The NBA's 2021-22 playoffs began as scheduled, with the much-anticipated battle for the seventh seed in the East taking place. After four quarters of battle, the Brooklyn Nets successfully defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers under durant and Irving's combined 59 points, 8 rebounds and 23 assists, which also means that another set of showdowns in the East is finalized - in addition to losing 3 three-pointers, Kyrie Irving will play against his old club, The Boston Celtics.
Imagine last season, the two teams met in the first round, the difference is that this time the second high in the East, to wait for the work of the Celtics, the regular season in the East, in the playoffs to catch the last train in the playoffs became the Brooklyn Nets. As if by fate, the most outstanding player of this game is undoubtedly Irving, who is incredibly efficient, and last season it was Tatum, who has the reputation of "king of the playoffs", who scored 50 points against the Wizards last season. The little brother of the past has long grown into a phenomenon of attack and defense all-star players, Tatum's MVP ranking in the top five this season is the biggest affirmation of his performance, against the big brother of the past, what kind of report card will he hand over? Worth looking forward to.
Don't doubt Tatum's determination, as Kyrie Owen said in the interview: "Tatum feels really good every time he plays against us, and the rest of the Celtics can benefit from his strong play." The stats don't lie, the Celtics have a 3-1 record against the Nets in the regular season; Tatum's season average of 26.9 points, 8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range, averaging 29.5 points per game against the Nets, and with 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists, shooting percentage and three-point shooting rate rising to 48.1 percent and 38.5 percent, respectively, it's clear that he'll become more aggressive and more efficient.
I have to admire the determination and boldness of Tatum and his teammates, as well as rookie coach Uduka. In the last round of the regular season, the Bucks who started first continued the tradition of the main player for 7 seasons to throw the multiple choice question back to the Celtics with a crisp defeat, and the Green Army generals did not hesitate in the slightest, knowing that the mountain had a tiger bias towards the tiger mountain line, and resolutely decided to take the throne of the second place in the East, which was also a disguised declaration of war on the Nets, after all, compared to the Cavaliers who did not have Jarrett Allen and were in poor shape recently, the Nets were indeed the more optimistic side. In fact, as everyone expected, this set of fateful duels came into being.
It's not that the Nets are necessarily invincible, today's Nets are no longer the Galactico with the odds of winning the championship before the start of the season, Harden left, Simmons still can't play, and the team's inside and outside shot Joe Harris is absent due to injury, they are not in full swing. But they are still the envy of all the powerful people in the East, and if they want to win in the hands of Durant and Irving, they will have to lose their skin even if they don't die.
The Green Army had its own troubles, with Robert Williams collapsing, essentially announcing that the DPOY contender would miss out on the first round. This means that the green army's defensive end of the most dependent basket fulcrum is gone, neither Dennis Theis nor Al Horford can replace Thevey's role, the Nets will bruce Brown even directly "open card", bluntly said that the Nets will attack Theis and Horford as much as they want.
Considering that both sides know the roots and have their own difficulties, this first round of duels must be a needle-point battle against Mai Mang, Mars hitting the earth, testing not only the technical and tactical level of both sides, but also the side that can finally win is the one who is more eager for victory and has more tenacious willpower in the desperate situation of exhaustion! Whoever laughs to the end deserves respect, because, from the moment the Celtics decide to lock in second place in the East, both teams are destined to embark on the most difficult path — perhaps after the most intense set of first-round series, they will also be greeted by the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Was it Irving who retreated from the boos of the North Shore Gardens Arena, or did Tatum usher in a metamorphosis and sublimation in the supergiant showdown? Let's wait and see. As a winner reward, the best of them will win the opportunity to challenge Giannis Antetokounmpo, who are you more bullish on?