Posted at 10:45 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle U107½ -103 BET365 U107½ -105 Sportsinteraction U106½ +100 888Sport U107½ -105

Brooklyn Team Total under 106½ +100

7:30 PM EST. There are many reasons to believe the Nets won't score at will Friday night. Ben Simmons might return, and he's played well so far as a clean-up kind of guy, Dennis Rodman-like really, but his inclusion doesn't mean Brooklyn will score more points. In fact, it could mean less. Simmons doesn't run the floor with pace as frequently as some of the guards who replaced him. Of course Cam Thomas is out for an estimated 2 weeks as well. The Nets' leading scorer (26.9 ppg), Thomas has turned a corner in his confidence and aggression, and he's been their most important offensive catalyst. In their last battle, a game where Boston won 124-114 at the Barclays Center a week ago, Thomas took 24 shots and scored 27 points. 

The biggest factor of this whole damn equation: the Celtics are pissed. Once soaring as the NBA's new most dangerous team, Boston has lost two straight games, stunted by two exceptional defenses. The C's have only been home for two games this season, but they'll have a nice three game stretch at the TD Garden Center leading into this weekend. In two previous home games they kept the Heat to 111 points and the supersonic Pacers to just 104, Indiana's lowest total of the season. We've talked at length about how impressive Indiana's tempo and efficiency has been; imagine how effective Brooklyn will need to be tonight when Boston brings the same stifling D?

The Celtics are built to stymie rosters like the current Nets. Their wing-defenders are some of the best in the NBA, and the great-majority of Brooklyn's points are coming from their guards and wings. Brookyln will also get Cam Johnson back tonight, not to be confused with Cam Thomas, but that's not enough to talk us off this bet. Boston is still one of the most elite defenses in the association, especially when they need a win.  In front of a raucous crowd and in the Nets' first game without their leading scorer? This is a great spot for a lock-down Celtics' squad to humble the feisty Nets.

Farley

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