New Jersey Nets @ Boston Celtics

kobimel · Jan 20, 2006

<div align="center">New Jersey Nets (21-15) vs Boston Celtics (15-23)
Place: TD Banknorth Garden
Date & Time: Friday, January 20th 2006, 7:30 PM EST
TV: YES NETWORK, FSNE
Radio: WFAN 660 AM, WRKO 680 AM
Away/Home</div>

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After convincing wins over the Sixers and Pacers, the Nets lead the Atlantic Division by 4 games over Philly, their closest competitor. The Big Three continue to perform well, and the rest of the team (or at least most of it) has been playing nicely as well. Even after their quick and painful three game Western losing streak, the Nets are 7-3 in their last 10 and are still among the 5 hottest teams in the league. If they play the way they have over the last two games tonight, too, then they'll probably get yet another win.

Projected Starters

Point Guard: Jason Kidd

Stats: PPG 14.6 RPG 7 APG 7.9

J-Kidd continues to do a great job of powering the Nets. He is coming in to the game after another one of his frequent near-triples-doubles vs Philly. He should have a field day the next two games against Boston's young and still-developing point guards.

Shooting Guard: Vince Carter

Stats: PPG 25.3 RPG 5.9 APG 4.2

Vince proved once again against Philadelphia and Indiana that he isn't just about scoring. Though he scored a combined 55 points against them, he also had a combined 16 assists, with 10 against the Sixers. His clash the next two games with fellow star Paul Pierce should be very interesting.

Small Forward: Richard Jefferson

Stats: PPG 18.4 RPG 7.6 APG 4

After missing three games, which all ended up as losses for the Nets, RJ came back and the Nets won the next two. Coincedence? Probably not. His all-star worthy play continues, and he's shown flashes of going back to his incredible early season form on the boards.

Power Foward: Jason Collins

Stats: PPG 3.6 RPG 4.1 APG 0.8

After having to face guys like Chris Webber, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Pau Gasol over the last couple of games, JC gets a little break with Al Jefferson tonight. But that doesn't mean he can slack off. Jefferson is a dangerous player, and the Nets'll need every sliver of defense from Collins tonight to guard him.

Center: Nenad Krstic

Stats: PPG 12.4 RPG 5.4 APG 1

Krstic has shown his good side over the last few games, at least scoring-wise. Hopefully, he can keep it up vs Blount/Perkins tonight.
Nets Keys to the Game

1) Take advantage of the Celtics' youngsters' inexperience. The young guys on the Celts (West, Perkins, Jefferson, etc.), don't have much experience regarding guarding different offensive tactics in the NBA. Let's face it, after only one or two years in the league, who would? The Nets need to take advantage of this fact and use different plays to confuse the Celtics' defense and result in easy baskets.

2) Dominate the boards like they should. Pierce and sometimes Perkins are the Celtics' only real rebounders out there. Blount, LaFrentz, and Jefferson, like Krstic and Collins, aren't too great on the boards. With help from the Big Three, who are all very capable rebounders, the Nets need to dominate the boards and get/prevent 2nd chance oppurtunities.

3) Regarding Pierce....let him be himself. Use one defender. Shut down the rest of the team. One guy can't win a game alone, as was proved by Kobe Bryant yesterday against Sacramento. If the Nets can take guys like Ricky Davis and Delonte West out of the equation, this should be an easy win.
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The Celtics have been a major dissapointment so far this season for anybody that expected them to win the division. Probably the biggest dissapointment has been the lack of development of Al Jefferson. Many expected Al to come out as a 15 and 8 force this season. But he's averaged only 17 minutes per game, and hasn't shown much improvement from his rookie season. But, on the other hand, other Boston youngsters like Delonte West and Kendrick Perkins have shown definite improvement and have helped the team stay 3rd in the the Atlantic. But, this team, as it has been for the last 8 years, belongs to Paul Pierce, who continues to be the team's leader and captain. 

Projected Starters

Point Guard: Delonte West

Stats: PPG 11.5 RPG 4.2 APG 4.1

West, who has seen a dramatic increase in minutes this season, has not dissapointed. Though his stats aren't jaw-dropping, he's been very consistent and has shown that he's going to be a top 10 point guard in the league someday.

Shooting Guard: Paul Pierce

Stats: PPG 26.1 RPG 7.5 APG 4.7

Paul has been having a career season, and his best since he started to decline following the 01-02 season. Sadly, his success has been wasted in the team's worst season in the last 5 years. He has re-inserted himself into the top 10-15 players in the league, and is as dangerous on offense as Iverson, Bryant, Carter, or James. His defense is rock solid, too, unlike many other of today's superstar wingmen.

Small Forward: Ricky Davis

Stats: PPG 19.8 RPG 4.7 APG 5.3

Ricky continues to be a great 2nd option for the Celtics on offense. He's also having a career year, but he's averaging a whopping 42 mpg (2nd in the league), nearly 15 minutes more than his career average.

Power Forward: Al Jefferson

Stats: PPG 8 RPG 4.8 APG 0.6

Jefferson, as I stated before, has been a big dissapointment for anybody who expected a breakout season. But his play has still been solid in limited (18) minutes per game. Within time, this 21 year old kid WILL develop into one of the league's most unstoppable forces in the paint. He just needs increased minutes and a few more years in the league.

Center: Kendrick Perkins

Stats: PPG 3.5 RPG 5.1 APG 0.9

Perkins has gotten the nod to start lately, over Mark Blount, and he has been contributing a lot to the team, especially on the boards.

Celtics Keys to the Game 

1) Try to shut down Jefferson. We've all seen how the Nets performed without RJ. Carter's play takes a nosedive, and so does the rest of the team's. Stopping both Jefferson AND Carter is pretty impossible for a team like Boston, so trying to stop one is their best option, and RJ is the easier one to stop.

2) Work on the boards. Perkins needs to show his rebounding talent tonight against a weak NJ frontrcourt, but so does the rest of the team. Jefferson, Blount, and LaFrentz need to work hard to grab rebounds and prevent the Nets from getting easy boards.