The Brooklyn Nets finished second in their division last season and after pulling off a huge trade this offseason for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, the team will face off against the squad that dealt those players in the Boston Celtics in a preseason game that will be live on ESPN at 7:00 PM and streaming on Watch ESPN from the TD Garden.
The game might give Garnett and Pierce some boos, but they really deserve some cheers for all they did in Boston and now the Nets come into the game with a 4-1 record this preseason, while the Celtics are just 1-6 on the year and looking pretty terrible. The Celtics are expected to be very bad this season after making the deal despite still having Rajon Rondo and the Nets now are expecting a championship run and if they don't at least make it to the eastern conference finals this season, which could be considered a disappointment by the front office and their big Russian owner.
Check here for the ESPN live stream coverage of the Nets and the Celtics from the TD Garden in the NBA preseason on Wednesday night.
The Nets come into the season after ranking in the top 10 in scoring defense and adding Garnett to the fold will only help the defense this season up front and the team was also one of the best rebounding the ball, ranking in the top 10 last year. The Nets are coming off of a nice win over the Miami Heat that was dominating bye over 20 points and Brook Lopez led the way for the team, while Pierce dished out seven assists. The biggest issue for the team will be the health of Deron Williams, who is dealing with an ankle issue and there is a chance that he could miss the opening game of the regular season after sitting out the preseason and he has been able to partake in some drills.
The Celtics come into the game after a loss to the Timberwolves and after playing against the Nets, the team will hit the road again to play the Toronto Raptors. The Nets started the preseason with an overtime win against the Washington Wizards and after losing to the Detroit Pistons, the team rebounded for three straight wins, including one on the road against Philly before hosting the Celtics at home and after the Miami win they now will play the Celtics and Heat on the road again and the first game will be on ESPN, while the second game will be on NBA TV.
The team opens the regular season with a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and then Brooklyn will officially open the Barclays Center for 2013 with the Miami Heat in a very anticipated game and then they will travel to play the Orlando Magic. The team then plays the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards and then they have a tough stretch in November with games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers as well as the Indiana Pacers, who are expected to be one of the top teams in the East.