On April 24, 2022, the Brooklyn Nets will host the Boston Celtics at home. The game is crucial for the Brooklyn Nets as the Nets are already 2-0 behind, and if the game is lost again, the Celtics will have three match points in their hands. In the history of the NBA, no team can complete the reversal without falling behind 3-0. So, the Nets have reached the edge of the cliff and there is no way back. Sadly, before the game began, the Nets also had bad news.
According to the US media ESPN report, a number of sources revealed that if there is no major problem, Celtic center Robert Williams intends to make a comeback in series G3. According to reports, Williams has participated in several consecutive five-on-five training sessions with no pain. As a result, Williams is almost certain to return in the third game, but the playing time may be limited.
That's bad news for the Nets. In the regular season, Robert Williams averaged 10 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game, shooting 73.6% from the field. Williams doesn't have too much autonomy to attack, so he's not much of a threat on the offensive end, but his role on the defensive end is extremely obvious. He averaged 2.2 blocks per game, ranked 2nd in the league, averaged 11 jammed shots per game, ranked 7th in the league, was 103.4 in defensive efficiency and ranked 18th in the league. In the Celtics' defensive system, the importance of Robert Williams is self-evident. The Celtics are the number one defensive efficiency in the league this season, and Williams is definitely indispensable. Although the Celtics' defensive level is still very high without Williams, there are still some shortcomings.
Now that Williams is back, the Celtics' defense in game three must be taken to the next level. Durant, the Nets' main attacker, will also encounter the strongest blockage since the series. Due to the Nets' lack of organizational points, Durant needed to focus a lot of energy on the organization he was not good at in the first two games, resulting in inefficient scoring. Now that the Celtics are on the defensive floor, Durant will face more pressure. Owen is still in ramadan, and no one can guarantee his performance. While Durant was able to attract a lot of defensive energy from the Celtics, Irving played with some randomness. The return of Robert Williams has made up for the last shortcoming of the Celtics defensive end. Unless Irving and Durant can still score easily against the highest level of defense, the Nets have little chance of winning in the first two games with a large number of singles.
Robert Williams' comeback at this time is really bad news for the Nets. Faced with the biggest dilemma in the series, the Nets need to find new ways to break through. Judging by Nash's on-the-spot command in the first two games, it's really hard for Nets fans to expect too much from him. Perhaps, nash should try to use griffin and Aldridge, two veterans. In the playoffs, experienced players sometimes bring a lot of surprises. However, the biggest key to this game is the play of the two major stars Durant and Irving. Do you think Lowe's comeback will make the Nets lose their last hope?