The first round of the 21-22 playoffs is in full swing, with the Heat and Celtics in the East having both advanced to the second round, and the Grizzlies and Timberwolves, Suns and Pelicans in the West seem to have to fight until they can score seven. In the battle of King Mountain between the Grizzlies and timberwolves, we saw the ultimate showdown between talents, with Edwards' equalization of three points and Morant's no-ball receiving and the success of the basket with a "world-class good waist", bringing surprises to fans. This is what the playoffs should look like, the battle between the geniuses, Edwards paid the price because of his youth, which may be the tuition fee to grow up.
While we lament that young talents have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, the scepters of the predecessor superstars seem to be handing over to the Mesozoic superstars, which shows the cruelty and reality of time, and any brilliant thing will eventually fall on the day, and this time will not say hello to you when the time comes. Isn't that? The Nets, which own Irving and Durant, were seen as championship favourites at the start of the season, but were swept out 4-0 by the Celtics in the first round, ending their championship journey.
You know, it's a championship team that beat the Celtics 4-1 in the first round of last season, seven games in the semifinals and the Bucks. But now swept by the Celtics and successful in revenge, the Nets can not find any strange moves throughout the series to save the loss, showing a state of no return on the scene. After all, the Nets have two of the world's leading scorers, Irving and Durant, but why? There are internal and external causes for anything to happen, so let's analyze the logic behind this together.
Internal:
1. The deformity of the lineup makes the team's attack and defense unbalanced. Although the Nets have a luxurious paper lineup, in fact, there is the same problem as the Lakers, that is, most of them are famous veterans, which leads to a deformity in the lineup: players who can score are generally defensive, and players who are well defended are ordinary. When the lineup of three guards met the Celtics' double probes, they simply could not stop their offense, not to mention that there was also a defensive player of the year, Smart. That's why in the final quarter, the Nets can only watch the double probe to score points, almost watching the other side send the ball into the basket.
2. Nash's coaching experience is insufficient, and he is aware of it after the fact. Nash has been coaching the Nets for his third season, but we don't see that this team has a complete offensive and defensive tactical system, nor do we know what he learned during the Warriors' time as a shooting consultant. So much so that when we saw the Celtics start chasing points, Nash did not call a timeout in time to contain his offensive momentum; and hid players like Ade, Griffin, and Edwards, and were willing to use Griffin when they were desperate.
Moreover, throughout the series, Durant was placed in the fourth position, which was a position that was very physically draining on him. In the past, when the Warriors put it on the inside line, it was when they used the five small lineups, not the whole field. This undoubtedly exposed Durant's weakness of physical weakness, and it was not without reason that he could not "die" in the last quarter.
3. Harden is out, and Irving is not a good core guard. Earlier, after Harden was traded, Teacher Yang Yi pointed out in the show that the Nets were going to be doomed this season, and it was later confirmed. Irving, though a point guard, is limited by his passing horizons and is not a good playmaker, so he can't lead the Cavaliers and Celtics further, as history has proven. Although the Nets have Durant and Irving, but without the core guard to organize, the two singles can not go further after all.
4. Simmons has a psychological disability and is unable to come back to help the team. The Nets are willing to let Harden go, thinking that Simmons' strong defensive and organizational skills can help the team, let him play the role of the Warriors' dream-chasing Green catalyst, and let Irving and Durant play the "splash brothers", which is also a good plan. However, Simmons did not return in time to help the team due to psychological obstacles, and the Nets' offense became a singles for Irving and Durant.
external cause:
1. The Celts are well trained and maintain a vengeful heart. All along, the Celtics team has shown us their disciplined qualities, each performing their duties and executing super strongly. With the Nets ruthlessly beaten last season, Tatum and the others have always held their breath and want revenge, and now the opportunity has come. On the field, we saw their spirit of fighting for every ball, which reflected their strong desire to win. And the Nets? It seems that only Brown has the heart to win, others do not seem to care too much, and Durant is also responsible for frequent breaks.
2. The double probe flower evolves again, and the integration of Tatum's attack and defense is unstoppable. Some fans will wonder why the double probe flower that can sweep the Nets cannot stop the Cavaliers led by James in the 2018 playoffs? At that time, the double probe flower was still young, whether it was experience, technology, mentality, body is not very mature, today's Brown mainly play no ball and defense, Tatum is attacking and defending are paying close attention, its projection of offensive skills is very Kobe's taste, one attack and one defense are so firm and full of confidence.
3. Talent suppression, height and strength can restrain the Nets. The Celtics' starting lineup is as strong as a cow, whether it is height, strength, size, speed, explosiveness can suppress the Nets, the three guards, although flexible, can only fall into a singles under their unlimited change of defense strategy. The cross-shift and confrontational power of the double probe flower made Durant's face basket single unable to get rid of it very well, and once it reached the three-point line, it was sandwiched by the double. You know, this is Durant after the injury, the decline in lateral speed is a fact, plus the Nets have never found a good way for Durant to easily receive the ball within the three-point line.
4. Together, this is a very united team. After the team welcomed back veteran Horford, they seemed to be back to the old days of fighting together, so the cohesion was stronger than ever. Even though the team was behind by the score, they were patiently moving the ball and looking for a good chance to score, without too much frustration and decadence. I think that only teammates who have experienced setbacks can complete the cooperation so tacitly.
Today's Celtics have matured, coupled with the rapid growth of the inner Rowe, the team's starting attack and defense can be instantly pulled up to the height of the league's first. Taking the lead in reaching the semi-final stage, they are fighting to meet the arrival of their opponent Bucks. Can Alphabet Brother pick out the Celtics like James of yesteryear? We look forward to this wonderful set of duels together, and the competition between the geniuses is always so full of highlights.