W2W4: Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets March 21st, 2014

news.sportslogos.net

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 21st, 2014

W2W4: Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets

Pre-Game News and Notes

The Brooklyn Nets will be at home on Friday night hosting the Boston Celtics, as the Nets will be looking for their 11th straight win in the Barclays Center. The Nets are currently 2.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division with the Raptors hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Match-Up of the Game: Rajon Rondo vs. Deron Williams

On Friday night in the Barclays Center their will be a great match-up at the Point Guard position, as Rajon Rondo will be facing off against Deron Williams. Rondo is coming off a very good game against the Miami Heat, as the Celtics were able to pull off the upset at home against the defending champs. In Wednesday’s win, Rondo almost had a triple-double, with 15 assists, 10 rebounds, and nine points. In two games this season against the Nets, Rondo has played well averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 7.5 rebounds per game. Rondo will however have his hands full, as Deron Williams has been on fire in his last two games combining for 53 points on 19 for 28 shooting against the Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Bobcats.

- Looking for Revenge

Earlier in the month the Nets were in Boston, which turned into a nightmare for the Nets, as they were held to just 84 points on March 7th. What killed the Nets earlier in March was the horrendous three-point shooting, as they went just four for 30 from deep. The backcourt of Williams and Joe Johnson played well, but there wasn’t much help from anyone else, as Paul Pierce has yet to play a good game this season against his former team.

- New Uniforms

Tonight will be the debut of the new Brooklyn blue jerseys, as the short-sleeved blue and grey jerseys look pretty sharp paying tribute to the old Brooklyn Dodgers. Many thought that Brooklyn would have these as the normal team colors, but they obviously decided to go with the black and white, but it is nice to see these as an alternative jersey.

W2W4: New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics; March 10th, 2014

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Wednesday, March 12^th, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics

Pre-Game News and Notes

The Knicks and Celtics will be facing off for the fourth and final time this season in Boston. The Knicks will look to even the season series up at two, as the Celtics won the first two meetings pretty handedly and the Knicks won in blowout fashion in the most recent meeting. This is an important game for the Knicks as they continue their playoff push, as they cannot afford to lose to teams below them in the standings to move up. The Knicks will look to continue their four game winning streak and here are some news and notes for them to do so.

-Player News and Notes

The Knicks will be extremely short-handed in the front court tonight. Tyson Chandler will not be with the team for the second consecutive game as he deals with a personal problem. The Knicks will also be without his frontcourt mate in the starting lineup in Amar’e Stoudemire. Stoudemire will miss tonight’s game for precautionary reasons; he has played 56 minutes in his last two games after being on a strict minutes limit throughout the season.  One of Jeremy Tyler or Cole Aldrich will most likely find themselves in the starting lineup and both getting increased minutes tonight. Earl Clark will more likely find his way into the rotation tonight as the backup big man off the bench.

For the Celtics, Rajon Rondo will not be suiting up. Rondo played 41 minutes last night against the Indiana Pacers and will be held out. Rondo is still not playing back-to-backs for the Celtics, who have very little to play for so pushing Rondo makes little sense. The Knicks catch a break as the inexperienced Phil Pressey will take over the starting point guard duties.

-Match-Up of the Game: Carmelo Anthony vs. Jeff Green

NBA.Com

Nets Shooting Woes Cost Them in Boston

scores.espn.go.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 7^th, 2014

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Post Game Recap

Final Score: Nets 84 Celtics 91

The Brooklyn Nets were unable to stay above the .500 mark on Friday night, as they were defeated by the Boston Celtics. The loss moves the Nets to (30-30) on the season, and they now trail the Toronto Raptors by four games in the Atlantic Division.

Player of the Game: Joe Johnson

Shooting Guard Joe Johnson was questionable to play on Friday with an illness, but was able to play, and along with Deron Williams was good for Brooklyn. Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points on nine for 21 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds, which was a quarter of the Nets total rebounds as the Celtics dominated the glass, holding the Nets to just 28 as a team. It was the third straight good game from Johnson, which is important for the Nets heading into the stretch run.

The Future For Carmelo Anthony

Written by Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

ESPN.GO.COM

Carmelo Anthony has come out and said that he will not be traded at the NBA Trade Deadline next week and that he also wants to remain with the New York Knicks. He went as far as even saying that he will take a pay cut to stay with the Knicks if it meant getting some more talent around him. That is quite possibly the best thing that has happened for Knicks fans this season, as the Knicks already have more losses this season before the All-Star break than they had all of last season.

Even with what Anthony has said, the Knicks will be hard pressed to make changes to the roster. The Knicks are not holding a strong hand from the asset position, having no draft picks to trade until 2018 and not many players other teams want. For this season the Knicks will need a turnaround from the players they currently have to sneak into the post season.

The Knicks can shop Iman Shumpert around again, but his stock is at an all-time low currently; the Knicks have already had trades with the Denver Nuggets for Kenneth Faried and Timberwolves for Derrick Williams, who was traded to the Sacramento Kings, declined. At this point it may be best just to keep Shumpert and hope he can rekindle some of the magic he had during last season’s playoffs. There are no other players on the roster currently that would bring back much in the way of trades, as players like Beno Udrih and Metta World Peace would just bring back filler or maybe a second round draft pick.