center when the Celtics, without Rajon Rondo, faded late but had a great chance to win.
Somewhat shockingly, with his team down just three points with 34 seconds remaining in the game, the normally reliable Paul Pierce missed a pair of free throws just to hit a three-pointers a few possessions later to trim the deficit to two in that November meeting. About 15 seconds later, sharpshooter Jason Terry also missed both of his free throw attempts with the chance to bring Boston within two yet again. Finally, the Nets put the pesky Celtics away for good after Joe Johnson split a pair from the charity stripe, finalizing the score at 102-97 in the Nets' favor.
However, Rondo will play tonight, and as we have witnessed plenty of times from the Nets-Celtics meetings of recent seasons, the Celtics are a completely different team with their starting point guard on the floor as opposed to on the bench with an injury. Rondo's skillset is pretty much unique among NBA point guards and his incredible passing abilities, and drive-and-kick plays, will be very challenging for a weak help defense team like the Nets to stop. Boston's roster is set up around Rondo and his characteristics on the court, with spot-up outside shooters like Courtney Lee, Jason Terry, and Paul Pierce, in addition to big men like Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett, who are deadly accurate from mid-range.
As the Celtics are getting Rondo, who didn't play in the November game, back tonight, the Nets will also have Gerald Wallace available. Wallace missed the earlier game between these two teams with the ankle injury he suffered opening night. As I wrote earlier today, he has been incredible for the Nets this season, with most of his impact coming on the defensive side of the floor. The stark contrast in team defensive effort and execution from Brooklyn when he is and isn't on the court is startling and bodes well for tonight's well-anticipated rematch.
An interesting matchup to keep note of will be the one of the "centers", Kevin Garnett for Boston and Brook Lopez for Brooklyn. Brook had a big 20-point, 11-rebound effort on Monday against the Knicks, and if he can continue that production against KG, then the Nets have a great chance of extending their winning streak to four-in-a-row. Brook must play well on the glass, not let Garnett get extra shots for his team via offensive rebounds, and also defend KG's signature 18-footer really tight, as the former Timberwolves forward rarely misses from that spot of the court when left uncontested.
Probable Lineups
BKN- Williams (PG), Johnson (SG), Wallace (SF), Humphries (PF), Lopez (C)
BOS- Rondo (PG), Terry (SG), Pierce (SF), Bass (PF), Garnett (C)
Final Thoughts
The Celtics represent just another Eastern Conference contender that the Nets are going to have to consistently beat in order to compete for a conference title. They may not be as good as they were a few years ago, but most of their core is still intact, making them a more than formidable foe, especially at home in the Garden. A win isn't going to guarantee anything, but it will keep the Nets' confidence in beating good teams high and record more than acceptable through 14 games.
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