Going into their first-round matchup with the Brooklyn Nets, nobody really thought that the Boston Celtics could make a series of it. This is for good reason too. This Celtics season could be classed as a disaster. After making the conference finals three out of the last four seasons, this year saw the Celtics finish a mere 36-36 – leaving them in the play-in games to even get a chance to play in this year’s postseason. Their opposition – these Nets – are the favorites for this year’s title. A core of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving and you should really be expecting to win it all.
The Boston Celtics were able to put together a solid first half in their first game against the Nets. Ultimately, this wasn’t enough to get the win.
When you’re going into a series against this caliber of opposition and you’re also without your second-best player in Jaylen Brown, then it’s always going to seem like an impossible task. However, that didn’t seem like the case for a large part of Saturday’s game one. Boston held Brooklyn to just 47 first-half points as they won the first two quarters of the game. On the defensive end, Robert Williams was the defining player as he set the tone for an aggressive defensive display – recording nine blocks in the game, including this swat against former Celtic in Irving.
I enjoyed this. Very much. pic.twitter.com/upHiBAtByG
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 23, 2021
If the Celtics are going to win games in this series, they’re going to need huge scoring nights from Jayson Tatum as well as support from others. Tatum managed 22 points in this one on just 6-of-20 shooting, which isn’t going to cut it if you’re going to beat the Nets, no matter how well you play on the other side of the floor. From the starters, Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, and Marcus Smart combined for 42 points on 35.9 percent shooting.
Guys are chipping in, but the efficiency is going to have to get better for the Celtics if they’re going to take any games in this series. The Celtics outshot the Nets from 3-points range going 11-of-30 compared to Brooklyn’s 8-of-34, but Brooklyn managed to pick it up and make plays when it mattered most down the stretch.
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The Celtics can be proud of their efforts on the defensive side of the floor. If you’re holding one of the most prolific offenses you’ll face to 104 you can’t really ask for much else on that side of the floor. If the Celtics were just that bit bitter on the opposite end then this one would’ve gone down to the wire. Holding Brooklyn to 41.7 percent shooting is a great feat and one that needs to be taken advantage of at the other end. The Celtics know now what they can bring to this Nets team on the defensive end, they just need to get going quickly to give themselves a chance.
If Boston keeps the same intensity throughout this series, they’ll at least give themselves and the fans something to be proud of. Nobody was expecting a Celtics victory in this series, but they’ve definitely set themselves up in this game to make a series of it.
The main thing is playing hard for the remainder of it. In the words of Marcus Smart “It’s the playoffs, man. If you aren’t going to bring it, you might as well stay home”. Smart and Williams bring the intensity and that rubs off on the rest of the squad. If that stays and the Celtics can find their rhythm from it, then this could be a very good series.