How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Nets

Tip: 8PM Court: TD Garden Watch it: ESPN/CSNNE Hear it: WEEI

Referees: Scott Foster, Sean Corbin and Josh Tiven Wood

Spread: BOS -3.5 O/U 193.0

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The Matchup


Record: 40-37	Record: 45-32
At home: 27-12	On road: 21-17
Streak: Won 1	Streak: Won 2

Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Pierce (18.8 ppg)	Buckets: Brook Lopez (19.4 ppg)
Boards: Pierce (6.5 rpg)	Boards: Reggie Evans (11.0 rpg)
Dimes: Pierce (4.8 apg)	Dimes: Deron Williams (7.6 apg)

For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 102.8 (25th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 108.1 (8th NBA)
Defensive Rating: 102.9 (6th NBA)	Defensive Rating: 106.2 (16th NBA)
Pace: 91.7 (16th NBA)	Pace: 88.5 (29th NBA)

Last time

The Celtics thumped the Nets 93-76 on Christmas day. Brooklyn won two vs Boston in November, one of those games included the Rondo vs Humphries brawl.

This time

Get it to: Jeff Green

Green does not have good numbers vs Brooklyn this season (7.3 ppg), but those performances came earlier in the season before Green flipped the switch. The Nets are physical. Green cannot be tentative and he must attack the paint, even if Brook Lopez and Reggie Evans will be waiting for him.

Gotta stop: Brook Lopez

The 7-footer is on a tear. He’s scored more than 25 points in three of the last 5 games.

The Wild Card: Defending Joe Johnson

While Joe Johnson is stumbling through a mediocre season (16.2 ppg, 42% FG), I’m curious to see who gets this defensive assignment. Paul Pierce plays shooting guard in Doc Rivers’ new line-up. Will Pierce be quick enough to chase Johnson around the perimeter? Or will the Celtics slide Jeff Green over to Johnson and let Pierce guard Gerald Wallace?