Boston beat Chicago 134-99 on Monday, went to 2-1 and rose from eighth to fifth in the conference. Brooklyn is 0-3 and visits tonight, and the real question is whether Monday's bench numbers hold up in a closer game.
The reserves won Monday's game, not the stars.
Payton Pritchard scored 28 in 22 minutes. He shot 10 of 16 from the field and 7 of 10 from three. Bench players scored 67 of the 134 points and the starters scored 55. Sam Hauser finished +36, Hugo Gonzalez +34 and Neemias Queta +32. Chicago never led, and there were no lead changes or ties. A 40-point lead inflates every plus-minus on the roster, so those three numbers mostly show who played the middle of the game, not who is better.
Brooklyn arrives winless and giving up points.
Jordi Fernandez's Nets are 0-3. They allow 118.2 points per 100 possessions and are minus 11.8 per 100 overall. Julius Randle leads them at 22.0 points a night and Michael Porter Jr. scores 21.3. Tyler Bilodeau is out. Brooklyn plays at a 104.5 pace and Boston at 99.8, so the Nets will push tempo. They have played three games in seven days and Boston has played two. Devin Carter is still out for Boston with an estimated return of November 8.
Brown's representative has denied the trade-demand claim.
MassLive reported that Brian Scalabrine said Jaylen Brown requested a trade from Boston. Boston.com reported that Scalabrine walked the remark back. ESPN's Kris Rhim reported that a representative for Brown denied it. Brown now plays for Philadelphia, so the argument costs this roster no possessions tonight.
The schedule gets tighter after tonight.
Chicago returns October 30 for an Emirates NBA Cup game. Boston then plays at Orlando on November 1 and at Houston on November 2, back to back. Three games put Boston on a 55-27 pace, which is arithmetic, not evidence. The open question is whether the minutes Hauser, Gonzalez and Queta earned Monday survive a game that stays within ten points.
When do the Celtics play the Nets?
Tonight, October 27, at home. Brooklyn comes in 0-3.
Did Jaylen Brown demand a trade from the Celtics?
MassLive reported that Brian Scalabrine said Brown requested one, and Boston.com reported that Scalabrine walked it back. ESPN's Kris Rhim reported that Brown's representative denied the claim.
