The Brooklyn Nets don’t seem to have an opponent in the Boston Celtics, a team that misses Jaylen Brown’s input, injured and discarded, and maybe i miss jayson tatum for the remainder of the tie.
The Boston star and the green-clad only hope to give the first round some excitement walked away blinded from the barclays center in brooklyn early in the third quarter and couldn’t get back on track after receiving an involuntary blow to the eye by Kevin Durant.
Beyond the troubles for the Massachusetts franchise, the merits of the Nets also accumulate and they even exceed the ‘big-three’ formula. The 130-108 beating that made it 2-0 in the tie last night he had the Joe Harris personal stamp, who plugged in seven triples and led the team with 25 points.
With Durant, Irving and Harden On the court, the problem for opponents is how to allocate their defensive resources to the rest of Brooklyn’s arsenal. “This is the true nature of the matter.”, assessed Harris in a press videoconference. “We have three of the best offensive players of all time.”.
Harris achieved his scoring record in playoffs and tied the franchise record for triples in the postseason, but his recital was just one ingredient in the Nets’ lethal attack.
The ‘big three’ recipe seems to work, and Kevin Durant led with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks the score of the game. His exhibition was joined by James harden with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, while Kyrie irving stayed in the background with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
In a long and tight season Rest in these early stages of the playoffs can be vital in the medium term future. Nets coach Steve Nash was able to limit the use of all his starters to under 30 minutes.
Since 2004, when they swept the Knicks in the first round, Brooklyn hadn’t started a 2-0 tie. The one this course seems destined to be 4-0, and that is that Boston did not manage to score in the first game and did not seem to find a way to stop their attack from first in the second.
“We have to do much better”commented Brad Stevens, who has all a brown on top. “They have exposed our defense because they are very good, but I am disappointed by how we have played ”.
The Boston game featured Marcus Smart, author of 19 points, and Kemba walker, with 17, as the only leaders in attack. Tatum He retired 9 minutes from the end of the third and did not wear shorts again. The escort finished with 9 points on a 3-of-12 shooting run field in 21 minutes of play.
Durant’s finger in Tatum’s eye is the last thing they needed unmotivated Celtics and that they play with the certainty that they can do little to beat Brooklyn. “He came back from the locker room and tried to readjust to the light of the pavilion, it was hard for him,” explained Stevens. “They hit him hard, he’s red and swollen”.
The injury keeps Tatum, for now, as doubt for the third game of the tie in Boston. It would be the final blow to the Celtics’ aspirations.
Unlike in Game 1, the Nets they unleashed their devastating offensive from the initial jump. Harris scored the same points, 16, as the entire team in the first game to open the second, which ended with a initial partial of 40-26.
As soon as the second period started, Harris hit another two consecutive triples and opened the gap to 20 points. The party arrived dead at break with a forceful 71-47 in the locker.
That happened with Tatum on the parquet, and without him things did not improve and will not improve.