Friday’s loss showed that the Nets need contributions from their entire Big Three to be effective, writes Steve Serby of The New York Post. Making his return to Boston, Kyrie Irving shot 6 for 17 from the field and handed out just two assists in 41 minutes as Brooklyn suffered its first playoff loss with the star-filled lineup.
Boston fans have been waiting a long time to vent their anger at Irving, who left in free agency in 2019 after indicating that he planned to sign a long-term deal with the Celtics. He expressed negative comments about his time in Boston to the media this week, so it’s possible he was distracted by the experience during Game 3.
“I don’t want to necessarily make any conclusions that it was because of all the other chatter and the fans and all that,” coach Steve Nash said. “That’s a question for Ky. We know how good he is, we know that he can handle that environment, and we know that he can play much better in Game 4.”
There’s more on the Nets:
- Brooklyn’s supporting cast also came up short in Game 3, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Kevin Durant, James Harden and Irving combined for 96 of the Nets’ 119 points, and the team had only 16 assists on 38 made shots. “I thought for big portions we got a little stagnant,” Nash said. “We got away from our movement. I thought James was scoring in isolation, Kevin was scoring in isolation, but I still think that we can be more difficult to guard in general if we move the ball and get to isolations as a second resort.”
- Some of the spacing issues were caused by the absence of Jeff Green, who may miss the rest of the series with a foot injury, states Chris Milholen of NetsDaily. With one less shooter on the court, the Celtics were more willing to double team Durant and throw traps at Irving.
- Joe Harris talks to Mike Mazzeo of Forbes about how he was able to resurrect his NBA career after being traded by the Cavaliers and waived by the Magic following season-ending foot surgery in 2016.
They need to try DJ out there with Uncle Jeff injured. Griffin and Claxton made Tristan Thompson look like Kareem.
Give me a break, Brooklyn took a night off. If you want to look at future matchup issues fine, but saying they need to figure something out to beat the Celtics is just plain silly!
They’ll beat the Celtics, but they will need DJ to put a body on Antetokounmpo and/or Embiid in future series, so Nash should give him PT now with Green briefly on the shelf.
On the Nets’ big 3: “They’re so good in isolation that sometimes they’re having success in isolation,” Nash said, “but maybe it’s hard to see how it’s limiting the overall picture. So, we have to find that balance.”
There may be a feeling that when a team sees the other team come out with three top shot creators, that they might give up a little bacause how can you beat that.
But a big 3 team can be divided and conquered better than a tight big 2 team can. This should have been learned in HS.
Somebody was guarding Irving well, I forget who, but he had to make hard shots.
Nets are still favs though. Celt leaders had to play over their heads. Smart, TT, Tatum.
First you have to play D against Nets. That’s good team D, help each other out. Good one on one D. With a guy ready to switch or double. But first you have to make the shot clock your sixth man. I’ve been saying all yr. Harden is the guy you want to guard full court. You saw Romeo doing that. You have to guard them high like past 3pt line. Nets do t have an inside force. Griffin ain’t one anymore. And Thompson can contain him. If Celtics only had a rim protector. Celtis are not winning without Jalen. Celtics as a team do play D. This would have been a good series with him. Even zone press at times to change it up. Harden handle is not strong full court. Only in iso cause of his shot. He’s not shooting from other side of court. Only Kyrie is strong here. Push the defense out and force them to go inside. Where they can be guarded and rebound. I think gm3 showed that blue print. It’s why I give Bucks and Sixers a big shot to win. I want to see what KD does with Giannis. Giannis is going to abuse him if KD guards him. Which I’m sure they won’t do. Giannis can guard KD. He’s not going for 30 on Giannis. Middleton and Giannis probably guard KD. Holiday should be on Harden. That’s what I want to see. Team D and rebounding is a big part on how to win against Nets. Takes work, commitment, and depth.