Boston Celtics (31-9) vs. New Jersey Nets (19-19)

It is never easy when a starting center goes down. With Kendrick Perkins out at least a week, Doc Rivers will have to use an undersized rotation of Brian Scalabrine and Leon Powe at the five spot. The Celtics caught a break in the past two games when the Toronto Raptors were without Jermaine O’Neal, but on Wednesday night the New Jersey Nets could pose a sizable challenge … a 7′ challenge to be exact.

Brook Lopez, the twin brother of Phoenix Suns center Robin, is emerging as a rookie to watch this season. He is coming off of a career-high 31 point, 13 rebound performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder and is averaging 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the last ten games. Lopez isn’t just beating up on lottery teams either. He posted 17 points, 10 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers and 15 points, 13 boards against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tip-off is at 7:30pm EST. Stay with WEEI’s Celtics Game Day Blog for all the latest from the Garden.