The NBA playoffs are in full swing, with the Celtics sweeping the Nets 4-0 in the first round, the only sweep in the first round. Such a strong performance also made the Celtics a big favorite to win the championship, but in the first game of the semi-finals, the defending champion gave the Green Army a blow, don't be happy too soon, the real challenge has just begun.
Judging from the first game of the semifinals, the Celtics are indeed good, but if you want to go further, you need to continue to hone, depending on whether this round of the series can be adjusted in time. There's a reason for that the Nets haven't caused too much trouble for the Green Army, as former NBA player Richard Jefferson said: "The Celtics will be fine, but the loss also shows how far the Nets are from real contenders this season!" ”
Losing the first game is not terrible, what worries the Green Army the most is Smart's situation, after entering the playoffs, the last news the team wants to hear is injury. There have been many injuries in this playoff, and so far Embiid, Middleton and Lowry have been absent due to injury. In the first match, Smart injured his right arm in the middle of a breakthrough in the first half, and then determined to be a stinging right shoulder and a contusion of the right quadriceps, and returned to the court in the second half.
However, in the latest injury report, Smart was placed on the list of suspects, and the G2 had a 50% chance of playing. Commenting on Smart's situation, head coach Uduka said: "Smart is feeling a lot of pain at the moment and he will be treated. This [quadriceps contusion] injury not only had to endure pain, but also had a 'stiffness' and he was hit twice during the game. ”
Smart is DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) this season and he is another defender after Payton. From the first round, you can see the importance of Smart to this green army, and once he has a situation, the Celtics are really a bit troublesome. Playing in five games in the playoffs, Smart averaged 15.2 points, 6.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.