PLAYOFFS 2022 - ROUND 1 - GAME 3 - CROOKLYN - AWAY

Celtics Wrap: Boston Takes Commanding 3-0 Series Lead Against Nets

ESPN BOSTON by Jason Ounpraseuth

The No. 2 Boston Celtics defeated the No. 7 Brooklyn Nets 109-103 in Game 3 on Saturday night at the Barclays Center.

The Celtics are now up 3-0 over the Nets in the best-of-seven series.

You can check out the full box score here.

ONE KEY TAKEAWAY
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown rose to the occasion in Game 3 leading the Celtics offense that led by as much as 15 points. The Boston duo combined for 62 points. Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were, once again, slowed down by the Celtics’ No. 1 defense that saw the return of Robert Williams. Timelord was limited off the bench playing 16 minutes.

Durant and Irving were both held to 16 points. Irving shot 0-7 from the 3-point line, but he and Durant combined for 17 assists, keeping the Nets within reaching distance. However, it was Tatum and Brown who held down the Nets comeback hopes in the fourth quarter led by, surprisingly, Blake Griffin.

The six-time All Star has not played a game in over three weeks, but coach Steve Nash brought Griffin on to spark the team, and he did just that scoring eight points in eight minutes, including shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc. Griffin’s involvement, though, proved to a double-edged sword as Brown took advantage of the veteran adding to his 23-point game.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Tatum was essential in the offensive end, but he got on the stat sheet on the defensive end with six steals. The Celtics star became the youngest player in franchise history to score 25+ points and record 5+ steals in a playoff game.

— Brown was lights out in the fourth quarter, taking lead ballhandling duties and pinpointing mismatches. He recorded five assists and two steals to go along with his 23 points.

— Bruce Brown led the Nets in scoring. Durant and Irving were forced to pass the ball off due to the Celtics’ double teams, and Brown was the biggest beneficiary. Brown scored 26 points and grabbed eight boards.

WAGER WATCH
The Celtics closed as four-point underdogs (-110) at DraftKings Sportsbook, meaning a $100 bet on the spread would have paid out $190.91. The Celtics moneyline closed at 3-to-2, meaning a $100 bet on the moneyline would have paid out $250.

UP NEXT
Game 4 of Celtics-Nets is scheduled for Monday, April 25. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center, and the game will air on TNT.

112288

WELL GOT MY SMOKER READY ON MY PATIO, AND I HAVE A FOLK IN MY HAND!

CROOKLYN HAS NO ANSWERS AND IT WILL ONLY GET WORST IF WILLIAMS PLAYS MORE MINUTES!

THIS GAME I WANTED SO BAD AND THE TEAM DELIVERED!

GO CELTICS!

112288

Hi,
Yes, BKN doesn't have an answer to what Celtics does on both ends of the floor.
The Nets just got into desperation mode.
3 down, 13 to go.

AK

One last thought. This game sent a message that the team is ready to compete for the championship NOW and for the next 4 + years. We are explosive when we play as a unit and our defense is the best in the league.

What this game did was to set the stage for free agents to want to play for IME and the Celtics! Players will be now seeking the Celtics out verses the Celtics trying to beg players to sign with them.

This sets up a great summer free agent season for the Celtics, we can only become better then we are now!

A center, another power forward and another shooter will be on the Celtics radar. This time we will not need to make the first call, players will now be calling Brad!

112288

WATCHING THE PRESSER ON NBA CHANNEL.  

YOU HAD TO CATCH DURANT PRESSER.........HE SOUNDS LIKE A BROKEN MAN.............THE CELTICS ARE IN HIS HEAD AND HE HAS NO ANSWERS OF WHAT TO DO!
HIS LAST REMARK BEFORE HE LEFT IN A MONOTONE VOICE..............IT WAS A SHITTY GAME A SHITTY GAME WITH HIS HEAD DOWN AS HE LEFT!

IRVING WAS THE SAME WAY IN HIS PRESSER..............HE HAD NO ANSWERS EITHER.

IN ALL MY DAYS OF WATCHING NBA GAMES AND PRESSERS I NEVER SAW ANYONE AS DOWN AS DURANT!

112288

112288 wrote:One last thought.  This game sent a message that the team is ready to compete for the championship NOW and for the next 4 + years.  We are explosive when we play as a unit and our defense is the best in the league.

What this game did was to set the stage for free agents to want to play for IME and the Celtics!  Players will be now seeking the Celtics out verses the Celtics trying to beg players to sign with them.

This sets up a great summer free agent season for the Celtics, we can only become better then we are now!

A center, another power forward and another shooter will be on the Celtics radar.  This time we will not need to make the first call, players will now be calling Brad!

