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The Shane Larkin Project
Boston Celtics (18-15) @ Brooklyn Nets (10-23)
Where to watch: (7:30 P.M EST) YES, CSNE
Celtics Odds to Win (From 538.com) 70%
Celtics fans are in a tough place right now. After being hyped up by pundits around the league Ahem Bill Simmons Ahem the Celtics lost two games in a row to the 29th and 28th placed teams in the NBA, respectively. The silver lining on the loss to the Lakers was that it made our Nets draft pick better. After Saturday’s game, fans can’t even take solace in that.
Unfortunately, with reports emerging today that Avery Bradley will be out for tonight’s game (and probably for a few weeks, at a minimum) with a hip pointer, the C’s will need someone else to step up as a scoring option. Isaiah has been playing well, but he can’t be the only offensive weapon we put on the floor.
What to look for
Marcus Smart Having a Big Game
Although it’s extremely disappointing that Smart was only able to play next to Avery for a few games, he looks ready to compete. Being the competitor he is, Smart will almost certainly be back with a vengeance tonight. Marcus will likely fill the 2 spot tonight with Bradley out, and match up with Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic is a decent long-range shooter, but Smart’s lockdown perimeter defense will likely keep him quiet.
Isaiah Dominating the Floor
With what could be a career-ending torn ACL, Net’s PG Jarret Jack is out for the season, leaving a rotation of Shane Larkin and Donald Sloan. Expect Isaiah Thomas to match up very well with the 5’11 Larkin, who has been a non-factor for most of this season. Thomas has averaged just over 20 points and 7 assists in his last 5 games, and this is a great opportunity for him to put on a show.
Olynyk Finally Getting Real Minutes
Brook Lopez completely dismantled the Celtics on Saturday, scoring 30 points and snatching 13 boards. With a massive log-jam of big men, Olynyk only managed to get a little over 12 minutes on the floor. Kelly has shown more confidence this season, and has given fans and analysts alike good reason to be hopeful that he has a higher ceiling that what he’s shown thus far. Unfortunately, he’s been inconsistent, having games where he seems to completely fall apart on both ends of the floor. David Lee won’t be a Celtic for a long time. There’s a pretty good chance Amir Johnson won’t be either. Olynyk needs to start getting real minutes, and soon. Keep an eye out for him this game, as BroLo looks to assert himself one again.
Minutes For Our Young Guys.
Following Saturday’s loss, coach Brad Stevens had this to say:
“I mean, this is more on me. We’ve had multiple times where we’re just not playing to the standard we need to play to. We’ve had multiple practices where certain guys have really looked good and stood out because others haven’t. And that’s just bad coaching. I’ll get myself straightened out and I’ll work on what needs to be changed.”
We can expect some shifts in minute-allocation tonight, and I expect at least some of those minutes will go to our youngest players. Who exactly should get more playing time? After less than stellar turnouts the past few games, David Lee and Jerebko should probably see limited minutes, and with some of those minutes going to Olynyk, we can all hope and pray that Jordan Mickey (the player with the highest PER in the NBA) will get his chance to show everyone what he can do. James Young and Terry Rozier will also likely get minutes tonight.
Please Don’t Lose This Game.
Every win against this team gets the Celtics closer to Ben Simmons, or at least a top-3 pick in the 2016 NBA draft. The boys need to come out swinging tonight, or they’ll be the laughing stock of the NBA for weeks to come. Also–Bill Simmons may just retire if we lose tonight.
Submitted January 04, 2016 at 02:01PM by hound1220