The Boston Celtics look to get back to their winning ways when they battle the Brooklyn Nets Friday night inside TD Garden in Boston, MA as part of the NBA's In-Season Tournament Group Play. They jump it up at 7:30 pm.

Bookmaker has installed the Celtics as a solid 8 1/2 point favorite. 

The Celtics (5-2) have had a nice start to the season, but they have dropped two straight games, including Wednesday's 106-103 setback to their rival in the Philadelphia 76ers. They did not get the type of production in this one from Jayson Tatum, who has been playing like an early-season MVP candidate. He ended the game with just 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor but did a nice job on the glass by hauling down 15 rebounds -- 14 on the defensive end. 

He is averaging 32 a game and we think he bounces back tonight against a bad defensive team in the Nets.  Taytum has had some huge games in his career against Brooklyn and that trend should continue Friday night. 

Boston will also look to get veteran center Kristaps Porzingis into the mix early and often. He is finally healthy and looks reborn with the Celtics, scoring 20 a night. His legs look fresh and he has the look of a very confident player. It appears he has found a home in Boston. 

On defense, Boston only allows 108 points per game. 

The Nets (4-4) earned an ugly 100-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night in a game that saw the Clippers really play no defense. Brooklyn still made it tough on themselves as they turned the ball over 14 times. But, the Clippers turned it over 15 times and bailed out the Nets late. 

Brooklyn is a tough team to figure out as they saw ex-mat James Harden step out onto the floor for the first time since being dealt to Los Angeles. Harden netted just 12 in the loss and looked rusty. 

The Nets will miss his offense as the season goes on but he was not worth the headache. Ben Simmons, who the Nets are hoping can turn back the clock, was ruled out of Wednesday's game (hip) and his status for Friday night is still up in the air. 

They need him on the floor to lead the offense because they do not have a ton of ball handlers in his absence. The Nets will need to push the pace and try to score in this one. When they net more than 108 points they are 6-0-1 against the spread but just 3-4 overall. 

The Celtics are 3-2 in their last five games and 2-2 in their last five games against the number and 1-2 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in four of their last five games and the totals have gone over in two of their last two games at home. The Nets are 3-2 in their last five games and 4-0 in their last five games against the number. They are also 4-0 in their road games against the spread. 

Boston is just too deep and they are a bad match-up for the Nets. Boston and lay the 8.5