Game 15 Preview: Nets at Celtics

Two of the game's best point guards will go head to head tonight in
Rajon Rondo and Deron Williams

After a tough loss in Brooklyn the first time around, the Celtics (8-6) will try to even the season series with the Nets (9-4) as they pay a visit to the TD Garden tonight.

Here's a preview:

Projected lineups:

Nets:
Deron Williams
Joe Johnson
Gerald Wallace
Kris Humphries
Brook Lopez

Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Jason Terry 
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett

Keys to the game:

1. Battle on the boards: Last time these two met, the Celtics were annihilated on the boards, especially on the offensive glass. The Nets pulled down 15 offensive boards in the first half. In that game, Courtney Lee was Boston's leading rebounder with 9. That's right, I said Courtney Lee. That goes to show what a mess the Celtics were on the boards that night. However, the Celtics made an adjustment and evened things out nicely as the rebounding edge for Brooklyn was very slim (47-44). Boston also limited Brooklyn to only 3 offensive rebounds in the second half. The Celtics are going to have to come out with that tenacity and aggressiveness from the start so that they don't dig themselves a big hole.

2. Brook Lopez vs. Kevin Garnett: Although Brook Lopez is considered one of the best centers in the league, he is notorious for not being exactly what Kevin Garnett is: a tough, aggressive presence down low. Yesterday after practice, coach Doc Rivers stressed the importance of getting Garnett more involved in the offense and getting his players to look for KG. “I don’t think our eyes are trained yet to look down there," said Rivers. "I think you have to train the players’ eyes to look in the post off of pick-and-rolls and off other actions. I think we’re starting to do that. I still think we don’t do it enough. We’re a ways away." Lopez outplayed Garnett the last time these two squared off, but Lopez got more shots and played 5 more minutes than Garnett. That 5 minutes is an extra 5 to the 5-5-5 plan that Rivers has in place for Garnett. For the time that Garnett is on the floor, he has to get more touches because he has shown that he can take Lopez.