The Nets (0-0) had a season to forget in 2015-16, and were it not for the ineptitude of the Philadelphia 76ers, would have finished with the worst record in the East. After scraping together only 21 wins as a result of years of dubious front office decision making, the franchise will be facing mounting pressure to turn things around in the competitive Atlantic Division. One of the lone bright spots was the consistent play of center Brook Lopez, who averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and forced 2.4 turnovers for the only team he has competed for. In cutting some of the contract fat on the starting roster, new team management also picked up Jeremy Lin, who served as a boon for the Charlotte Hornets last year. Lin, now suiting up for his sixth team, brings with him a career average of 11.7 points, 4.4 assists and 34.6 percent shooting from long range.
The Celtics (0-0) will look to take down their division rivals and start their campaign off on the right foot after a promising season that saw them finish fifth in the conference, a seed that could have been as high as third had the winds blown slightly in their favor down the stretch. The club will once again lean on Isaiah Thomas to lead the offensive charge after dropping a nightly average of 22.2 points and 6.2 assists in starting all 82 games last year. Two new faces will be interesting to observe on Wednesday evening, the first being Al Horford, who was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason. Horford alone should put Boston in the discussion for a top seed in the conference, boasting a career field goal shooting percentage of 53.5 percent and remaining the picture of health over the last two seasons. Boston used their third overall pick in the NBA Draft on Jaylen Brown, who finished the preseason with an impressive 10.7-points and 2.9-board stat line. The Celtics are a sure bet improve on their fifth-best offense from last season, where they dropped an average of 105.7 points on opponents.
