The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a 116-111 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. It was a game where Thaddeus Young continued his offensive dominance notching 27 points. “It could be a little fatigue, but there are no excuses for missed opportunities. We had every chance to win that game and it slipped by us," said Young during his postgame interviews. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics took a 106-102 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks, as they dropped an 18-point first half lead.
Brooklyn Nets projected starting lineup: Jarrett Jack, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez.
Boston Celtics projected starting lineup: Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson and Jared Sullinger.
In 2013, the Nets went all out in attempts to win a championship by trading their 2014, 2016 and 2018 first round draft picks in exchange for the key pieces of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. As part of the trade, Boston was also granted permission to swap first round picks in 2017, if desired. After the failed experiment, Brooklyn must now dwell with no top first rounder for the next three years and put all their focus on free agency in order improve their rebuilding process.
Nets General Manager Billy King, told the New York Post in an interview Thursday, “We all made the decision to go for it. At that point we felt it was the best decision. You make the decision, and then you adjust and you move on as you have to.” King added, “We’re striving to win every game, not just [against] Boston.”
During their first 12 games, the Nets have shot below 30 percent from downtown and sit 28th in the league in points per contest. On the road, Brooklyn is averaging 96 points to go along with 21 assists per contest. Boston is currently in sixth place in assists per game and eighth place in points per game in the league standings. They currently have four losses at home and are shooting 41 percent from the field at the TD Garden.
Young and Brook Lopez, who both re-signed with Brooklyn in the offseason, have started with solid numbers. Young is averaging 16 points and eight boards per contest. Lopez holds averages of 20 points eight boards per game.
For Boston, their leading guy has been Isaiah Thomas, who has been contributing with 21 points and six assists per contest. Despite second year player Marcus Smart displaying a two point game performance last contest, the Celtics guard has boosted his stats slightly, averaging 10 points and four rebounds.
Although teams don’t normally want to admit that some season matchups have more importance than others, it’s clear that Boston would benefit with Brooklyn losing more than winning; the teams will have two more meeting this season after the weekend.
The game will start at 7:30 P.M. EST.