Celtic vs. Nets Series Preview
April 17, 2022
The dust has settled and the chips have fallen where they may, and the Celtics are set up for a date with the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Nets took care of the Cavaliers on Tuesday night, 115-108, paving the way for a rematch of last year’s 2/7 Eastern playoff series. Only this time, the roles are reversed, as the Celtics are the 2 seed, the favorites, and will play host to the Nets starting with Game 1 this Sunday at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Everybody knows about the big, bad Nets. Everyone knows about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. We all followed the Irving vaccination saga, we all heard about the James Harden fiasco and eventual trade, we’ve seen Ben Simmons sitting courtside - apparently still not ready to play. We know the Nets were the preseason favorites this season. And everybody knows how they fell all the way to the play-in tournament and had to win their way into the playoffs. Many fanbases, Celtics included, agonized for weeks about whether or not they should be scared of Brooklyn and whether they should finagle the standings to avoid this mighty 7 seed. Well, in the end, there was one team that proved they were unafraid and sent a clear message to the Nets. That team was the Boston Celtics, and their message: bring it on.
The Celtics got their wish. They embraced the 2 seed, unlike other teams (hello Bucks and Sixers!) who ran from the situation, the Celtics played their starters and won their final game of the season, knowing full well that that likely meant a first round matchup with the Nets. This is a fascinating series for a number of reasons. There are many different subplots and angles to get excited about, but most of all: this should be some awesome, high-level basketball between two teams who don’t like each other, and share legitimate finals aspirations. That is extremely rare for a first round NBA playoffs matchup, and the fans should be in for a treat with this marquee matchup that feels worthy of a conference finals. The Nets opened as a very short favorite according to Vegas, but odds have shifted quickly and the Celtics are now the betting favorite to win the series. There’s no clear consensus and there seem to be many conflicting opinions in regards to what will happen. Let’s dig in and break this matchup down.
To truly set up this series, it’s important to look at how we got here and what has already transpired to build the current rivalry between these teams. It truly began all the way back in 2013, after the finals, when Danny Ainge finally decided it was time to blow up his aging core, and he shipped Celtics legends, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (along with Jason Terry) to the Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Tornike Shengelia, Reggie Evans, Keith Bogans, and of course three unprotected first round picks and a swap. The Nets failed to make it out of the second round with that veteran-laden squad, while the Celtics turned those draft picks into Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Looking back, it’s one of the all-time fleece jobs in NBA history, and it set the Nets franchise back several years.
But the Nets eventual rebuild was aided by stealing away a key player from Boston, one Kyrie Irving. Irving’s brief and tumultuous tenure with the Celtics came to an ugly end after only two underwhelming seasons. Boston was beyond ready to part ways with Irving despite his proclamations earlier in the season about having his #11 in the rafters of the TD Garden. That, of course, did not end up playing out. Instead Irving mailed in his final playoff series with the Celtics, then bolted to Brooklyn to team up with his buddy, Kevin Durant and form their own “super team” on the Nets. Since leaving, Irving has done nothing but fan the flames regarding his Boston tenure. In his return to the Garden, he burnt sage to “cleanse the energy”, or so he said. When the two teams faced each other in the playoffs last season, Irving made a show of “stomping” on the Celtics logo at halfcourt following a Nets win, only to be pelted with a water bottle thrown by a fan moments later. After a loss in TD Garden earlier this season, Irving described his relationship with Boston like that of a scorned ex-girlfriend.
Suffice to say, there is some bad blood between the Celtics and - at least - Kyrie Irving, if not the entire Nets team. But throw in the Olympics connection, as Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum joined forces to lead Team USA to a gold medal while being coached by Ime Udoka (an assistant to Greg Popovich). Who could forget the video following the gold medal game when Udoka and Durant embraced while Durant happily proclaimed there would be problems for the Boston Celtics this year while Tatum voiced his disagreement in the background? And sure, you could also add in the fact that Udoka was an assistant coach for Steve Nash and the Brooklyn Nets just last season, presiding over their 4-1 trouncing of the Celtics in the 2021 playoffs.
There’s plenty of history between these two sides and plenty of ways to build the narrative and hype up this series, but at the end of the day it boils down to basketball and two teams aiming to start a long championship run. They’ll each have to start by triumphing over one of their chief rivals and strongest competitors. This is a first round series fit for a conference final and there should be no shortage of drama, intrigue, and intensity.
