Fresh off their win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, the Boston Celtics are looking to secure another victory against the Brooklyn Nets this coming Wednesday. Their overtime game against the Lakers made for quite a wild night, however, the Lakers players were not pleased with the missed foul call against LeBron James that likely cost them the game. Star player Jayson Tatum, who appeared to foul James, had this to say about the incident.
“The last two minutes and overtime was a blur,” he said with a smile. “I don’t really know what happened. I gotta watch the game, watch the film, because everything was just happening so fast. But, we moved on, and got the win, that’s all I got to say about that.”
With the NBA trade deadline approaching, Boston will need to do some critical thinking as both Tatum and Brown have clocked in substantial time this season, even through injuries. As the playoffs are also getting closer, Boston will need to ensure their best athletes have enough downtime to adequately recuperate, so as to prevent fatigue or further injury. Tatum himself admitted to being a bit burnt out after the last game.
“It was a back-and-forth game throughout the entire night,” he noted. “Guys on both ends made big shots, big rebounds, big plays, swings, momentum changes, obviously, going into overtime. I’m tired. I am exhausted. Obviously, some big-time players in that game on both sides, the history between both. But, 47 minutes [for me] tonight, I’m ready to go to sleep.”
This makes the second overtime game in a row that Boston has had to play and, coupled with the numerous injuries that have kept key players off the court, they have earned a well-deserved break. Their match against the Nets is scheduled for February 1, so there’s enough time to place your wagers via Caesars sportsbook Massachusetts, whilst they’re gearing up for their 52nd game of the season.
With Boston having home-court advantage, in addition to their stellar performances throughout this season, they currently hold the better odds (5.00) of winning Wednesday’s game against Brooklyn (9.00).
The Nets sit at number four in the Eastern Conference standings – 6th in the league overall – however, they aren’t far behind Boston in the race for the NBA Championship, with odds of +600 placed on their chances of taking home the trophy. The Celtics seem to be fan favorites, and based on recent trends, they carry the highest odds (+390) of winning the finals. The Celtics’ last loss to Brooklyn was in July of 2022, their two most recent games saw them victorious.
The Nets will be going into Wednesday’s game without one of their star players, Kevin Durant, who is out due to an MCL knee sprain. Consequently, this has created a handicap for Brooklyn, seeing as they’ve lost six out of eight games ever since his absence earlier this month.
Ben Simmons, now the second most expensive player after Durant, has not been performing as expected due to an apparent back-related injury. Nets coach Jaque Vaughn however, seems to be losing patience concerning Simmons’ under-performance at recent games. In a post-game interview, coach Vaughn seemingly expressed his frustrations, hinting at Simmons not doing all he can to recover.
“The goal, in my eyes, is for everyone to play every game and to do what’s necessary to be prepared to play every game,” he said. “There’s a certain amount of minutes that each individual played in Philly. Some played equally tonight. So the preparation that it takes going into that, you just have to give credit to the guys who were prepared to play, ready to play, did what was necessary to get their bodies ready to play.”
These losses came despite Kyrie Irving’s best efforts on the court, hence odds are his attempts may not succeed in overpowering Tatum and Brown in their next meeting. The Celtics have continued to maintain the league’s best record this season and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The duo has continued to lead the team into victory after victory, in an effort to have a place in the finals once again.
“I definitely think we’ve got other limits to reach in the future in our career,” Brown expressed earlier this month. “This is part of the process right now. I’m interested to see how he [Tatum] continues to grow, how I continue to grow over the years. But right now, we’ve got to focus on what’s in front of us and that’s taking care of business and getting back to the Finals.”
