It would be understandable if the Boston Celtics wanted to forget about the last time they played the Brooklyn Nets, but after their Tuesday night loss to the Miami Heat, they might want to go back and study up on it.
After the Nets beat the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks on the same night a sloppy Celtics defense and subpar shooting led to an avoidable loss, Boston wants to turn the ship around if only for purposes of momentum going into the postseason tonight at 9 p.m. ET.
The Celtics will be without their All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, the UConn product out for load management of an easily-irritated left knee, though no other players will be limited or out because of injury.
On the other side of the court, the Nets of course have two of the largest-profile injuries in the league with former Celtic point guard Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and superstar forward Kevin Durant (achilles) both recuperating from major injuries.
Add forward Nick Claxton (shoulder), Jordan Crawford (hamstring) to the injured list with Wilson Chandler, Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince and Deandre Jordan (all sitting out the bubble) to forward Joe Harris (back) and Caris LeVert (thigh) having probable status for tonight’s tilt and you should have a very beatable roster.
Don’t tell the Bucks, though.
Boston should be hungry and is by far the superior team, so they ought to win against Brooklyn, and handily — but Tuesday’s loss to the Heat highlighted the work that still needs to be done on defense and communication.
For tonight at least, online sportsbooks favor the Celtics with between a -9.5 and a -8.5 spread.
Our prediction is a high-scoring, 128 – 106 Celtics blowout win.
