NBA: Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Brooklyn Nets visit the Boston Celtics in arguably the biggest game of the NBA’s Tuesday program. Even though Kevin Durant won’t play this game, the hype surrounding it is massive, and the reason isn’t just Kyrie, who played for the Cs, but the overall situation in the East. Everybody awaits KD to come back because, with him in the lineup, the Nets are among the best teams in the league and a real title contender. Meanwhile, the Cs are in excellent shape, keeping the top seed in the NBA.

Preview

Brooklyn Nets (31-19, +275) had one shaky period during which they couldn’t be consistent and lost some of the games, and that’s the reason why they fell down to No.4 in the NBA standings.

Kyrie and the boys have back-to-back victories, beating the Knicks 122-115 and the Lakers 121-104, both events at home. The LAL played without LeBron and Anthony Davis, while the triumph against the Knicks was because of 22 threes. Brooklyn allowed 53 boards, but that didn’t harm the final result.

Irving scored 26 points, while Patty Mills and Cam Thomas scored 21 each off the bench. These two were X-factors, because they combined for eight threes, half of what the Nets produced in this clash. Dayron Sharpe had eight buckets but 14 boards. Besides him, Nic Claxton had 12 rebounds.

Boston Celtics (36-15, -435) had three losses in a row, two on the road and one at home. The defeats were in Florida, against the Magic and the Heat, and then lost to the Knicks at home, which was a massive surprise. The loss to NYK happened after the OT, 120-117, but bounced back, beating the Lakers 125-121, also OT.

LeBron was frustrated because of one obvious mistake made by the officials, but he did travel previously. What was obvious is that the Cs played below their usual level, and obviously, Boston’s form is on the downhill. They struggle with shooting percentages, and the aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball just isn’t right.

Tatum had 30 points and 11 boards, 8-for-25, Jaylen Brown scored 37 and had nine rebounds, and these two shot 5-for-19 for three combined. Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to add 26 buckets and was the most deserved for the victory because he jumped in to cover Tatum’s and Brown’s blank minutes.

Head to Head Games

Celtics lead 2-0 in the seasonal series, beating the Nets twice on the road in Brooklyn. The first game saw them winning 103-92 and the second 109-98. We also remember their sweep in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

Prediction

The Cs are the favorites, as they already beat the same rivals twice this year. With KD involved. Now, despite them slowing down in the recent past, the Celtics are our pick here. The reasons for this suggestion are various, but two are the most important. One is the home-court edge, and the second is Boston’s formula for the Nets because Cs absolutely dominate in this matchup. If you want a prop pick, we will go with Kyrie scoring over 30 buckets; he has a massive motive upon his return to TD Garden.

Pick: Celtics to win -435