112288

Assuming you're talking about rotation players, and keeping in mind we are a hair below the cap now. what three would you replace?

Um, jump in your flat-earth hot-tub time machine, go back to Christmas, get a jab, play in the regular season, keep Harden interested, and . . .

Oh wait, the earth ain't flat.

Nevermind. Next question.

Maybe three other players?  Who was that Celtics player from 40 years ago?  Bird?

The wheels on the Nets bus go thump, thump, thump?

What a pleasure! I am waiting eagerly to see which Kyrie shows up for game 4. Why is it that the prospect of the Celts stomping Kyrie's team is giving me great pleasure. Am I a bad man?

The quote of the game, which applies to the whole series was Van Gundy saying “they’ve got Curry on Brown and Brown on Tatum, that’s a recipe for disaster”. Styles make fights, that pretty much sums it up. Our wings are too big for them and Durant gets weaker/worse every game this series. If he could cover either J with any semblance of success, they would have tried that. The times he helped out, J’s drove by or got shot off on him no problem. Durant is a big mismatch both ends against either J, they have literally passed him by. They can stay on him, invade his airspace and he’s too slow to do that to either J on that side of the ball. How many times have we seen a J steal/rip the ball out of his hands and off to the races on the break dunk/finish and I don’t think I’ve seen Durant do that to either of our guys once? It’s almost not fair what we are doing to him, but I am loving it, oh no we ruined his legacy.

Stephen A is going to be forced to eat his words that Durant is the best player in the game today. It’s over and next year he’ll be 34 and our J’s will only be stronger and better. Kobe or Jordan would have been playing manically, doing everything in their power in the effort department to NOT go down 3-0. Durant went down meekly, afraid to take it to the defense, avoiding contact. Tatum has owned him this series. It’s easy to look great playing off Steph and Klay, hanging and shooting 3’s with so much attention to those snipers. I still remember the guy up 3-1 and couldn’t finish a 4th quarter strong to lose 3 straight to GS. Then he did the most gutless superstar move to a franchise and purity of the game to join those same guys, champions he just lost to. Take your beating like a man KD, nice choice of friends you chose to play with….

112288 wrote:WATCHING THE PRESSER ON NBA CHANNEL.  

YOU HAD TO CATCH DURANT PRESSER.........HE SOUNDS LIKE A BROKEN MAN.............THE CELTICS ARE IN HIS HEAD AND HE HAS NO ANSWERS OF WHAT TO DO!
HIS LAST REMARK BEFORE HE LEFT IN A MONOTONE VOICE..............IT WAS A SHITTY GAME A SHITTY GAME WITH HIS HEAD DOWN AS HE LEFT!

IRVING WAS THE SAME WAY IN HIS PRESSER..............HE HAD NO ANSWERS EITHER.

IN ALL MY DAYS OF WATCHING NBA GAMES AND PRESSERS I NEVER SAW ANYONE AS DOWN AS DURANT!

112288

I did see that, no question our defense has broken him. He is like a boxer who just found out he has a glass jaw against a certain opponent, that being us. He was as down as you just described, at least he has Kyrie as a life long friend.

Now I need to go back and watch some of our games from near the end of the season.  This team over the last 3 games is not the same team.  The defensive volume and offensive play has gone off the decibel chart.  A team playing defense like what we have recently witnessed would go 164-0 during the regular season and 32-0 in the playoffs.

I believe we are going to have to embrace the average 14 TO's a game, like it or not.  At least for the rest of this series.  Doesn't seem to matter except it's a couple of plays in ISO that seem to be the culprit and most noticeable.  Hard to erase your past bad habits but we're doing about as good as you can expect.  

I've wanted to and have been waiting to say this for over a year and a half now of mediocrity, questionable play and trying to find our respective a$$e$ with both hands, but we are finally witnessing the awesome power of our Fully Operational Death Star!!!  Dang!! That felt good to finally be able to type that!!!

Still some very minor repairs and tweaks needed - getting RWIII back up to speed, try to cut down on TO's.  Just 3 a game less would suffice as far as I'm concerned. Getting back to putting together a complete, wire-to-wire blowing everyone out of the gym persona like we witnessed the last couple of months coming into the playoffs would be nice.  We're still "losing" leads but more importantly, we're finding a way to cover and win every game if that happens.  

Did I miss something because there was no mention in any of the pressers about G4 and BS.  Last night's game for BKN was another attempt at throwing spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks with the appearance of long in the tooth, long past his prime Blake Griffin.  That almost wasn't fair with JB just laying him out for all to see.  OK, so you want to come in off the bench and try to make an impact, Blake?  Make 3 shots in a row?  He could neither walk nor see straight nor stand up straight grabbing his shorts gasping for air.  Yeah, Ben, you might want to just shut it down because if you choose to show up Monday, that's what you will look like in half the time Blake was out there.  Come on out, block a shot or two, steal the ball.  Guard all five of our guys because no one stands out.  Actually, go ahead and guard who you want to guard...JT.  KD can give you some tips.  That has to be a defensive specialist's worst nightmare.  Come on, everybody into the pool.

