Changes in the roster within the season mean that only one of the regular season games is relevant: Boston’s 126-120 victory on March 6, in which Jason Tatum exploded for 54 points. It is worth noting that Robert Williams III, who will miss at least the beginning of this series with a knee injury, played 37 minutes that afternoon and LaMarcus Aldridge, who was not in the Nets rotation at the end of regular season and did not They did not appear in their game, they played 23 minutes.
Without Williams, is the Celtics’ defense more vulnerable to the isolation of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving? Probably, but their defense is still excellent. Without Ben Simmons, is Brooklyn just too small to face Boston? Maybe, but Simmons could be back. Would it be an amazing final conference match if both teams were whole? Absolutely. But here we are. Select the checkbox to confirm that you want to sign up.

                Thank you for your registration! 


                Track your inbox. 


                Sorry! 


                An error occurred while processing your subscription.

Boston Celtics (2) vs. Brooklyn Nets (7)

Boston leads the series 1-0 All times Eastern

Match 1 (at BOS): Celtics 115, Nets 114 Match 2 (at BOS): Wednesday 20 April 7 μμ | TV: TNT Match 3 (at BKN): Saturday 23 April TBD | TV: ESPN Match 4 (at BKN): Monday 25 April TBD | TV: TBD Game 5 * (at BOS): Wednesday 27 April TBD | TV: TBD Game 6 * (on BKN): Friday 29 April TBD | TV: TBD Race 7 * (at BOS): Sunday 1 May | TBD | TV: TBD

*If it is necessary Selected game Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets

1. It is a period of struggle-hunting

Both teams like to change, but the Celtics do it more often and more effectively. When Brooklyn goes to chase the matchup, it may not get the matchup it wants. Boston pre-transitions to keep its best defenders in the rival stars and removes its smaller defenders from the post-up. The Celtics want to push the Nets one-on-one in basketball, but they are not really one-on-one – long-sleeved defenders will be in the gaps, trying to force Durand and Irving to play controversial jumpers. The danger is that Durant and Irving have won many games by making questionable jumps. “It’s a contrast of two things that two teams are doing extremely well,” said Boston coach Ime Udoka. How Brooklyn handles the change will determine how much help the Celtics decide to send. Nets coach Steve Nash said he wanted the Nets “to have some discipline to keep playing and not just compromise with isolation situations”, e.g. to ignore the switches, to keep running, to get off the screens, to try to make Boston make mistakes. The Celtics usually do not make many mistakes, but they are more expensive without Williams clearing them. Bruce Brown made headlines when he said Brooklyn would go to the Boston Big Games, but no one cared when Udoka said the Celtics would take the Nets’ guard: “With their starting lineups, they play much smaller sometimes. with [Patty] Mills and [Seth] Curry, Irving, [Goran] Dragic and those guys out there sometimes. There are some advantageous positions for us with our size and flexibility. “So you can attack there.” Brooklyn’s basic backcourt – Irving and Curry – is unusually small and Nash has occasionally played three of these guards together. The Celtics are comparatively huge and the Nets will have a hard time avoiding the discrepancies. Theoretically, however, the strategy is the same: If you can not prevent a mismatch, then it is to react to it with the help of defense and double teams. As for the Tatum slowdown, however, these things are much less effective than they used to be.

2. Brooklyn on the boards

Their backyard is small, but the Nets are not exactly a small team. The roster is full of big men and in that game in March, they opened up a third of their failures, which is not uncommon. With center-back Andre Drummond on the floor, Brooklyn had a 34.7% rebound percentage. (The Memphis Grizzlies rebounded in the top 33.8 percent of their failures this season.) Boston is a defensive team with rebounds, but that is one of the dangers of changing everything. If Al Horford or Daniel Thais guard Irving around the perimeter, it will be more difficult to keep Drummond and reserve center Nicholas Claxton out of the glass. Along with the open eyes for the Nets shooters and the “Bruce Brown energy”, Udoka cited “second chance points from Drummond and Claxton” as a point of concern. Unlike Drummond, Claxton is not one of the best attacking rebounds of all time. However, he has improved in terms of rebounds in motion, and has added some of what he calls “big men’s power”. If Marcus Smart and Derrick White manage to eliminate Claxton, then it will be more difficult for him to stay on the floor. But if he helps Brooklyn in the tables, then he could steal some of Dramont’s minutes – and maybe even the starting position. One day, Claxton may be the Nets’ version of Williams. At the moment, it provides more defensive flexibility and vertical distance from their other options in the center.

3. The race against time

Until Simmons is available, Brooklyn is much less flexible than Boston. Rookie forward Kessler Edwards, the No. 44 pick in the draft, is an X-factor because, without Joe Harris, the Nets have no one else who looks like a 3-and-D wing. They had to resign from James Johnson to turn Edwards ‘two-way contract into a standard one and they have to hope that Edwards’ eight minutes without inspiration in the play-in game was not a sign for the next. If Brooklyn decides he needs more size to deal with Tatum and Jalen Brown, this is the guy. Simmons presence would not fill the hole in the wing, but it would make it less important. It would instantly improve their defense, transition game and rebounds, and give Nash more flexibility in the starting line-up, even for 10 to 15 minutes at the start. The problem is that the Nets may be in a desperate situation when Simmons is ready to play. The Celtics may have Time Lord by then as well. No one in Brooklyn puts public pressure on Simmons in words. There is really only one way, however, for his teammates to relieve the pressure: To prove that they do not need Simmons to save them. Getting one of the first two on the road would be a good start.