National Basketball Association

Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics Takeaways and Player Grades 10/26/16

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Oct 11, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson looks on during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets lost 122-117 against division rival the Boston Celtics to open up their season. The game was on the road against a good team, and, again, it is only the first of 82 games.

The season opener was not that great of an opener for Brooklyn. The Nets managed to keep it close throughout the first half, and even part of the third quarter, and, surprisingly, during the last minutes of the game.

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The Nets, though, seem to always have their third quarter woes that result in losses. Tonight really was no different.

Brooklyn was only down by six points going into the third quarter, but then Boston came alive. The Celtics scored 33 points in the quarter in comparison to Brooklyn’s 23. The Celtics shot a whopping 53.9 percent from the field and 34.4 percent form three.

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The leading scorer for the Celtics and the game was their star point guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas scored 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting including 9/9 from the free-throw line. For Brooklyn, Bojan Bogdanovic led the team in scoring with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

The Nets, meanwhile, shot 44.3 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from three. Quick mention that this is the most threes the Nets have attempted in franchise history with 42. The difference here is that the Nets could not stop the Celtics and had significant issues closing out on the shooter. It really seemed Boston was taking wide open shots all night.

Brooklyn had a massive and surprising comeback late in the fourth quarter. They got within three with as little as 15 seconds left, but then the magic ran out as Justin Hamilton missed a potential game-tying three-pointer. Overall, it was not a good performance from the Nets despite the late-game comeback. Hopefully they perform better the rest of the season.

Oct 26, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) drives the ball against Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic (44) in the first quarter at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets 122-117. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Takeaways

1) The Nets defense is abysmal.

Allowing over 50 percent from the field is unacceptable in any given game. Giving up 122 points is equally as bad. The Nets were running like mad men defensively trying to guard and block their opponents to no avail. Add in the fact that Brook Lopez was practically non-existent in this game just makes the matter worse. If he played well tonight maybe the defense would not have looked so terrible, but, then again, he only played a little over 20 minutes.

If this team wants to compete, they need to play better defense. They cannot afford to give up over 100 points per game the rest of the season.

2) The Nets shoot threes. A lot of them.

Brooklyn broke a franchise record tonight for the most three-pointers attempted in a single game. Their previous record was 40 which came in an overtime loss a few years ago. Shooting 42 threes in a season opener with players who are typically inconsistent from long-range is an interesting decision. Brooklyn has players that can drain their shots from range all-day, but others are not so good.

The positive part of this was that a lot of the three-pointers the Nets attempted were open shots. A good shot from three is something everyone can deal with, it is the bad ones or the rushed ones, like what Justin Hamilton attempted the final seconds of the game, that are unnecessary.

3) This team is full of fighters.

This team was down 20 points in the final minutes of the game. Chris McCullough and Isaiah Whitehead enter the game along with predominately other bench players and they tore the Celtics apart. They got the score to 120-117 with a possession to go. If Hamilton nailed that last-second three, we may have a different outcome on our hands.

The fact that this team was down so significantly and battled back the way they did is extraordinarily reassuring. If they can fight this hard every game all season long, the Nets’ record and performance will surprise the entire league.

Oct 26, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic (44) drives the ball against Boston Celtics center Tyler Zeller (44) in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets 122-117. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Player of the Game:

Justin Hamilton

PF/C, Brooklyn Nets

ADespite missing the last three of the game in an attempt to tie the score, Hamilton had a monster game. Hamilton shot 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range scoring a total of 19 points. He also tallied 10 rebounds for the double-double. He was all over the floor and the offense doing what he could to make a difference, and a difference he did make.

Wildcard:

Bojan Bogdanovic

SG/SF, Brooklyn Nets

B+Bojan had an up-and-down game as he made nice shots and missed some really bad shots. He was clutch near the end of the game hitting shots and playing great defense allowing Brooklyn to get as close as they did. Bogdanovic shot 9-of-17 and 3-of-8 from three and scoring a grand total of 21 points, leading the Nets. He got the start in place of an injured Randy Foye and made his case to be an everyday starter.

Up Your Game… Please

Brook Lopez

C, Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets are now 0-1 on the season and face-off with the Indiana Pacers on Friday night for their home opener. The Celtics are 1-0 and travel to Chicago to play the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.

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