It has not exactly been the most seamless integration into the way the Boston Celtics play basketball for former Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons. But the Florida native has been putting in the work on the court and off, and we are starting to see some positive returns on Simons' investment in himself and his new ball club.

The Brooklyn Nets (2-12) and Boston Celtics (8-7) meet in NBA Cup group play for the second game of a 2-game set Friday at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's NBA odds around the Nets vs. Celtics odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions for the best bets.

Despite a 29-point performance in his most recent game, Jaylen Brown wasn’t all that happy with his performance. He led his team in scoring for the 12th time in 15 games during the Celtics’ 113-99 road victory over the Nets on Tuesday but committed eight of Boston’s season-high 20 turnovers and was relegated to the bench.

During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Bing wore only jersey No. 44 and put up 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

The Boston Celtics are winless through their first three games of the 2025-26 season, putting the NBA's most storied franchise in an unfamiliar spot. The Celtics fell to 0-3 Sunday evening with a frustrating 119-113 loss to the Pistons in Detroit.

Today in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame big man Wilt Chamberlain managed to corral an NBA-record 55 rebounds vs. Boston.