With the Celtics beating the Nets 116-112 on the road, the series swept 4-0 to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference. The Nets became the first team to be swept out of the playoffs this season, the only team to be swept out of the first round, and it was also the first time in their careers that Durant and Irving were swept through the playoffs, and this fiasco undoubtedly filled the shame of the two men's career resumes.
However, in fact, although with the progress of the playoffs, many people gradually realized that it was sooner or later that the Celtics defeated the Nets to advance to the second round, but in the end, it was still surprising to many people to be able to sweep cleanly and cleanly, so it is reasonable to say that Durant and Irving should be desperate in a desperate situation, but unfortunately, Durant fought in the fourth game, and Irving still pulled across.
After the game, even former Celtic star Kevin Garnett expressed disbelief, garnett updated his personal Instagram and wrote "Damn, I didn't expect the Celtics to sweep them!" I really think it takes at least 6 games! It's crazy! Congratulations to the Celtics. ”
Garnett's surprise is normal because statistically speaking, although the Nets did not win a game, the gap between them and the Celtics is very small, and according to ESPN, the Celtics swept the Nets with an average of 4.5 points per game. It was the third-smallest sweeping series in NBA history, after the 2017 Cavaliers swept the Pacers in the first round (4 points per game) and the 1975 Finals Warriors swept the Washington Bullets (4.0 points per game).
Basically, after 4 games, both sides are decided at the last minute, which means that if the Nets can do a little better in some aspects, then maybe their final fate will not be like this, and it may even be the Nets who will be promoted. The key point is that the Nets did not pay attention to teamwork, but chose too many singles, according to statistics, the Nets averaged only 22.3 assists per game in the playoffs, ranking 11th out of 16 playoff teams, that is, the 6th to the bottom, while the Celtics were in 5th place with 25.8 assists per game.
It seems that the two sides are only 3.5 assists per game, but it should be noted that the birth of an assist may have gone through several passes, and the gap brought about during this period is very large, and it can be seen from the scene that the Celtics pay more attention to cooperation, all the people are soldiers, and the Nets have always let Durant and Irving hold the ball single, the transfer of the ball is very slow, and there is no tactical cooperation and high-quality passing.
The consequence of this is that the Nets simply did not use their own quality role players. For example, Seth Curry, a Nets player in this game, Seth Curry shot 9 of 13 from the field, 9 of 5 from three-point range, and had 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, which can be said to be very efficient. So far in the playoffs, Curry Jr. can average 14.5 points per game, averaging 52.2% of three-point shooting per game, shooting 3 three-pointers per game, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is one of the best shooters in the East. But the Nets have hardly designed tactics for Curry Jr., such a super shooter, a big threat from the outside, averaging only 9.8 shots per game, really too few, if you give Curry Jr. some good slots and passes, maybe the Nets can really reverse the Celtics.
Some people may say that Durant and Irving are not good at organization, but the problem is that the Nets are actually someone who can organize, even if Harden is gone, Simmons can't play, they also have veteran Dragic, the former Suns Little Nash, after joining the Nets, somehow has not been reused, the playoffs so far, He averaged only 19.8 minutes of playing time per game, delivered 1.5 assists, and it was clear that he was a good organization guard, but Nash did not choose to let him pass the organization, and a lot of the ball was still concentrated in Durant and Irving. If Dragic had the ball in his hands, he could have fed Curry Jr. very comfortably.
So, while the Nets were swept by the Celtics, Durant and Irving had big problems, nash's tactical design did have problems, and it's no wonder so many people are full of questions about him.