Nets at Celtics
The preseason doesn't always mean much, but it may have offered an early glimpse as to how well center Al Horford will fit in with the Boston Celtics. Horford, who signed a $113-million deal with the Celtics after nine seasons in Atlanta, makes his regular-season debut with Boston when it begins a season filled with promise against the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
"I'm very happy, I just feel that coach [Brad] Stevens is a great coach," Horford told the Boston Globe after averaging 10.2 points and 6.6 rebounds in just 16.7 minutes this preseason. “He’s really taking his time to kind of reel me in and get me up to speed with everything. And it just reassures my decision, I guess." Horford has shown early chemistry with All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, who averaged a career-high 22.2 points in his first full season in Boston and is part of a deep, aggressive unit that led the league in shots taken in 2015-16. While the Celtics went 5-2 in the preseason and have their sights set on contending in the Eastern Conference, the Nets were 1-5 and are the popular pick to finish last in the East under first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson. Jeremy Lin was signed to a three-year deal over the summer and steps into the starting point guard role for a team that ranked 26th in the NBA in scoring (98.6) a year ago.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE NETS (2015-16: 21-61): Swingman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson saw his rookie season limited to 29 games due to injury but he returns to give Brooklyn solid defense and rebounding from the wing. Bojan Bogdanovic led the team with 129 3-pointers and serves as a compliment to stalwart center Brook Lopez, who is entering his ninth season with the organization and coming off one of his best (20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds). Lopez topped Eastern Conference centers in scoring in 2015-16 but was slow to get going in the preseason (8.0 points on 39.5 percent shooting) as he gets accustomed to Atkinson's motion offense.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (2015-16: 48-34): While hopes are high in Boston there are already some injuries to contend with. Guard Marcus Smart has been limited since spraining his ankle in Boston's preseason finale and center Kelly Olynyk - the team's top 3-point shooter (40.5 percent) a season ago - is out with a shoulder injury. Rookie forward Jaylen Brown (10.7 points in preseason) and second-year guard Terry Rozier (9.6) are expected to be key components off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lin had 24 points and 10 assists in 30 minutes in his preseason finale Thursday against New York.
2. Celtics SG Avery Bradley averaged 16.7 points while making 47.1 percent of his 3-pointers in three meetings with the Nets last season.
3. Atkinson was an assistant in Atlanta for Horford's final four seasons with the Hawks.