Before the Start of the Nets' series against the Celtics, although the Nets were only seventh in the East and the Green Army was in second place in the East, many fans predicted that the Nets with Irving and Durant would be able to win the round. Even in the first game, after the Celtics won the game in the last minute with Tatum's whistle-pressing kill, the outside world was still optimistic about the Nets.
In the first half of the second game, the Nets also firmly grasped the rhythm of the game, maintaining a double-digit lead for a long time while the whole team blossomed. Tatum, who had beaten his opponent in the last game, had a very bad performance in the first half of the game, scoring only 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting. It was thought that the Nets would win the game, but in the second half of the game, the Nets suddenly fell into a slump. In the third quarter, although they were still able to compete with their opponents and still maintain a five-point lead, they were actually confused at one point.
In the final quarter, the Nets collapsed across the board, neither Irving nor Durant could stand up to save the team, but the Celtics' double probe combination threatened, leading the team to play a wave of 23:4 super attack, surpassing 12 points in one fell swoop, and finally won the game. Judging from the whole game of this campaign, the reason why the Nets finally lost the game has a lot to do with the Nets' double-core slump performance. Despite the excellent play of role players including Brown, Curry Jr. and Dragic in this game, if Irving and Durant can't play in form, the Nets will have a hard time competing with their opponents.
Irving, who scored 39 points in the last game and almost changed his life against the sky, was in a slump, hitting only 4 of the 13 shots in the game, only getting 10 points and 8 rebounds, and only scoring 2 points in the final quarter. Although Durant scored a team-high 27 points and got a comprehensive statistic of 4 rebounds and 5 assists, his shooting status was very bad, only 4 of 17 shots in the game, including 2 of 1 three-pointers, and no sports goals in the second half of the game, with a plus-minus of the lowest -10 on the team. If it weren't for 20 chances to stand on the free throw line and hit 18 of them, Durant's scoring stats would be very ugly.
At the same time, Durant had as many as 6 mistakes in this game, and in the second half of the game, it was Durant's frequent mistakes that made the Celtics play multiple counterattacks, making the atmosphere of the Green Army's home stadium reach a climax, becoming an important reason for the Nets to eventually lose. In fact, this campaign is not the first time that Durant has played such a bad performance in this series, according to statistics, so far in this series, Durant has shot a total of 13 of 41 shots, shooting only 32%, three points and 7 shots, 2 of 8 assists, 12 mistakes at the same time, plus or minus -23 is the lowest in the team.
In the first leg of the two sides, the Nets trailed by 11 points at the end of the first three quarters, and although Irving slashed 18 points in the late quarter and hit a key three-pointer, they eventually lost the game with Tatum's whistle-blowing kill. The reason why the Nets still lose in the case of Irving's rampage in this game is that Durant's downturn is a very important reason. In that game, Durant shot just 9-of-24 from the field, including just 23 points on 1-of-5 three-point shooting, while making six turnovers and a team-low -13 plus-minus. After Irving hit the crucial three-pointer in the final moments, it was because Durant failed to hit the shot that killed the game that the Celtics got the chance to kill.
In short, Durant's current performance in the series is extremely disappointing, after all, this is very different from his anti-heaven performance in the regular season. Durant's performance in the first round of last season's matchup between the two sides was also extremely good, so before the start of this season's playoffs, the outside world was full of expectations for the match between him and Tatum. But for now, the latter's performance undoubtedly overpowers Durant. In the opening game, Tatum scored a team-high 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting and hit a final-minute shot through an aircut.
In this game, although Tatum had no feel in the first half of the game, in the final quarter, he teamed up with Brown to help the team play a 23:4 offensive frenzy, surpassing the Nets by 12 points in one fell swoop and finally winning the game. In contrast, Durant's current performance is dwarfed, not only has he not been able to stand up at key moments to save the team, but it is precisely because of his successive mistakes and continuous iron that the efforts of the other players on the team have been in vain. In short, the current doubts about Durant have intensified, and if he can no longer welcome a rebound in the next game, then the Nets are likely to lose again.
After winning this game, the Celtics have taken a 2-0 lead, and even if they go to the Nets' home court in the next game, they can be confident. According to statistics, the Celtics have advanced 40 times before leading 2-0 in seven playoff series, and only 1 time has been overturned. Judging from the general trend of the Green Army's history and the current state of both sides, the Celtics are also very hopeful of taking away the victory in the next two away games. Even if it is only to win one of them, the Green Army will most likely be able to eliminate the Nets to advance.
For the Nets, with Simmons coming back in game four or more, they can only pin their hopes on durant and Irving, the two cores. In Durant's previous career, he rarely had the same bad form in the playoffs as this season, and it seems that the current Targeted Defense of the Green Army has played a good role in his targeted defense, such as Smart, who has just won the best defensive player, and the double probe flower combination has created a lot of pressure on Durant, so it is difficult for Durant to kill as much as in the regular season.
Therefore, whether Durant can usher in a rebound in the next game will be a key factor affecting the direction of this series, and if Durant can open the "death mode" in the next game, then the Nets will still retain hope. And if Durant still can't get back in shape in the next game, then they are likely to lose the game again, and it will be too late.