The Nets' participation in the playoffs is simply a dimensionality reduction blow to their competitors. In the first playoff of the season, Irving and Durant performed almost perfectly, suppressing the Cavaliers to complete the victory and successfully advance to the playoffs. After this campaign, they also locked in seventh place in the East, determined to usher in the first round of opponents Celtic.
A play-off match that is set to be won and won cannot be neglected in the slightest. Irving opened the playoff mode early, he was in full swing in the first half, multiple difficult goals, 9 of 9 shots, 20 points, 1 board and 4 assists. Wearing flowers and butterflies flying in the flowers, chaotic flowers but leaves do not stick, Irving's flowing basket is relaxed and comfortable, and the shot of the extreme whistle is also at hand.
The Nets set up a good situation in the first quarter, winning by 20 points in a single quarter. The Cavaliers struggled to catch up, but maintained a double-digit gap. Garland's play in the last quarter made the Nets suffer a lot of impact. At one point, the Cavaliers chased the point difference to only 6 points, but Durant, who had previously been invisible on the offensive end, actively organized the defense, and played a supporting role, suddenly broke out.
At 4:02, Durant met the defensive mid-range dry pull shot; after Garland missed a layup, Durant once again pulled up the shot directly against Mobley's long arm interference. In two consecutive rounds, the Nets readjusted the point difference to 10 points, and the Cavaliers' morale to chase points plummeted.
Irving dominated the first three quarters, Durant harvested the game at a crucial moment, and the Nets double stars used their way to win the playoffs in a crushing manner. Irving set a career record for all of his first 12 shots; Durant fully explained his understanding and judgment of basketball, when to be invisible, when to take over the game, to achieve perfection, to give and take.
Although the Nets didn't win much in the end, considering Seth Curry's feel, the Nets still have a lot of room to improve. Obviously, for the Nets, even if they are a play-off team, they can't hide the fact that they are also a championship-fighting team. No wonder Perkins commented during the game, "Cheers to the top teams in the East who avoided the Nets in the first round of the playoffs, I'm not saying the Celtics can't win the Nets in the series, but my only problem is... Why bother? ”
At the end of the regular season, the Bucks had repeated rotations to rest the main force and allow them to lose, thus reducing the team's ranking to third place in the East. Now, the Nets' first-round opponent will become the second-place Celtics in the East. For the Bucks, maybe they are not afraid, but they can avoid strong enemies, why not? Anyway, looking back on the decision at the time, the Bucks chose the right one.