They are stars for a reason. At the very least, they have a good sense of timing. Paul Pierce and Deron Williams will return to action when the Nets host the Boston Celtics.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce comprised two of their "Big Three" which was assembled in 2008 following a couple of blockbuster trades. They won a title that year, but age has eventually caught up with them. The Celtics front office reluctantly broke the team up, and traded these two superstars to the Brooklyn Nets.

From ESPN, there were some light and nostalgic moments: "Garnett greeted Rajon Rondo with a head slap, while Pierce shared a laugh with Brandon Bass."

Both teams were all business, though, when the game started. Both Garnett and Pierce have come to terms with the reality that they are no longer the game changers they used to be. KG got 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, only his third game in double figures. Pierce had four points and seven rebounds, but they still got the win behind their new stars, Deron Williams (25 points) and Brook Lopez (24 points).

For the youngblood Celtics, Avery Bradley had 22 points and Jeff Green scored 19. Boston snapped a three game winning streak that included a 41 point drubbing of the crosstown New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Celts fell to 10-13 but is still the best of the Atlantic. The Nets are at 7-14. These win-loss records are not in tune with pre-season expectations. The Nets were penciled in as Finals contenders, being ranked at number 7 in the Grantland pre-season rankings because of their intimidating, highly experienced starting line-up.

In contrast, the Boston Celtics hardly had any expectations, as they were expected to look forward to next season when they can get new pieces to rebuild their team around. Observers have cited the performance of these teams first time coaches: Jason Kidd, who was called 'the worst in the league' and Brad Stevens, who is Boston's ray of hope.