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Boston Celtics: Brooklyn Nets Preview

By Mateo Aycardi

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 6: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts with Jabari Bird #26 of the Boston Celtics during a game against the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden on April 6, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 6: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts with Jabari Bird #26 of the Boston Celtics during a game against the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden on April 6, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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Playoff-bound Celtics set to take on streaky Nets

The Boston Celtics (54-27) will look to take on the Brooklyn Nets (28-53) tonight at the TD Garden for their final game in the regular season.

The Boston Celtics have been struggling as of late, dropping 4 of their last 5 games, three of those coming against potential first round match-ups. Most recently, the Celtics traveled to Washington to take on the Wizards, losing 113-101 against John Wall‘s squad.

There have been, however, a number of bright spots for Boston. Jayson Tatum has shown a tendency to drive with a mean streak, and Jaylen Brown continues to shine following a scary concussion that kept him out of six games last month. During his last five games, Brown is averaging 20.8 points and 3 rebounds on 52% shooting and 56% from beyond the arc.

Brown’s most notable performance in this five game stretch came against the Bulls at the TD Garden, where he dropped a career-high 32 point performance, including 7 three pointers. Coach Stevens noted how aggressive Jaylen has been, saying:

"“He was good.  We need Jaylen to be, you know, appropriately aggressive, and I thought he was tonight. Like, I thought if teams are going to go under screens like they did, he needs to come off there firing. And he’s a really capable shooter and we need him to be aggressive. I think that he’s got to pick and choose his spots, but I think that he, Terry (Rozier), Jayson Tatum, those wings – those young wings – they’re going to need to be aggressive over the next few weeks.”"

The Nets’ Trifecta continues to improve

While the Brooklyn Nets are not, by any means, as good a team as the Celtics, they do have some promising young talent that make them dangerous when teams overlook them.

Allen Crabbe has been red hot recently, dropping 25 points against the Bucks and a career-high 41 points on Monday against the Chicago Bulls. D’Angelo Russell also continues to spearhead a back-court alongside Spencer Dinwiddie that has much versatility offensively.

All in all, the Nets have won 3 of their last five games, one of them coming against the playoff-bound Bucks. Head Coach Kenny Atkinson noted that Dinwiddie’s recent struggles before his rejuvenated stat-line against the Bulls could have been due to fatigue:

“He had a little blip where he wasn’t as aggressive and quite honestly, thinking about it, I think some of that could have been fatigue. We played him a lot of minutes, we’ve relied on him for a long time, but I thought it was great tonight…I thought Spencer was really, really good tonight.”

Next: Boston Celtics NBA Playoff Gift Guide

Prediction

The Celtics have been resting some starters with the second seed pretty much locked up. Expect Brad Stevens to potentially rest some of his guys and get ready for a tough first round match-up, but the fact that Brown and Tatum haven’t really slipped into a coma gives the Celtics the nod here.

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