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| Tyshawn Taylor returned to game action for the first time on Wednesday since October 12th, when he badly sprained his ankle vs Detroit |
Tonight in Boston, with a much more important game going on just a few minutes away, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics continued the agonizingly long NBA preseason without very many starters from either team playing. No projected Nets starters played at all, with Deron Williams (ankle), Joe Johnson (rest), Paul Pierce (rest), Kevin Garnett (rest), and Brook Lopez (rest) all out. Boston used a few more of its top players, but with Rajon Rondo still sidelined to industry, it wasn't exactly as if the Nets were playing the Jordan Bulls.
Jason Terry, a Celtic during the 2012-13 season, returned to his former home arena as he played his first ever game as a Brooklyn Net, scoring seven points in 24 minutes. Pierce, who was drafted by Boston, and Garnett, who spent a nice chunk of his career with the team, each sat out in the reunion game they must have dreaded for months.
Brooklyn came out of the gates, hitting a lot of shots in the first quarter, but cooled down significantly in the second quarter, losing the lead in the process. The Celtics led by a margin of 49-44 at halftime and basically held the advantage throughout the second half, staving off futile Nets attempts to climb back into contention to win their fifth game of the preseason.
Some observations I had from the game: #ReggieEvansReboundCount: A solid eight in 16 minutes. Reggie also scored 11 points in his time on the floor. What can't this guy do?…..Tyshawn, returning from injury, looked really good and, most importantly, very mobile. Taylor scored 15 points in 15 minutes on 6-14 shooting, and even dished out a few assists. Shaun Livingston certainly has the backup point guard job right now, but Tyshawn has the 3rd-string spot wrapped up. Needs to improve more to come close to Livingston.
Looking Ahead
The Nets close out their preseason schedule on Friday versus the defending champion Miami Heat, who they will play in the regular season exactly one week later in Brooklyn.
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