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

[stormi]

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.

Yea if the excuse is conditioning then that's a whole separate other issue. We're discussing fit here.

You just said Simmons has struggled historically in the half-court as the 76ers lead shotcreator. The exact reason why Brooklyn was the Golden fit, was the fact that he could play off the ball in the Draymond or Capela role. Set screens, slash, attack down hill, stand in the dunkers spot for easy 2's (knock on wood) with the gravity and attention KD and Kyrie automatically command off the dribble.

Picture perfect fit for his skillset. He played a similar way in 2019 off a less talented shot creator in Jimmy Butler and was solid.

[bisme37]

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.

Rob is dope but the Celts have been better team than BK on both with or without him.

Celts defense rating briefly dropped from #1 to #2 in the few games when he first went down. That's not a major change, and obviously better than the Nets. Then it climbed back up to #1 a few games later once the C's learned the tweaks to our schemes and coverages without him.

Celts have also had the #1 offense over the last month-plus, both with or without Rob. I think that's gone under the radar.

And if you missed it Rob has not even been ruled out for this series. They are preparing as if they won't have him, but he's progressing incredibly well and with all the days off between games he could very well come back mid-series.

[Slax]

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.

Fortunately this will not remain a great unknowable mystery for very long. In a couple weeks we will find out for sure which of us is right, and I'll be here to eat crow if it's not me.

[DarkXaero]

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.

No, it's not that Nash didn't say this, it's more that Nash won't reveal much about Simmons.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/266508/Ben-Simmons-Very-Confident-Hell-Return-During-First-Round-Of-Playoffs

This is what Shams said just yesterday about Simmons, and it's what you should go by, in regards to Simmons intel.

[DarkXaero]

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.

I don't know how Simmons would look on his return, all I'm saying is that he's currently on track to return during the Boston series if there are no setbacks.

[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.

Yea if the excuse is conditioning then that's a whole separate other issue. We're discussing fit here.

You just said Simmons has struggled historically in the half-court as the 76ers lead shotcreator. The exact reason why Brooklyn was the Golden fit, was the fact that he could play off the ball in the Draymond or Capela role. Set screens, slash, attack down hill, stand in the dunkers spot for easy 2's with the gravity and attention KD and Kyrie draw off the dribble.

Picture perfect fit for his skillset. He played a similar way in 2019 off a less talented shot creator in Jimmy Butler and was solid.

We're talking fit in the context of this first-round series, which is what this thread is about. I'd be surprised to see Simmons have much of an effect at all on this series due to how long he's been away.

Potential fit for Simmons down the line, with enough practice and games playing with the rest of the team, is definitely there. Agree on that. But that's always been the issue with Simmons. His potential has always been high, it's about his ability and desire, or lack thereof, to reach it. He never developed a decent shot outside the paint for several years with Philly, a skill that would have greatly improved his fit with Embiid. So I have my doubts that all the sudden he'll become an elite screen and roll man with Kyrie or KD.

[timO]

I am significantly less impressed than you are that if this Nets team had managed to have KD healthy enough to play 82 games while still playing Harden for half of them, there's a good choice they might have won like three more games than the Celtics actually won this whole season, including their sloppy beginning of the year and the games Tatum, Brown, Smart, and Rob Williams were missing with injuries.

The actual Nets team that the Celtics are playing right now having ordinary health during an 82 game season is a team that probably gets somewhere in the high 40's wins, maybe around 50. They're much better than a typical 7 seed, but to imagine they're a juggernaut that would outclass the rest of the east if not for injuries, you have to engage in some fantastical thinking and just ignore how they have actually played on the court even when healthy.

So KD 55/82

Irving 29/82

Harden 44/82, and 10-15 coasting to force a trade.

Like they dont have injuries too

Irving own u man, and he will make a statement series.

Like Lebron did to the raps alone, 4-0

its going to be funny to see.

You insisted it was possible to just "do the math" and show the Nets were playing like a 60 win team when healthy. You were wrong. No shame, it's ok, they are a decent team and it's understandable you might have mixed up some numbers or supposed that they would support you when they didn't. Happens to all of us, me included. But at this point the numbers are out there, so you should just take the L and move on instead of wasting time insisting you were right.

The real L will be the 4L celtics gonna get in this series

[stormi]

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.

Yea if the excuse is conditioning then that's a whole separate other issue. We're discussing fit here.

You just said Simmons has struggled historically in the half-court as the 76ers lead shotcreator. The exact reason why Brooklyn was the Golden fit, was the fact that he could play off the ball in the Draymond or Capela role. Set screens, slash, attack down hill, stand in the dunkers spot for easy 2's with the gravity and attention KD and Kyrie draw off the dribble.

Picture perfect fit for his skillset. He played a similar way in 2019 off a less talented shot creator in Jimmy Butler and was solid.

