Steve Nash won his first playoff win since becoming head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. In this game, the Nets' big three gathered, but in the process of winning, the Nets did not play countless offensive climaxes as the world expected, but won the first game with an unexpected style - ugly style.
On May 23, the Nets beat the Boston Celtics 104-93 at home to give them a 1-0 lead on aggregate. The Nets' regular season game with the "Big Three" played like an NBA 2K game. In this game, the Nets' defense turned out to be better than the offense. This is especially important for a team that is marked by offense and aims to win the championship.
"We didn't play well offensively," Nash said after the game. "Some of it's a shot success issue, some it's a matter of cohesion, some I think maybe it's the first time in the playoffs to be in a stadium with a fan, and the atmosphere is incredible. In many ways a little fresh. Our offense wasn't sharp [today], but we found a way to win. ”
This season, the Celtics' defensive level slipped to its lowest point since the 2016-17 season, ranking only 19th in the league. The Celtics' defense was also fourth in the league last season, and they were sixth in 2018-19. The Celtics are probably the league's most feared superstar team, with plenty of youngsters on the team, with Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Payton Puncard all being players on the defensive end who are easily named by offensive superstars. So before the game I habitually thought the Celtics would be destroyed by three superstars in the first half.
However, it backfired.
The Nets' Big Three: Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving combined to score 82 of the team's total 104 points, but they played out of course in the first half.
The Nets' offense in the first half was very slow and hot, with all nine three-pointers in the first half, and with the exception of Joe Harris hitting a three-pointer, the team made it 1 of 13 in the first half. Harden, Durant and Irving combined to shoot 11-of-32. The Big Three still don't seem to have found a way to cooperate, and the opening attacks have been unable to fight each other. Too much of the ball was concentrated on Durant's singles shots, resulting in some shot options that weren't too good. The Nets finished the first quarter with just 16 points.
In addition to Harden and Durant losing a lot of simple shots "for them", Brad Stevens' choice in strategy can be said to be very good, Harden has long played the role of the first organizer, and in this regard to achieve the league's top, the first strategy for Harden to hold the ball is to avoid other teammates other than him can not run out of any gap, cut off the connection between him and his teammates.
But the Nets' defense in the first half is very good, especially the protection of the penalty area is in place, and they have actively helped to help defend the ball carrier when they are blocked and pulled out of the wrong position, and did not let Tatum and Walker score points alone, which is very commendable. Thanks to the good performance of the defense, it was still able to bite the score and trail by only 6 points.
Jason Tatum and Durant fought each other in the first half, with the young Green Army leader scoring 15 points in the first half, but he made just one of seven shots from outside the reasonable charge zone. In the last green army play-off game against the Wizards, he had the help of god and scored from mid-range shooting. In this combination, the person he is in is no longer the Wizards' kind of guard under 2 meters, but the "big devil" in the forward position - Durant, and the former All-Star power forward Blake Griffin. Even against Joe Harris, who was slightly less defensive, he couldn't easily complete a turnaround jump shot.
Last time, Tatum's offensive style was less than other All-Star scorers, so it was easier to be limited, and this game showed its original form.
Stevens also often talks about the "I believe in the average theorem." A team's shots can't always be so bad, and they can't always be so good. I remember the fifth game of the 2017 playoffs Celtics vs Bulls series, where the Celtics shot just 22.5 percent from three-point range. When asked about the team's poor shooting performance, Stevens replied: "We have good shots, and I believe the average theorem will work in the end." ”
Unfortunately, this game the Nets were the team that got better in the second half, and the Celtics were the ones who got worse. The Celtics shot 9-of-17 from three-point range in the first half and shot 52.9 percent from the field. In the second half, the Celtics shot just 2-of-13 from three-point range and shot 15.4 percent from the field. The Nets, on the other hand, took turns with the three superstars from the third quarter onwards. "Bang Bang Bang" one person with one three-pointer will smooth out the point difference for you.
In the third quarter of 8 minutes and 20 seconds, Durant dribbled the ball three times, and then directly outside the left three-point line to shoot Fournier, 60-57, the Nets achieved a rebound.
Boston's first half was dominated by running position and positive passing, and with Tatum's singles, stevens achieved the results Stevens wanted. And then what? What is the use of tactics when dribbling and pulling back, retreating for three points, and dodging two people in the air to pull the lever to the basket? Ten times a force, Durant is the tactic.
Durant scored 32 points, 12 rebounds and 1 assist on 10-of-25 shooting, and although he couldn't assist his teammates to score, his one shot at a time was the best blow to Celtic's popularity.
Irving had 29 points, 6 rebounds, Harden 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, and the trio combined to shoot 26-of-58 from the field, shooting 44.8 percent. And what about Tatum, Walker, smart? The combined hit rate was 28.8%.
In the second half, the Nets' role players clearly understood their role in the team, whether it was Shamet, Bruce Brown or Harris, they were actively competing for rebounds in the front court, leaving offensive opportunities to the Big Three. The Nets led the Celtics 50-40 in rebounds and 14-11 in rebounds.
In addition, when the Celtics pinned their offense on Tatum's single, Nash replaced the starting Griffin with Brown. After the blocking and changing defense, Brown influenced Tatum's shot with a steady downside and the traverse speed of the defender. In the end, Tatum shot only 6 of 20, which was not unrelated to Brown's fighting defense in the second half.
In the third quarter, the "Big Three" contributed 28 of the team's 31 points in a single quarter, and they also pulled the score apart in the third quarter. The Celtics were once very close to equalizing, and that would have to be a compliment to Robert Williams.
He was the most commendable player in the Celtics squad in this game, and Lowe completed nine blocks in a single game, which is a playoff record in Celtics history. Players like him who can score 10 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks in the playoffs are: Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Hakim Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Alonzo Morningn, Andrew Bynum and Derek Coleman. By the time they accomplished those feats, these were pretty much the best centers in the league at the time. Williams is far from that, but he has shown time and time again that he is an extraordinary player.
We have always believed in the iron law of the basketball world of "defense wins the championship", and this defensive state is a model for the Nets to remember.
As Harden put it, "Tonight is an important step for us. ”
The Celtics, who lack Jaylen Brown, can only hope that after returning home, Tatum and Walker can break out and win a "battle of dignity".