Brooklyn Nets (21-32) at Boston Celtics (42-12) Game #54 2/14/24

The Celtics and Nets meet for the 2nd time in as many days. The Celtics won the game 118-110 on Tuesday in Brooklyn. This is the 4th and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 124-114 in Brooklyn on 11/4 and they won the second game 121-107 in Boston on 11/10.

Last season, the Celtics won the series 3-1. They won 1 game in Boston and two games in Brooklyn but lost the final game of the series in Boston. The Celtics are 139-74 overall all time against the Nets. They are 74-34 in games that were played in Boston. Both teams are playing on the second night of back to back games. Brooklyn is 2-5 on the second night of back to back games and Boston is 7-2 on the 2nd night of back to back games. They are 4-0 when the second game is at home.

The Celtics are first in the East, 6 games ahead of 2nd place Cleveland, 7.5 games ahead of 3rd place Milwaukee, 9 games ahead of 4th place New York, 9.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia, and 12.5 games ahead of 6th place Indiana. They are 25-3 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 29-6 against Eastern Conference teams and 12-1 against Atlantic Division teams. They have won their last 5 games.

The Nets are 11th in the East, just outside of play-in contention. They are 20.5 games behind first place Boston. They are 8 games behind 6th place Indiana and the final guaranteed playoff spot. They are 2.5 games behind 10th place Atlanta, and the final play-in spot. They are 2.5 games ahead of 12th place Toronto. They are 8-15 on the road and 4-6 in their last 10 games. They are 14-16 against Eastern Conference teams and 2-6 against Atlantic Division rivals. They are coming off a loss in their last game.

This is the final game for the Celtics before the All Star break. After the break, they will play at Chicago and then at New York before hosting Philadelphia, Dallas, and Golden State. Following the 3 home games, they will head out on a 5 game road trip that will take them through Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Portland and Utah. This is also the Nets final game before the All Star break. After the break they will complete their road trip at Toronto, Minnesota, Memphis and Orlando.

Xavier Tillman remains out for the Celtics with knee soreness. Jaden Springer remains out with a right ankle impingement. I would imagine they will make their debut for the Celtics after the All Star break since there is no reason to rush them back. Kristaps Porzingis should be back for this game and Al Horford will miss this game for rest. Jaylen Brown has been added to the injury list as questionable with a shoulder contusion. If Jaylen can’t go I would expect Sam Hauser to get the start.

For the Nets, Cam Johnson has missed 4 games with a thigh injury but Jacques Vaughn said he expected Johnson to play in this one. I’m going to guess that he will return to the starting lineup. Dariq Whitehead is out with a leg injury. Ben Simmons is listed as out for this game for rest due to the back to back. I’m going to guess that new addition Dennis Schroder will get the start.

Probable Celtics Starters

Grid View

• Jrue Holiday Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
• Derrick White Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
• Jaylen Brown Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
• Jayson Tatum Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
• Kristaps Porzingis Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Luke Kornet
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh

2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta

Injuries/Out
Xavier Tillman (knee) out
Jaden Springer (ankle) out
Al Horford (rest) out
Jaylen Brown (shoulder) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Probable Nets Starters

Grid View

• Dennis Schroder Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
• Cam Thomas Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
• Mikal Bridges Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
• Cam Johnson Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
• Nic Claxton Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Nets Reserves
Keita Bates-Diop
Noah Clowney
Day’Ron Sharpe
Dennis Smith, Jr
Lonnie Walker IV
Trendon Watford
Jalen Wilson

Two Way Players
Keon Johnson
Jalen Wilson

Injuries/Out
Cam Johnson (thigh) probable
Draiq Whitehead (leg) out
Ben Simmons (rest) out

Head Coach
Jacque Vaughn

Key Matchups

Grid View

• Jaylen Brown Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images
• Mikal Bridges Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images

Jaylen Brown vs Mikal Bridges
Bridges is averaging 21.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He is shooting 45.3% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc. On Tuesday, he finished with 27 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal per game. He shot 50% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him better in this game. If Brown is out due to the shoulder injury, I expect Sam Hauser to get the start here.

Grid View

• Derrick White Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
• Cam Thomas Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Derrick White vs Cam Thomas
Thomas is averaging 21.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting 44.1% from the field and 36.1% from beyond the arc. On Tuesday night he finished with 26 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He shot 59% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc. The Celtics definitely need to defend him better and keep him from having another big game.

Honorable Mention
Kristaps Porzingis vs Nic Claxton
Claxton is averaging 12.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. He is shooting 62.5% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. On Tuesday he finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks. Porzingis needs to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.

Join us on Playback!

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Make sure to check out the CelticsBlog Playback stream to watch games with us! To sign up:

• Head over to playback.tv and create an account with your email address
• Connect and select your NBA League Pass login as your streaming account (sign up for League Pass here first if you don’t have it)
• Go to https://www.playback.tv/celticsblog and hit the JOIN button
• Make sure to activate push notifications so you know when we’re going live

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics are 3rd in the league with a defensive rating of 110.8. The Nets are 19th in the league with a defensive rating of 116.2. The Nets are averaging 113.9 points per game (19th). The Celtics are 5th in the league averaging 120.4 points per game. The Celtics have to especially guard the perimeter as the Nets are 8th with 37.8 3 pointers attempted per game. On Tuesday, the Celtics allowed the Nets to shoot 49.4% from the field and 45.5%. The Celtics have to defend much better in this one.

Rebound - The Celtics must box out and crash the boards. They can’t score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part beat the Nets on the boards. The Nets are 8th with 44.8 rebounds per game. The Celtics are 1st with 47.4 rebounds per game. The Celtics out-rebounded the Nets 50-45 on Tuesday, but they have to do better as there were times they allowed 2 and 3 offensive rebounds on one possession. The Celtics have to put out more effort to get to the rebounds before the Nets and prevent those second and third chance shots.

Play the Whole Game - The Celtics have to give the same effort throughout the game. On Tuesday, they would get a 20 point lead against the Nets and then let up and allow the Nets to cut the lead to 6. And then they would build the lead and allow the Nets to cut the lead. The Celtics have to give full effort from the opening tip until the final buzzer. They can’t allow the Nets life or one time they may just take the lead and get the win.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to be aggressive on defense, driving to the basket, rebounding, diving for loose balls and just playing harder in general. The Nets play very hard and the Celtics need to match their effort and aggressiveness. They also have to play hard right up until the final buzzer. This Nets team without stars play hard and win by giving more effort than their opponents.

X-Factors
Home Game and Fatigue - The Celtics have played well at home so far this season, losing only 3 games at the TD Garden this season. They need to feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully, the Nets will be distracted by travel and the very loud crowd. Both teams are playing on the second night of back to back games and both teams had to travel from Brooklyn to Boston. Depth will come into play so that fatigue doesn’t affect their play down the stretch. The Celtics need to continue to protect home court.

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. On Monday, a bad call in the last seconds of the game cost the Knicks a win. The Celtics need to play well enough not to leave the game in the hands of the officials at the end.

And make sure to check out CelticsBlog’s Playback stream for a live conversation about the game. To participate, just create a free account, connect your LP sub if you have it, and join our community!