We officially have an answer for everything.  (I know, there's a sexist comment in there for married men, but I ain't sayin' it!!)

I believe the experiment in Brooklyn is just about over.  And I mean way over.  I think De Facto GM KD has discovered like LeBron that there is a lot more to putting together a team than just getting your buddies together to hoop.  And Kryrie has learned that for normal basketball operations, regardless of anyone's talent level or basketball IQ, you do need a coach.  KI got what he wanted there.  Steve Nash will be fired Tuesday morning and ride back off into retirement.  Sorry, dude.  Hey, wait.  I almost forgot.  The Lakers have an opening!  Maybe that's who Palinka is waiting for!!  Is Palinka still there?!     

db

P.S. How great was Pritchard's 10-point barrage to open the 2nd quarter from out of nowhere?! That's what happens when you don't guard your guy. Now he's driving to the basket AND hitting 3's with ease! WTH, Bo?!!! Come on, Ktron, you gotta throw a little sunshine my way on that postseason pick!! You definitely have more Ime praise and back patting coming!!

HEY,

REMEMBER PAY BACK IS A BITCH....................JUST REMEMBER WHAT THEY DID TO US LAST YEAR!

ALTHOUGH IN RETROSPECT, THEY HELPED PUT THE WHEELS IN MOTION TO CHANGE THE CELTICS FRONT OFFICE, AND USHER IN IME AS A COACH. A TOTAL CULTURAL CHANGE.

IME IN TURN CHANGED THE CULTURE OF THE CELTICS FROM ME PLAY HERO BALL AND ME SHOOT MIND SET TO LOOK FOR THE OPEN MAN AND PASS! HE ALSO EDUCATED THE TEAM ON HOW TO PLAY DEFENSE THAT WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS AND NOT JUST GAMES! HE SHOWED THEM HOW TO TAKE THE FLOOR AND POSITION AWAY FROM TO OUR OPPONENTS OFFENSIVE THREATS...........LOOK AT DURANT AND PLAY PHYSICAL BALL BY BODING UP ON THEIR TOP PLAYERS.

112288

atcross wrote:

112288 wrote:One last thought.  This game sent a message that the team is ready to compete for the championship NOW and for the next 4 + years.  We are explosive when we play as a unit and our defense is the best in the league.

What this game did was to set the stage for free agents to want to play for IME and the Celtics!  Players will be now seeking the Celtics out verses the Celtics trying to beg players to sign with them.

This sets up a great summer free agent season for the Celtics, we can only become better then we are now!

A center, another power forward and another shooter will be on the Celtics radar.  This time we will not need to make the first call, players will now be calling Brad!

112288

Assuming you're talking about rotation players, and keeping in mind we are a hair below the cap now. what three would you replace?

Good question.  It all depends.   First Al Horford is not getting younger and if we are to make a run for the next 4 years to a championship we will need another center.   What if Williams or Horford get hurt, do you really want Luke Kornet as your alternative center?   I would trade Luke and use his salary + towards a better center, either someone younger with great upside, or someone who still has gas left in his tank but is reaching their final leg in the NBA - someone 33 or 34.

Theis is a great player, but we may be able to upgrade him with a bigger more talented power forward/ center that can extend Horfords  career a bit more.

We need more reliable shooters, I would look to clean up some of the end of the bench out with guys like Hauser, Brodric Thomas, Juwan Morgan, Matt Ryan, Malik Fitts with better upgrade in talent in shooting.

Also keep in mind, winning also does strange things to players salary demands if you are truly a contender for a championship title.  Your top players do not mind becoming a little more flexible if it means bettering the team with talent to keep the championship train moving!

It is also ok for ownership to go over the salary cap if it buys you a championship or two.  The money you loose in the cap hit is more then made up with increase operating revenue $$$ from more profitable merchandise sales, a sold out arena ticket sales, and regional television broadcast contracts.  It also increases the value of your team by a least a half a $ billion or more if you are cray enough to want to sell the Celtics.

112288

112288 wrote:

atcross wrote:

112288 wrote:One last thought.  This game sent a message that the team is ready to compete for the championship NOW and for the next 4 + years.  We are explosive when we play as a unit and our defense is the best in the league.

What this game did was to set the stage for free agents to want to play for IME and the Celtics!  Players will be now seeking the Celtics out verses the Celtics trying to beg players to sign with them.