I’m excited to see how Ime Udoka approaches his first playoff series as a head coach, and utilizes his first real opportunity to scheme and gameplan for a specific opponent, let alone one he knows so well. Facing the Nets, the focus will always be Durant and Irving for obvious reasons, but the Celtics are about as well equipped as any team to slow the two superstars. Marcus Smart will likely start on Irving and Tatum on Durant, but the Celts have great size, athleticism, and versatility all over the court. Jaylen Brown is more than capable of switching onto either guy, and I’m expecting Horford will even switch onto those guys pretty frequently. That would leave Daniel Theis to guard Bruce Brown - or the “non-shooter” - and roam around the back line of the defense to protect the rim; the old Robert Williams role. Once they get into the bench, the Celtics should throw Derrick White and Grant Williams into the switching action and they’ll likely be matched up with the stars a good amount as well. Regardless of who ends up being the primary defender at the end of any given possession, the Celtics will need to stay disciplined, defending and contesting without fouling. Durant and Irving are going to make a lot of shots, but you have to make them work and live with the results. The Celtics can’t overreact and get caught up watching incredible shotmaking. Once that happens, the Nets become deadly and that’s when Seth Curry is able to get into a rhythm hitting open threes, Brown is hitting floaters out of the short roll, Claxton is finishing 2-on-1 advantages with alley-oop dunks. The Nets offense can get going in a hurry and look like a buzzsaw at times, but the Celtics need to be able to stop the bleeding and avoid an avalanche. As long as the Celtics continue to play defensively the way they have for much of the season they should be fine. But they can’t let the ancillary players get hot and they need to make the stars work hard. The Celtics can live with 70+ points from Irving and Durant as long as they make them work for it and keep the others quiet. Clean up the glass and limit second chances, get back in transition and don’t allow fast break baskets, and live with the individual greatness of the big two.
Much like on defense, on offense the Celtics just need to play their game and keep doing what got them here. The game slows down in the playoffs, and the inclination to drag out possessions, pound the ball, and try to have Brown and Tatum match Durant and Irving shot-for-shot can creep in, but that must be avoided at all costs. The tides turned for the Celtics this season when they leaned into playing with pace, making quick decisions, moving the ball, making the extra pass, and tirelessly executing to create the best possible shots. This unselfish, decisive play fueled the Celtics run and gave them the best offense in the league over the last few months. As long as that continues, the Celtics should have no problems whatsoever scoring on the Nets. The Nets lack of size and plus defenders will open up mismatches and advantages all over the court for the Celtics; they just have to be patient and precise enough to capitalize.
The Nets personnel beyond KD and Kyrie is questionable to say the least. There will be at least one defender on the court for Boston to target and attack at all time - Seth Curry on Jaylen Brown anyone? Durant and Irving will have to play almost the entire game and carry a massive burden on both ends. The Celtics need to make sure those two are completely exhausted and can’t let them take possession off. Boston needs to attack Irving relentlessly, whether that means Smart, Brown, Tatum, or whoever else, they’ll have a size and strength advantage and they need to punish Irving repeatedly. Durant will also have to be heavily involved with slowing Tatum, Brown, and likely Horford. The same thing applies here, as KD is an excellent defender, but the Celtics can still overpower him and keep him involved in the action and force him to bang in the post. Fast break points were a key for Boston in the last meeting between the two teams and the clets should focus on that once again, looking to run and push the pace as much as possible. Keep the tempo up and there will be ample opportunities for easy baskets. If the Celts can overwhelm the Nets with energy and aggression, they should have a chance to run them right out of the gym.
It helps that Boston has home court advantage, and the TD Garden should be electric for every home game. On the other end of the spectrum, the Nets have one of the weaker home crowds and the Celtics have been a historically great road team this season. As far as injuries go, each team is missing a key cog. The Celtics of course, lost Rob Williams to a meniscus tear in late March, but has managed to stay afloat and keep things rolling without him. Recently though, there has been some optimism that Timelord may be ahead of schedule, and could possibly even return later in this first round series. That would obviously be a massive boost for the Celtics on both ends, but it’s still far from a given. On the other side, reports have come out that Ben Simmons may be nearing a return to action, and may suit up for the Nets as early as game 3. Personally I’m taking this with a massive grain of salt, and I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m not sure a playoff series like this is the best time for Simmons to return to action, but what do I know. I’m not anticipating either player returning to make a major impact in this series, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
When I analyze this matchup, I see one complete team and one legend with an elite sidekick The Celtics, as a team are better than the Nets in just about every facet of the game. The only place the Nets really have the edge is in individual scoring and creation - which is a huge part of playoff basketball. But the Celtics should be able to live with that, play their game, and take care of business. Sure, the Nets are still scary, and Durant is still extremely scary. But the tides have shifted. The Celtics know who they are, they are confident, and ready to meet this challenge head on. They haven’t backed down from anyone this season and it’s not going to start now. Udoka will have his team ready to play and I think they’ll be looking to come out and punch Brooklyn in the mouth. I like the Celtics to reverse the script from last year, to exorcise any remaining demons, and put away the Nets in 5 games. It all starts on Sunday; buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Ben Handler