Former C's draft pick Brooks starts tonight for Nets

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BOSTONTalk about irony.

Injuries have led to New Jersey rookie and Providence College product MarShon Brooks getting his first start against Boston - the same team that drafted him and moments later, traded him to New Jersey for the draft rights to JaJuan Johnson.

"They drafted me, so it is a different kind of feel than any other game," Brooks told CSNNE.com. "But I'm still going to try and come out and play hard, provide energy for my team."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers followed Brooks' game when he was at Providence.

"On film, he's an aggressive scorer," Rivers said. "With guys out, he's probably going to be more so and they'll probably lean on him more to that. He's gifted; he can score the ball. He's a guy our defense will obviously have to focus on."

Despite the Nets (1-5) less than stellar record, Brooks' play has been one of the bright spots.

He's averaging 13.7 points off the bench, along with 3.7 rebounds per game.

And Brooks, like most NBA players, is always looking for a way to amp up his level of motivation.

Facing the team that drafted him and later traded him away, Brooks said, doesn't really fire him up.

"I wasn't even with the Celtics long enough," Brooks said. "The thing that motivates me, I want to prove to the Nets that they made the right decision more so than the Celtics made the wrong decision. I'm here to play for the Nets. I want to prove the Nets right for drafting me."

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