Are the Brooklyn Nets the most dangerous number 7 in the history of the NBA playoffs?
Even Boston sports fan Andy Nesbitt admits that Brooklyn is no ordinary number 7 and the Celtics-Nets should be the best of the first round.
USA TODAY
The first weekend of the NBA playoffs is always one of the most exciting moments in the league calendar, and the post-season for 2022 began on Saturday in a typical way.
The four discoverers of the series began with a pair of lower-ranked teams that stole the home court’s disarray advantage in Game 1, with Jazz leading the Mavericks in Dallas and the Timberwolves stunning the Grizzlies in Memphis.
Then a pair of hopes for championships received breakthrough performances from young guards, as Tyris Maxi scored 38 points to lead the Sixers past the Raptors, and Jordan Poole had 30 points to raise the Warriors over the Nuggets.
Sunday promises even more excitement with four more discoverers of the series.
The Suns League leaders are looking to continue their dominance against the Pelicans. Defending champion Bucks is on his way to a rematch against the Bulls. And the Celtics and Nets tip in perhaps the most interesting series of the first round.
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Not surprisingly, Janice Adetokunmpo of Milwaukee, Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and Nikola Jokic of Denver are the three MVP finalists. There was some annoyance on Twitter that Jordan Poole of Golden State was not a finalist for Most Advanced Player – Darius Garland of Cleveland, Ja Morant of Memphis and Dejunte Murray of San Antonio were approved as finalists in this category.
Milwaukee Bucks star Janice Adetokunmpo scored 17 points and 11 rebounds in the first half against Chicago, and while it looked like the Bucks could beat the Bulls in the first half, the Bulls kept it close, despite shooting 31.7 percent of the field.
Milwaukee had a 51-43 lead at halftime.
Three bulls were in double figures: 12 points for Demar DeRozan, 11 points for Zack Lavigne and 10 for Nick Vucevic.
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving seems to have given Boston Celtics fans the “double bird” before the jump ball in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference.
There is no lost love between Celtics fans and Irving, who left the Celtics to join the Nets in 2019. Irving once burned sage in the Boston arena to “clean up the energy”, he told reporters.
If the league confirms Irving’s actions, he will be fined. The cost of making an obscene gesture to fans is $ 15,000. However, Irving was fined $ 25,000 earlier this season for addressing obscene language to fans during a game in Cleveland, where Irving once played for the Cavaliers.
The Celtics won Game 1 115-114 despite 39 points from Irving.
“When people start yelling (swearing) and (swearing) and (swearing) at you and all that, there’s (just) so much you can take as a competitor,” Irving said after the game. “We are expected to be obedient, humble and humble. No, this is the playoffs. Here’s what it is. I know what to expect here and it’s the same energy I give them back. ”
“Jeff Zilgit.”
Jason Tatum saved the day for the Boston Celtics. His passing drive after the time gave the Celtics a 115-114 victory. It could be said that the Celtics were lucky to win match 1. The Celtics were fighting for their last possession – and Marcus Smart gave Tatum a pass just in time.
There’s a reason the Brooklyn Nets are considered dangerous number 7. They have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Even with Durant’s difficulties in Game 1 against Boston, the Nets almost overcame the disappointment thanks to Irving, who had 39 points, six assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block. And he did it in front of an audience in Boston who despised him for leaving the Celtics.
Without Celtics center Robert Williams (left knee injury), veteran big Al Horford managed 20 points and 15 rebounds.
How did the Celtics achieve this? Tatum (31 points), Jaylan Brown (23 points), Smart (20 points) and Horford presented enough offensively – a total of 94 points.
No matter how many games this series has, it will be fun. Let’s hope it’s seven.
“Jeff Zilgit.”
Brooklyn star Kevin Durant had just seven points in a 2 to 10 shot in the first half against Boston, but Kyrie Irving and Goran Dragic from the bench helped the Nets move to a half-time draw with Boston in the 61st. Irving had 15 points and Dragic 11 in the beginning. Boston star Jason Tatum had 15 points and seven assists, and Al Horford contributed 14 points. Marcus Smart made a good half-time for the all-around with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and one stolen ball. Brooklyn should feel good about the result of the first half – on the road, equal to Durant, who does not make shots. The Nets have just scored 61 points against the best defense in the league without much of Durant. There were 17 changes in the lead and eight draws in the first 24 minutes
Bruce Brown was asked last week about the key to delaying the Celtics, which won No. 2 behind the game of Jason Tatum and Jaylan Brown. As center Robert Williams III, who underwent surgery in late March to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, is likely to miss the first round series, Brown said he thought it best to focus on neutralizing the anterior court. of Boston.
