On the final day of the NBA regular season, the Bucks and Celtics made different choices.
The Bucks chose to avoid, deliberately losing to the Cavaliers, giving up the chance to lock in second place in the East;
The Celtics beat the Grizzlies with all their might, sending themselves to second place in the East.
Because the Nets are ranked 7-8, they are second in the East, which means that the first round has a high probability of encountering the Nets. From this perspective, the Bucks' choices are smarter, while the Celtics' choices are tougher!
In the first game of the NBA playoff, the Nets defeated the Cavaliers at home to officially lock up the playoffs, ranking seventh, and the first round against the Celtics. The NBA has never lacked miracles, so how likely is this set of showdowns, the Nets " Black Seven " ?
Battle results
The Regular Season Nets 1-3 Celtics, four games (Nets in front): 123-104, 91-126, 106-129, 120-126.
In the first round of last season's playoffs, the Nets eliminated the Celtics 4-1, with five games (nets in front): 104-93, 130-108, 119-125, 141-126, 123-109.
Last season's matchup review
In the first round of last season's playoffs, the Nets had home advantage, and finally won 3 home and 1 away game, and eliminated the Celtics 4-1 to advance to the second round.
In this round of the series, the data of the Nets' big three are as follows, from left to right is 1-5 games, scoring + Nets + assists.
Durant: 32+12+1, 26+8+5, 39+9+1, 42+4+5, 24+4+3
Irving: 29+6+1, 15+6+6, 16+6+2, 39+11+2, 25+3+3
Harden: 21+9+8, 20+5+7, 41+7+10, 23+5+18, 34+10+10
It can be seen that:
Harden is the Nets' core point guard. He averaged 27.8 points and 10.6 assists in five games, accounting for almost half of the team's total assists.
Durant's score is unstoppable. Although the second and fifth games scored less than 30, they both shot more than 50% and were completely closed.
Owen is unpredictable. With the exception of the fourth outburst, Irving's performance in this series is very average.
On the Big Three, the other players didn't have many offensive opportunities, the only bright spot came from Joe Harris, who made seven three-pointers in the second game and contributed 25 points, and scored 14 points in the fourth game, running out of luck in the first round.
Celtic side:
Tatum erupted too late. Tatum scored only 31 points on 9-of-32 shooting in the first two games, while Tatum shot 38-of-79 in the last three games, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, scoring 50 points, 40 points and 32 points, respectively.
Jaylen Brown was absent and the other players were uneven in attack. Even if Tatum broke out, facing the Nets Big Three, he could only steal a victory by 50 points in a single game.
Season match review
In the first game, the Nets 123-104 Celtics. Harden had 20 points, 11 assists, plus or minus +29, Durant had 21 points, plus or minus +20, Mills became a Wizard with 23 points, plus-minus +20, and Irving was absent. The Celtics played in full force, but were not in good shape, shooting only 36.2% of the team.
In game two, the Nets 91-126 Celtics. In the absence of the Nets Big Three, the Celtics hit a 55 percent shooting percentage, and Smart and Brown both scored 22 points, plus-minus as high as +40.
Game three, the Nets 106-129 Celtics. The Nets' Big Three are absent, with the Celtics shooting 54 percent from the field.
Game four, the Nets 120-126 Celtics. Harden was traded away, Durant and Irving returned, Irving scored 19 points, Durant scored 37 points and 8 assists, Tatum exploded with 54 points, leading the team to reverse the victory over the Celtics, and Jaylen Brown scored 21 points.
Versus analysis
Compared to last season, the Celtics ushered in a comeback from Jaylen Brown, sending Kemba Walker away and welcoming back Horford. The Nets sent Harden away, welcoming Cesculy and Mills.
Obviously, whether it is the first round of last season's showdown, or the four games this season, the only real reference is the last one, the Nets lost to the Celtics 120-126. But from the perspective of personal performance, we can also find some conclusions:
1, Tatum is the biggest confidence of the Celtics.
Perhaps the Celtics also dared to choose no. 2 because of Tatum's presence, facing the Nets and seeking revenge. The Nets proved difficult to defend against Tatum.
2) Harden's possession is important to the Nets.
At least against the Celtics, Harden's possession was really important. Durant is not a good ball handler, Irving prefers to score, Mills, Curry are, the Biggest deficiency of the Nets is the lack of a organizer, and what is more frightening is that Nash likes to let Durant dribble like James, from the backcourt dribble to the frontcourt organization, which consumes Durant's physical strength.
3) Jaylen Brown will make the Nets even more uncomfortable.
This is another advantage for the Celtics.
Judging from the alignment and the change in the lineup, the Nets are completely at a disadvantage. The Nets don't have a core point guard, the Nets don't have anyone to defend Tatum, and if they want to achieve a counterattack, they can only rely on Durant and Irving's explosive scores, but the Celtics also have Tatum to make a response, plus there is no home advantage, the Nets are actually difficult to beat the Celtics.
The longer this series is played, the more disadvantageous it will be to the Nets. So the Nets want black seven, and the first 2 away games must take 1. Either Durant and Irving erupt or the Celtics slump. The Celtics, who aspire to revenge, are unlikely to be depressed, so they can only rely on miracles, such as Irving's first play-off.
This round of the series, fight who breaks out or who collapses first. The Nets have won one of their first 2 games, and there is a 65% chance of advancing to the second round, while if the Nets' first two games are 0-2, then this round of the series is basically out of play, unless Ben Simmons returns.
So, Irving, do you still have a chance to step on the Celtics logo?