April 26, (THEWILL) – On paper, the Boston Celtics had little chance against the Brooklyn Nets’ incredibly skilled team in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Going up against the Nets, the ensemble of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Patty Mills, Blake Griffin, and Goran Dragic made it a legitimate threat. However, Ime Udoka’s Boston demonstrated that they were made of sterner stuff.
For four games, they went toe-to-toe with the Nets, taking full advantage of their own advantages, which included excellent defence, depth, and cohesion. It also helped that they had the series’ best player in Jayson Tatum, who scored 29 points on Monday night.
All of it was too much for a Nets team, whose accumulation of all that talent rendered them too top-heavy, lacking in width, in athleticism, and without cohesiveness.
Having taken all three of their playoff matches, the Celtics won Game 4 116-112 to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Nets in the first round and advance to the second round (where they will likely face the Milwaukee Bucks, who are up 3-1 on the Bulls).
Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Marcus Smart had 20 points and 11 assists, while Al Horford and Grant Williams combined for 27 points and seven 3-pointers. The Celtics kept the ball moving throughout the game and relied on one another to make the right play.
The Nets did really put up a fight. In the face of persistent defensive pressure from the Celtics, Durant worked extra in his final game this season, scoring 39 points on 13-of-31 shooting and adding nine assists. The Nets also got 23 points from Seth Curry and 20 points from Kyrie Irving.
The Nets showed sparks and tightened the game down the end. Yet, it was insufficient and, just as they had done all season, they made defensive mistakes (especially in crucial minutes), put in part-time effort, played too much isolation, which led to a predictable offence, and they lacked the cohesiveness to overcome their personnel faults.
What has transpired now is that the Celtics have emerged as title candidates from this series. Boston possesses the defence, halfcourt production, cohesion, and elite talent to win the East in an East where every team has questions, as even the Bucks are without All-Star and Olympian Khris Middleton.
The difference has been the work that Udoka has put in and how the team has gone from their initial stuttering start to the flourishing embodiment of a hard-working squad and managing crew. No matter how far they go, they have proven Udoka right when he said: “We aren’t running from anybody.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
