No Deron. No Brook. No Hump. Ergh. Joining us to talk about tonight’s game is CelticsHub blogger and former bearded champion of the world Brendan Jackson.
1. Over/Under: 14.5 MarShon Brooks field goal attempts.
- Devin Kharpertian: Over. No one’s taking shots from him tonight on the Nets roster. If he got off 17 with Deron and Humphries in the lineup, he’ll more than likely break 20 tonight.
- Danny Savitzky: Under, but close. No one else on the Nets will be able to score on the Celtics’ defense, so Brooks is going to have to take a lot of shots.
- Brendan Jackson, CelticsHub: Over. 20. Word is that Deron Williams and Kris Humphries are out for tonight’s game which means there’ll be far more shots to go around. It also means Avery Johnson doesn’t have anything to lose by turning the rookie loose. After 6 games and 67 field goal attempts, it looks like the Nets may have a Nick Young in the making. Take that as a compliment at your own peril.
There were a lot of Celtics fans that were incredibly disappointed that Danny Ainge traded Brooks to the Nets for the rights to JuJuan Johnson. For the record, I was not one of them.
2. Over/Under: 10.5 Celtics three-pointers made.
- Devin Kharpertian: Over. The Celtics are known for their smart playcalling, excellent ball movement, and outside of Rajon Rondo, excellent three-point shooting. The Nets have given up 61% shooting from deep in each of the last two games facing smart playcalling and excellent ball movement. Ray Allen is shooting 61% from beyond the arc thus far this season. It’s going to be ugly.
- Danny Savitzky: 11. Ray Allen from the arc for days against Gaines, Morrow … whomever.
- Brendan Jackson: Over. 20… I’m sensing a pattern here. The Celtics take about 15 a game, the Nets give up about 19 a game and they both are around 50% on makes and give-ups, respectively. Couple those stats with the Nets ranking 29th in defensive efficiency (yeeouch!) and I’m looking at the Cs really lighting it up from long range. Plus, Ray Allen has been on an absolute tear to start the season and I don’t think he knows how do anything else.
3. Over/Under: 20-point Celtics victory.
- Devin Kharpertian: Over. I would be surprised if the Nets crack 70 points tonight. I would not be surprised to see Boston crack 95.
- Danny Savitzky: Under, a bit. 15. It’s going to be bad.
- Brendan Jackson: 20….because, well, why not? The Nets lost to the Hawks by 36 with Williams and Humphries both playing 25 minutes. I’ll err on the conservative side for tonight’s game.
