Boston Celtics (9-3) at Brooklyn Nets (5-6) Game #13 11/13/24

The Celtics will no longer play at home against the Hawks, but will face the Brooklyn Nets at Barclay's Center. This is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Celtics narrowly defeated the Nets 108-104 in Boston on November 8th. They meet for the third game on March 15th in Brooklyn and on March 18th for the fourth and final time in Boston. Last season the Celtics won the series 4-0. The Celtics are 142-73 overall against the Nets and 40-66 in away games.

After this home game, the Nets will play two away games against their city rivals, the New York Knicks. They return home for a game against Charlotte before embarking on a 4-game road trip through Philadelphia, Sacramento, Golden State and Phoenix. They return home for a 2-game series against the Magic in Brooklyn.

The Celtics are playing in their second straight game after losing to the Hawks by 1 point on Tuesday. They played at home against the Hawks on Tuesday. This is their second consecutive set of the season after winning both halves of the first against the Hornets. After that game, the Celtics host Toronto and then Cleveland before a road game in Washington. They return home for games against the Timberwolves and Clippers.

The Nets went into rebuilding mode this offseason when they traded their most valuable player, Mikal Bridges, to the Knicks. They received Shake Milton as a sign and trade from the Knicks. They brought in Bojan Bogdanovic and Ziaire Williams from Memphis. They received their own draft picks in '25 and '26 from Houston and five first-round picks in the Bridges trade. They lost Keita Bates-Diop, Jacob Gilyard, Dennis Smith, Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV from last year's team.

The Celtics could be without a key player in this game. Al Horford did not play in back-to-back games last season or this season. He played against the Hawks on Tuesday, so I suspect he will be out for that game, and I also suspect Queta will start at center if Al is out. Jaden Springer has missed the last two games and is questionable with a knee injury. Kristaps Porzingis remains out due to rehabilitation from ankle surgery.

Bojan Bogdanovic will miss this game as he continues to rehab from offseason foot surgery. He has yet to suit up and play this season. Day'Ron Sharpe will be out until at least mid-November with a hamstring strain. Trendon Watford is questionable for this game with a hamstring injury. Dorian Finney-Smith is questionable with an ankle sprain. If he is unable to play, Ziaire Williams or Jalen Wilson will likely start in his place.

Likely Celtics starters

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Celtics reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman

2-way player
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

Injuries/losses
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) is out
Jaden Springer (knee) questionable
Al Horford (toe/rest) questionable

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely Nets starters

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Grid reserves
Keon Johnson
Shake Milton
Ben Simmons
Dariq Whitehead
Ziaire Williams
Jalen Wilson
Noah Clowney

2-way player
Jaylen Martin
Tyrese Martin
Cui Yongsi

Injuries/losses
Bojan Bogdanovic (foot) questionable
Day'Ron Sharpe (hamstring injury) is out
Trendon Watford (hamstring) questionable
Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle) questionable

Head coach
Jordi Fernandez

Key Matches

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• Derrick White
  
  

  Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
  

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  Cam Thomas
  
  

  Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
  

Derrick White vs. Cam Thomas
Thomas averages 24.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1 steal per game. He shoots 43.4% from the field and 34.9% from distance. Against the Celtics, he finished the first game with 31 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 44.4% from distance. The Celtics absolutely need to stick with him on defense.

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  Jrue holiday
  
  

  Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
  

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  Dennis Schröder
  
  

  Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
  

Jrue Holiday vs. Dennis SchroderSchroder is averaging 19.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.5 steals. He shoots 48.4% from the field and 47.2% from distance. Against the Celtics, he finished the first game with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while shooting 39.1% from the field and 25% from distance. The Celtics have to defend him both inside and outside because he can shoot threes very well and can also get to the basket from mid-range and score. You also need to use him for passing as he can move the ball very well.

Honorable mention
Jaylen Brown vs. Cam Johnson
Johnson is averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He shoots 47.4% from the field and 38.6% from distance. Against the Celtics, he finished the first game with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field and 37.5% from distance. The Celtics will have to box him out to limit his rebounds and defend him both in and around the court.

Key to the game
defense – Defense is always the key to victory. The Celtics are ranked 6th in the league with a defensive rating of 108.7. The Nets are 17th in the league with a defensive rating of 113.2. The Nets average 110.8 points per game (18th). The Celtics rank 5th in the league averaging 120.2 points per game. The Celtics will need to pay particular attention to the perimeter as the Nets rank seventh with 40.4 three-point attempts per game.

rebound – The Celtics need to box out and crash the boards. They can't score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part to beat the Nets on the boards. The Nets rank 28th with 40.5 rebounds per game. The Celtics rank 15th with 43.5 rebounds per game. The Celtics outrebounded the Hawks 58-40 on Tuesday and were 20-6 in offensive rebounds. Rebounding requires effort and the Celtics have to put in more effort to get rebounds. Losing the rebounding battle by so much shows a lack of effort on the part of the Celtics.

Be aggressive – The Celtics need to come out and be aggressive from the first tip. They've had several slow starts in recent games and need to do better to get into the game. You have to be aggressive on defense, drive to the basket, rebound, dive for loose balls and just generally play harder. What the Nets lack in star power, they make up for in commitment. The Celtics need to balance their effort and aggressiveness. They also have to play hard until the final whistle. This Nets team without stars plays hard and wins by putting in more effort than its opponents. The Celtics have been outplayed lately by several teams that should have beaten them easily, but instead they simply floundered or lost because they didn't try as hard as their opponents.

Stay focused – The Celtics need to continue to focus on playing the right way. On Tuesday they turned the ball over 20 times and that shows a lack of concentration on their part. You have to concentrate on moving the ball but be careful while doing so. You have to move the ball and not settle in an isoball. You have to focus on taking good shots and making them, and not take quick shots. The Celtics need to continue to focus on playing team ball, taking care of the ball, playing defense and rebounding.

X factors
Street play and fatigue – The Celtics are playing on the road on the second night of back-to-back games and had to travel for the game. You play in front of a hostile crowd and have the distractions that come with playing on the street. The Celtics need to focus on the game and not the distractions of traveling and playing in an unfamiliar arena. Hopefully they can draw on the performance from their reserves so as not to suffer fatigue on the track.

Officiating – The office is always an x-factor. Sometimes a team decides the game is close and blows the whistle on every play. Sometimes they let them play and let the game get physical. The Celtics must adapt to the way the play is called and not allow missed or bad calls to affect their concentration. If the calls are bad, they just have to play harder to compensate and not waste time arguing with the officials.

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