We're talking fit in the context of this first-round series, which is what this thread is about. I'd be surprised to see Simmons have much of an effect at all on this series due to how long he's been away.

Potential fit for Simmons down the line, with enough practice and games playing with the rest of the team, is definitely there. Agree on that. But that's always been the issue with Simmons. His potential has always been high, it's about his ability and desire, or lack thereof, to reach it. He never developed a decent shot outside the paint for several years with Philly, a skill that would have greatly improved his fit with Embiid. So I have my doubts that all the sudden he'll become an elite screen and roll man with Kyrie or KD.

fair

[Fencer reregistered]

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.

Yea if the excuse is conditioning then that's a whole separate other issue. We're discussing fit here.

You just said Simmons has struggled historically in the half-court as the 76ers lead shotcreator. The exact reason why Brooklyn was the Golden fit, was the fact that he could play off the ball in the Draymond or Capela role. Set screens, slash, attack down hill, stand in the dunkers spot for easy 2's with the gravity and attention KD and Kyrie draw off the dribble.

Picture perfect fit for his skillset. He played a similar way in 2019 off a less talented shot creator in Jimmy Butler and was solid.

We're talking fit in the context of this first-round series, which is what this thread is about. I'd be surprised to see Simmons have much of an effect at all on this series due to how long he's been away.

Potential fit for Simmons down the line, with enough practice and games playing with the rest of the team, is definitely there. Agree on that. But that's always been the issue with Simmons. His potential has always been high, it's about his ability and desire, or lack thereof, to reach it. He never developed a decent shot outside the paint for several years with Philly, a skill that would have greatly improved his fit with Embiid. So I have my doubts that all the sudden he'll become an elite screen and roll man with Kyrie or KD.

On the plus side, it's common for a guy's shooting to be below his usual standards when he returns after a long time away.

That won't be an issue for Simmons.

[Slax]

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.

No, it's not that Nash didn't say this, it's more that Nash won't reveal much about Simmons.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/266508/Ben-Simmons-Very-Confident-Hell-Return-During-First-Round-Of-Playoffs

This is what Shams said just yesterday about Simmons, and it's what you should go by, in regards to Simmons intel.

I just listened to the Shams video clip this comes from (

Read on Twitter

?t=K0DV0a4ByOrYwBGZcxs73w&s=19) and he's saying is consistent with Begley's reporting and imo not what you want to hear if you need Simmons to be a difference maker this series - that Simmons is still in no contact because last time they moved him to contact too fast he got reinjured, that they hope he will start doing sprints and contact drills later this week, that they are optimistic he is likely to be able to give them 15-20 minutes a game starting around game 3 after a couple five on five practices are under his belt. While the Nets are of course free to put him back on the court whenever they want, absolutely none of this is screaming "about to make a huge impact right away in game 3" to me. Would be a bit less surprised if he gives them something meaningful a bit later in the series, but even then I'm pretty skeptical given he has zero experience actually playing with this team.

[Swag]

Kyrie is going to put on a show.

KD is the best in the game.

Nets in 7

[KamikazeK]

Easy buddy. I heard they were not vaccinated and would not be able to play away games in Toronto. If it's not true then ok.

No big deal, I just wrote "no it wouldn't" to correct your error.

That did not correct my "error" because you provided no substance to back up your statement. I just gave you the benefit of the doubt because it was important to you to be right.

Bro they have REPEATEDLY said they're ready to go in toronto or anywhere. Stop spreading bull man.

[TinmanZBoy]

first game on Sunday starts at 3;30 pm, not sunset yet... Will Kyrie drink any water during the game? He is fasting for Ramadan

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

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

Can we agree that Joe Harris isn't Steph Curry but he definitely helps Brooklyn?

Breaking news you don't have to be an all-time great player to have a significant impact on your team.

[ryan in Maine]

[stormi]

first game on Sunday starts at 3;30 pm, not sunset yet... Will Kyrie drink any water during the game? He is fasting for Ramadan

Iftar wouldn't be until like 7:40 so probably not.

Who cares though, right?

Read on Twitter

[Slax]

first game on Sunday starts at 3;30 pm, not sunset yet... Will Kyrie drink any water during the game? He is fasting for Ramadan

Fwiw Jaylen Brown also observes Ramadan.

[Blazing_royale]

Nets in 7. Kryie gets his revenge in this series and KD goes bonkers.

[sam_I_am]

Nets in 7. Kryie gets his revenge in this series and KD goes bonkers.

What exactly does Kyrie get revenge for? Quitting on the Celtics team and mailing it in for the Bucks series in 2018?

[KamikazeK]

Nets in 7. Kryie gets his revenge in this series and KD goes bonkers.

Delusional