This sets up a great summer free agent season for the Celtics, we can only become better then we are now!

A center, another power forward and another shooter will be on the Celtics radar.  This time we will not need to make the first call, players will now be calling Brad!

112288

Assuming you're talking about rotation players, and keeping in mind we are a hair below the cap now. what three would you replace?

Good question.  It all depends.   First Al Horford is not getting younger and if we are to make a run for the next 4 years to a championship we will need another center.   What if Williams or Horford get hurt, do you really want Luke Kornet as your alternative center?   I would trade Luke and use his salary + towards a better center, either someone younger with great upside, or someone who still has gas left in his tank but is reaching their final leg in the NBA - someone 33 or 34.

Theis is a great player, but we may be able to upgrade him with a bigger more talented power forward/ center that can extend Horfords  career a bit more.

We need more reliable shooters, I would look to clean up some of the end of the bench out with guys like Hauser, Brodric Thomas, Juwan Morgan, Matt Ryan, Malik Fitts with better upgrade in talent in shooting.

Also keep in mind, winning also does strange things to players salary demands if you are truly a contender for a championship title.  Your top players do not mind becoming a little more flexible if it means bettering the team with talent to keep the championship train moving!

It is also ok for ownership to go over the salary cap if it buys you a championship or two.  The money you loose in the cap hit is more then made up with increase operating revenue $$$ from more profitable merchandise sales, a sold out arena ticket sales, and regional television broadcast contracts.   It also increases the value of your team by a least a half a $ billion or more if you are cray enough to want to sell the Celtics.

112288

Exactly.

+1

Fellas, we will most likely be taxpayers next season.
Current Luxury Tax Space (next season projection): $-6,316,387
That could increase, depending on additional spending.

We won't be bringing in much via free agency.  Vet min and TP-MLE (6.3M), that's it.
We have a couple of TPEs; 17M, 6.9M & 5.9M.  The clock is ticking on a couple of them.
We need to extend Grant Williams like we did for RWill.
We need to sign Al Horford for a couple more seasons.

Brad will most likely be nibbling around the edges, tweaking the deep bench and keeping the core 8-9 group intact.  Brad has experienced what year after year wholesale changes can do and is basing his team-building on long term control of salaries.

Boston Celtics 2022-23 Salary Cap

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/cap/2022/

The next link shows who is signed and for how long.  Most of our playoff rotation players are locked up for 3+ seasons (the exceptions listed above, Grant and Al).  Brad is setting us up for multi-season continuity.

Boston Celtics Multi-year Summary

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/yearly/cap/


Just my opinion, of course.  We will have to wait and see.  Brad could still pull a rabbit or two out of his hat.

After the Celtics went up 2-0, I figured we had 2 closeout games left.  The first was last night.  The 2nd will be on Monday.

The Brooklyn Nets have been physically and psychologically destroyed.  Durant and Irving will shoulder the blame for not performing up to standards and coach Nash will be fired next week.

To fully appreciate what is happening we should take a quick look back to last season.  

The Celtics won the play in tournament and secured the 7th seed.  Brooklyn was the #2 seed.  They beat us 4-1.  Rob got hurt and Jaylen missed the entire series.  Walker was toast and Fournier could not check his own position.  Tristan Thompson established himself as an awful fit.

Flip the damn script.  The Celtics are the 2nd seed and the Nets are the 7th seed by virtue of their play in victory.  There is no way to imagine the opposite sides of this equation.

Our team is a perfect fit.  Everything from top to bottom and from the bottom to the top has set into motion a force that should be undeniable to Celtics fans.  The Celtics have bent the arc of destiny towards themselves.  They have imposed their will on a team that had been picked to contend for the NBA Championship.  

The Celtics are the Big Cat playing with the mouse,  smacking him around, toying with him and then biting off his head.

Now we will be inundated with the band wagon jumping, late to the party prognosticators that want to escape from the dark side of their dream.

Please do not move over to make room for them.

Maybe we can start a thread to discuss off season moves. Know this, GYSO is right on point.

It's been 14 years since we won our 17th title. I think we need to saver this time because it is really hard to get there and win. Stay in the moment!

dboss wrote:Maybe we can start a thread to discuss off season moves.  Know this, GYSO is right on point.

It's been 14 years since we won our 17th title.  I think we need to saver this time because it is really hard to get there and win.  Stay in the moment!

We should enjoy this run whole heartedly, I know I am. We could be going to the Finals, that is special and we are doing it with such a young team that is coming together and plays the game the right way and we could be in this position for the next few years….knock on wood.

I’ll contemplate all personnel moves after this historic run.

Back to our regularly scheduled post-game comments: