Eastern Conference | Round 1 | (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Brooklyn Nets

[DarkXaero]

The Nets definitely won more games over the last 20 or so than they did earlier in the season. The Celtics won even more games over that span.

The Nets offensive, defensive and net ratings got better over the last 20 games. The Celtics ratings remained substantially better over that span.

Deeper dive: Looking at the Nets recent schedule, they beat the Pacers, Knicks, Rockets, Magic, Pistons, Blazers etc.

Lost to Bucks, Hornets, Grizzlies, Hawks, Mavs, Raps twice, etc.

They had nice wins over the Heat and Jazz a couple weeks ago. That's about as much credit as I can give them.

But if people want to think the Nets are a juggernaut because they has a stretch of wins over lottery teams, go for it I guess.

I think context is important. KD and Kyrie didn't play in the two losses to the Raps. Kyrie didn't play in the loss to the Mavs (lost on a buzzer beater 3 by Dinwiddie). Most of the other losses were tightly contested games (lost in OT to Bucks by 1 pt, close losses to Hornets, Hawks). We lost to Grizzlies on the road but they have an elite record without Ja and were amazing in that game.

And again, Nets have a lot of continuity issues because the group of guys currently on the floor have not played together much. So they're constantly navigating that as well (which will also be an issue for the Nets in playoffs).

[DarkXaero]

I love this post from Boston a fan...

They want to double off Ben leaving him open "with zero fear of him doing anything"

I love his logic!

Nets' in 6

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Lol this gotta be cherry picking for agenda. Woj and Shams have recently repeatedly said that Simmons is progressing towards a return in the Nets-Celtics series by possibly game 3, assuming there are no setbacks in his ramp up process.

[Claud]

It took 42 minutes each from Kyrie and Durant to put away a clearly flawed but game Cavs team last night. Their offensive performance last night is what they will need to replicate each game against the Celtics to have a chance to win. Is it possible? Yes. Probable? Highly unlikely.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Every game is different regardless of opponents. Last night, Curry + others didn't shoot the ball well which made it a closer game.
Will Curry and Patty/others be a nonfactor EVERY game against the Cs? tough to say.

Playing the Cs in the playoffs is not the same as playing the cavs in the playin. Different context.

Regular season doesn't mean anything.

KD/Kyrie shine their brighest in the biggest games when everything matters.

[Stromile12]

I would love for the Nets to win, but it ain't happening. Boston is just a much more well rounded team on both sides of the ball. KD/Kyrie won't get enough help. Net's have the best player but Boston has the best team.

[Slax]

The Nets definitely won more games over the last 20 or so than they did earlier in the season. The Celtics won even more games over that span.

The Nets offensive, defensive and net ratings got better over the last 20 games. The Celtics ratings remained substantially better over that span.

Deeper dive: Looking at the Nets recent schedule, they beat the Pacers, Knicks, Rockets, Magic, Pistons, Blazers etc.

Lost to Bucks, Hornets, Grizzlies, Hawks, Mavs, Raps twice, etc.

They had nice wins over the Heat and Jazz a couple weeks ago. That's about as much credit as I can give them.

But if people want to think the Nets are a juggernaut because they has a stretch of wins over lottery teams, go for it I guess.

I think context is important. KD and Kyrie didn't play in the two losses to the Raps. Kyrie didn't play in the loss to the Mavs (lost on a buzzer beater 3 by Dinwiddie). Most of the other losses were tightly contested games (lost in OT to Bucks by 1 pt, close losses to Hornets, Hawks). We lost to Grizzlies on the road but they have an elite record without Ja and were amazing in that game.

And again, Nets have a lot of continuity issues because the group of guys currently on the floor have not played together much. So they're constantly navigating that as well (which will also be an issue for the Nets in playoffs).

Fwiw I think most people here - including Celtics fans - recognize this was a weird season with a lot of missed games and discontinuity for the Nets, and consider them a dangerous team that plays much better than their regular season record as a whole would suggest. bisme can speak for himself, but I've maintained this whole time that the Nets are a good but not elite team, and my objection is to people exaggerating how well the Nets have performed based on these weird small slices of the season to imply that they are actually dominating the league with KD and Kyrie both back, when a) the sample sizes are very small and unrepresentative, and b) even within those samples, the actual performances have been modestly impressive rather than truly dominant - not a ton of blowouts, only a small number of wins against good playoff teams, really having to reach deep to win critical games against ok teams when playoff hopes are on the line, etc. What I have seen is pretty much a dangerous but deeply flawed team.

[Slax]

I love this post from Boston a fan...

They want to double off Ben leaving him open "with zero fear of him doing anything"

I love his logic!

Nets' in 6

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Lol this gotta be cherry picking for agenda. Woj and Shams have recently repeatedly said that Simmons is progressing towards a return in the Nets-Celtics series by possibly game 3, assuming there are no setbacks in his ramp up process.

Unless Begley is misreporting - which I won't rule out - your own head coach is saying Simmons is not able to run sprints in practice yet. If he's in good enough shape to effectively defend Tatum and Brown by game 3, I will be stunned.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

Not sure who to believe anymore. Sham tweeted that he could be ready by game 3 and that Simmon's confidence is at an all time high.

I will go on record to say that Steve Nash is delusional on all front, wether it be coaching, off-court antics and or any reliable news concerning his team.

[sam_I_am]

Yea Jaylen hung 40 on Ben last year with Tatum out. Add in the fact they can flat out ignore him and double off him with zero fear of him doing anything.

I love this post from Boston a fan...

They want to double off Ben leaving him open "with zero fear of him doing anything"

I love his logic!

Nets' in 6[/quote]
It worked over and over and over when the C's played Philly - and that was with a healthy Simmons. Now that you have a physically and mentally damaged Simmons, you think that he's suddenly going to start playing better in the playoffs than he did before?[/quote]

I think the Celtics will defend Simmons the way they did when they swept the 76ers in the bubble.

[sam_I_am]

Someone must tell Celtics that Rob is a younger Drummond and not Kareem.

So they would be better if he doesn’t play?

[Jadoogar]

Nets in 5. BOS has no Robert Williams. Meanwhile, Brooklyn could get Simmons back who can guard anyone on BOS with no trouble.

Ah yes, Ben Simmons i know you haven't played all season but get out there and guard All-NBA Jayson Tatum.

[Fencer reregistered]

KD/Kyrie shine their brighest in the biggest games when everything matters.

Sometimes. Often, Kyrie literally doesn't show up. Other times, he chokes or quits.

No argument about KD. But he does sometimes tire under the weight of carrying a huge load.

[DarkXaero]

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Lol this gotta be cherry picking for agenda. Woj and Shams have recently repeatedly said that Simmons is progressing towards a return in the Nets-Celtics series by possibly game 3, assuming there are no setbacks in his ramp up process.

Unless Begley is misreporting - which I won't rule out - your own head coach is saying Simmons is not able to run sprints in practice yet. If he's in good enough shape to effectively defend Tatum and Brown by game 3, I will be stunned.

Nash is notoriously tight lipped when it comes to player health updates. What's out there from Woj and Shams is what you should be taking with credibility.

[Curmudgeon]

As a Celtics fan, I hope Simmons comes back tomorrow. Being able to play 5 on 4 defensively will definitely help Boston cope with the absence of the Timelord.

[SFour]

This is likely a 7 game series.....I don't understand the people saying Celtics in 5, did they not get the news that Robert Williams is out.

[stormi]

As a Celtics fan, I hope Simmons comes back tomorrow. Being able to play 5 on 4 defensively will definitely help Boston cope with the absence of the Timelord.

But unlike any team Ben's ever played on, he would literally be surrounded by two attackers that can score on anybody at will and are not reliant on him to create out of the halfcourt, unlike in Philadelphia, they do not need his contributions on that end whatsoever to have a gamebreaking offense anyways - not that he's a Roberson or a Tony Allen offensively.

Ben would dominate the transition game, help with size and rebounding and is the best wing defender in the league.

I struggle to see how anyone thinks Ben coming back would hinder the Nets. He isn't on a team trying to get out of a high usage dominant centers way anymore. He can effectively be that in Brooklyn.

[Slax]

Lol this gotta be cherry picking for agenda. Woj and Shams have recently repeatedly said that Simmons is progressing towards a return in the Nets-Celtics series by possibly game 3, assuming there are no setbacks in his ramp up process.

Unless Begley is misreporting - which I won't rule out - your own head coach is saying Simmons is not able to run sprints in practice yet. If he's in good enough shape to effectively defend Tatum and Brown by game 3, I will be stunned.

Nash is notoriously tight lipped when it comes to player health updates. What's out there from Woj and Shams is what you should be taking with credibility.

I'm not going to say it's IMPOSSIBLE that Nash is just straight up lying when he says Simmons isn't sprinting or doing 5-on-5's in practice and that actually he's already looking great in practice and will be in perfect game shape a week and a half from now for game 3, I think that would be a pretty wild thing to say if it's not true but I'm willing to grant you know your own team better than I do. Nonetheless, even if he is fully healthy, you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for a player who hasn't played an NBA game in 10 months to instantly shut down Jayson Tatum in his first game back. He's going to have an adjustment period.

[Curmudgeon]

For starters, Simmons hasn't played in a year. That doesn't just mean he hasn't played in a NBA game, it means he hasn't scrimmaged or practiced. And even when he's in shape and his back is healthy, you can always play hack-a-Ben at the end of a close game.

If the Nets expect to win this, they will need to get a monumental 2-way performance from KD. KD will have to get his 35, and keep Tatum in check at the other end.

[bisme37]

Lol this gotta be cherry picking for agenda. Woj and Shams have recently repeatedly said that Simmons is progressing towards a return in the Nets-Celtics series by possibly game 3, assuming there are no setbacks in his ramp up process.

Unless Begley is misreporting - which I won't rule out - your own head coach is saying Simmons is not able to run sprints in practice yet. If he's in good enough shape to effectively defend Tatum and Brown by game 3, I will be stunned.

Nash is notoriously tight lipped when it comes to player health updates. What's out there from Woj and Shams is what you should be taking with credibility.

So your theory is Nash did not say this? Or Nash's words aren't credible when they're reported by Begley?

What's out there from Woj and Shams is the Nets were "optimistic" as of a few days ago that Ben might maybe play some small number of minutes. That seems to have changed according to the head coach of the Nets.

But I'm cool if he plays or not. So I guess we'll see how it goes.

[ITYSL]

I struggle to see how anyone thinks Ben coming back would hinder the Nets. He isn't on a team trying to get out of a high usage dominant centers way anymore. He can effectively be that in Brooklyn.

How could you struggle in thinking that? He hasn't played an NBA game in 10 months. It's pretty reasonable to think that he won't be the same transition monster and elite defender as soon as he steps back on the court.

Besides, his weakness on offense has never been with transition, it has always been in the half-court offense. On a team like the Nets that has two superstars that dominate touches, what does Simmons even do in the half-court? That's where the 4v5 scenario could come into play, especially since the team hasn't had any ability to practice with Simmons and figure out that potential role.

[GTR11]

Unless Begley is misreporting - which I won't rule out - your own head coach is saying Simmons is not able to run sprints in practice yet. If he's in good enough shape to effectively defend Tatum and Brown by game 3, I will be stunned.

Nash is notoriously tight lipped when it comes to player health updates. What's out there from Woj and Shams is what you should be taking with credibility.

I'm not going to say it's IMPOSSIBLE that Nash is just straight up lying when he says Simmons isn't sprinting or doing 5-on-5's in practice and that actually he's already looking great in practice and will be in perfect game shape a week and a half from now for game 3, I think that would be a pretty wild thing to say if it's not true but I'm willing to grant you know your own team better than I do. Nonetheless, even if he is fully healthy, you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for a player who hasn't played an NBA game in 10 months to instantly shut down Jayson Tatum in his first game back. He's going to have an adjustment period.

Guy is first team all D that can give KD breathing room. Downplaying his impact is laughable. You have no idea how Ben looks and will play either. Kyrie missed half a year ( if not more ) and still was Kyrie. See how that works.