Boston Celtics: B/R hints Cs win could disrupt Nets chemistry

The Boston Celtics could have more to play for than a 2-0 record to start the season if Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes is to be believed.

Merry Christmas for Hardwood Houdini to you and your families. You make this such a dream job, even when you vehemently disagree with us. Today, the Boston Celtics take on the Brooklyn Nets in the featured 5 pm game, and there are a few intriguing storylines to follow.

Going 2-0 without Kemba Walker would be an impressive start to the season, but according to Grant Hughes (no relation) of Bleacher Report, the biggest plotline to follow is the possibility for internal strife following a homecoming loss for Kyrie Irving’s (and/or Kevin Durant’s) Nets:

"It’ll take more than one game for the Nets to get a sense of where they belong in the East pecking order, but the Boston Celtics are a great first measuring stick. Though the Celtics will be without Kemba Walker, and though starter Gordon Hayward is gone and rotation mainstay Brad Wanamaker is also elsewhere, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still head a team that hopes to advance at least as far as it did a year ago, when Boston reached the conference finals.If Boston’s cohesion and continuity expose a lack of Nets chemistry, and if all that Durant-Irving scoring punch isn’t enough to offset what might be a shaky defense, a couple of the “here’s how it might go bad” predictions will gain steam.A slow start for Brooklyn could make a blockbuster trade likelier; you don’t put a roster like this together to chase the fourth seed in the East. The Nets won’t be patient."

My oh my would it be sweet to defeat Irving in the first game he’s able to play at TD Garden. That the Nets looked so impressive in their opener is even more motivation to knock Brooklyn off of its high horse.

As Hughes noted, the Cs are without several starters and key reserves from last year’s team. Walker’s absence is somewhat easy to deal with, and even Hayward’s is expected at this point–let’s be honest, he was a risk to sit out if he was still under contract–but replacing Brad Wanamaker with Jeff Teague has paid off so far.

It will be interesting to see if a win can truly be that disruptive. Both teams are in the James Harden sweepstakes, so perhaps Danny Ainge could view a blowout loss as a sign that he needs to make a change himself.

Hardwood Houdini has you covered with what we feel should be the final trade offer Ainge offers Houston: