Four days before the NBA All-Star Game tips off in Los Angeles, the TD Garden will host a matchup between a 14-time All-Star of the present and an All-Star of the future.
Derrick Favors, the Nets' No. 3 overall draft pick last summer out of Georgia Tech, cracked into the starting five for Avery Johnson around New Year's. He's now made 22 consecutive starts for New Jersey, and on Wednesday night, he'll make his first start against Kevin Garnett and the Celtics.
Favors is an explosive athlete at age 19, and he's already made his mark as a dynamic scorer and rebounder. But in Boston's superstar power forward, he's drawn a daunting matchup.
The other two big men on the floor present another compelling match, as the Nets' rising star Brook Lopez matches up with the tough, physical Kendrick Perkins. The battle down low will be key Wednesday night.
Here's the lineup card for C's-Nets:
Celtics
Rajon Rondo, PG
Ray Allen, SG
Paul Pierce, SF
Kevin Garnett, PF
Kendrick Perkins, C
Nets
Devin Harris, PG
Anthony Morrow, SG
Travis Outlaw, SF
Derrick Favors, PF
Brook Lopez, C