“We can’t let Tatum get 50,” Brown said. “We have to be physically with them. Now they don’t have Robert Williams, so they have less presence in the fight and we could attack Al Horford and (Daniel) Thais. So the fact that they don’t have Robert Williams is huge. “
When he was told about his teammate’s comments just minutes earlier, Kevin Durant was visibly annoyed by them.
“We respect our opponents,” Durant said. “We do not need to talk about what we will do to them. I just don’t like it, but Bruce is. It enters and retains the same energy throughout the season. But we don’t have to say (swearing) like that. Let’s just go out there and get engaged. “
The Celtics scoreboard operator did his part to ignite the Celtics’ anger by putting Brown’s message on Jumbotron.
When Duncan Robinson makes an 8-for-9 in 3s and PJ Tucker makes a 4-for-4, the Miami Heat are tough to win. So it was with Miami’s 115-91 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The 3-ball is as important as ever. Miami was 18-for-38 (47.4%) and Atlanta was only 10-for-36 (27.8%) – a difference of 24 points in only 3s.
Good news for the Hawks: Trey Young will probably not fight like that again on the field. He was 1-for-12, including 0-for-7 in 3s. The last time he scored just one goal in a game was on January 15, 2021 against Utah.
The Miami defense, ranked No. 4 in the regular season, forced 18 turns, made 12 stolen balls and limited the Hawks to 38.7% shooting from the field.
In his first game since March 11, John Collins (foot and toe injuries) showed he could contribute. He scored 10 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
The heat is deep: Out of the bench, Robinson brought all the scorers 27 points, and nine Heat players scored at least six points. Jimmy Butler scored 21 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Kyle Lowry had 10 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.
When Kyrie Irving was introduced before the Nets faced the Celtics in Boston, his cold reception was no big mystery.
Irving, who left Boston as a free agency after saying he wanted to re-sign, is not a fan favorite there. Returning to Boston last year, Irving stepped on the Celtics logo in the middle of the court. And his latest comments did not smooth things over.
Irving hopes everyone got over it by asking fans to remember the good moments they had.
“I hope we can go through my Boston era and think about some of the highlights I left in TD Garden that they can replay,” he told reporters this weekend. “Keep going. Just a new paradigm, darling. “
After losing 131-111 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Toronto coach Nick Nurse said rookie candidate of the year Scotty Barnes (left ankle sprain), Thaddeus Young (left thumb sprain) and Gary Trent Jr. COVID) are probably questionable for Game 2 on Monday. “It doesn’t look good for any of these boys,” a sister told reporters.
Atlanta Hawks striker John Collins, who has not played since March 11 due to foot and toe injuries, is expected to play Miami on Sunday in Game 1 of their first round of the Eastern Conference. Hawks coach Nate Macmillan called Collins a decision on the timing of the match. Atlanta center Clint Capella, who injured his knee in a game of play, is out indefinitely, but may return later in the series.
The Brooklyn Nets have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, two of the league’s most talented offensive players. So it’s understandable for anyone to think that the Nets have a chance against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference series. But if you’ve been paying attention, you know that the Celtics have been the best team in the East for the past three months and more and the best defensive team in the NBA this season. The Celtics are too good on both sides of the ball with All-NBA players (Jason Tatum), All-Defensive players (Marcus Smart) and one of the most underrated players in the game (Jaylan Brown). The Celtics are simply the better multi-faceted team. Choice: Celtics 113, Nets 103.
“Jeff Zilgit.”
The New Orleans Pelicans are easily the best-feeling team in the NBA playoffs. They came out with a terrific 1-12 start for first-year coach Willie Green. And future franchise savior Zion Williamson has not played a game this season due to a leg injury. Their second best player Brandon Ingram was limited to 55 games due to injuries.
But the Pelicans …
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