BROOKLYN – The Nets (15-23) hope their newfound confidence in 2018 will help them prevail when it hosts the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics (32-10).
Brooklyn has suffered agonizingly close defeats against Boston in the first two games of their season series. However, the Nets have been impressive in the first two games of the New Year.
Brooklyn is undefeated in 2018, coming off of two intense and gritty results over the Magic and the Timberwolves. Their last defeat came at TD Garden on New Year’s Eve at the hands of Saturday’s visitors, as the Celtics took advantage of missed late shot by Spencer Dinwiddie to escape with a 108-105 win.
Brooklyn hopes its recent improvement on defense – currently No. 5 in points allowed over the past three games – will help it get its first win of the season against its division rival. A positive result would push the Nets’ winning streak at Barclays Center to a season-high four games.
Here’s Three Things to Watch Against Boston
Key Matchup: Spencer Dinwiddie vs. Kyrie Irving
Dinwiddie started in the season series opener on Nov. 14, a 109-102 loss, he hasn’t come out of the starting lineup since then. In the 24 games that have followed, Dinwiddie has emerged as one of the best stories in the NBA this season.
The 24-year-old sits 11th in the NBA for Real Plus-Minus (4.78), according to ESPN. Not bad for a player who has played for three teams in his first four years in the league. However, he has struggled offensively against Irving and the Celtics.
Dinwiddie is averaging 10 points on 30 percent shooting against Boston. While his assist average against the team is impressive (10), the Nets’ leading playmaker has to find a way to make his counterpart work more on the defensive end.
Irving dominated on both sides of the floor against Boston on the New Year’s Eve win and finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and two steals on 47 percent shooting.
Can Jahlil Okafor Build on his Barclays Center Debut?
The 22-year-old center only played 11 minutes, chipping with two points and two rebounds, but he’s already become a fan favorite in Brooklyn. Sentiment aside, Okafor displayed some of the new wrinkles in the Nets’ offense when he was on the court.
His feed from the post to Carroll for a slam showed his potential in Kenny Atkinson’s offensive. Okafor even had a brief cameo in the fourth quarter, playing four of the final 12 minutes of the game against Minnesota. It’s been a while since he’s been to affect a game in crunch time.
“It was amazing, I haven’t had that feeling in a long time – the feeling of competition,” Okafor said at practice on Friday.
Okafor will hope to take the next step in his acclimation to the Nets’ gameplan against the Celtics on Saturday. He admits that at times he felt a bit ‘timid’ with the ball in his hands as he’s still trying to shake off the rust. In discussing Okafor’s role in the rotation, Atkinson has maintained that he’d like to see the player impress in small doses before giving him more minutes. So it is likely that the No. 3 pick of the 2015 draft will see a slight increase in his minutes against Boston. Okafor hopes to make an impact in the division clash.
“Just to build on what the team did, what I did [on Wednesday] and keep it rolling,” he said. “We started off the year right, we’re 2-0. We have a huge test tomorrow, [facing] one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference – I think they are No. 1 right now – and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Will the Nets Close it Out Against the Celtics This Time?
Brooklyn has lost its two matchups to Boston by a combined 10 points and there’s a similar storyline in both games: The Nets fall into an early deficit, go on a rally only to see Irving take over and seal a win.
The Nets have had issues with their first quarter urgency all season, but they took a big step in the right direction against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. Atkinson’s team showed urgency from tip-off and used its defense to spark its offense. Brooklyn needs more of the same on Saturday.
The Celtics are the NBA’s top team in points allowed this season (97.9), but it has struggled to find consistency on the other side of the floor. Boston is just 21st in the league in points per game at 103.1. The visitors are in the second game of a back-to-back, as they beat the Timberwolves 91-84. The Nets have to aggressive from the start and force the visitors to play catch-up as opposed to defending a lead. If they do, it could go a long way towards ending Brooklyn’s seven-game losing streak to Boston.