TIP OFF: 7:30 p.m.
VENUE: Barclays Center
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: TNT
Predicted Starting Lineups
Celtics
G: Kemba Walker
G: Marcus Smart
SF: Evan Fournier
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Tristan Thompson
Nets
G: Kyrie Irving
G: James Harden
SF: Joe Harris
PF: Kevin Durant
C: Blake Griffin
LIVE COVERAGE
Fourth quarter
- For some reason, James Harden is still in this game
- Nothing to say about garbage time. This is an embarrassing loss.
Third quarter
- We're back to back-and-forth basketball right now. Kemba Walker is attacking. He's up to 15 points on 4-8 shooting.
- Jayson Tatum is getting knocked around and not getting any calls. He got poked in the eye and is now in the locker room.
- Blake Griffin never dunked in Detroit, but he has no problem dunking now. He really coasted in Detroit.
- Marcus Smart hit a few 3-pointers to cut the lead to 23, but Brooklyn has answers all over the floor.
- Evan Fournier and Kevin Durant got into a little jawing with each other. It's probably too late to light a fire under this team, but at least there's some bit of life there.
- Smart is up to 18 points. He's hit 5 3-pointers in this quarter now.
- Tatum is done for the game after being poked in the right eye. We're basically at extended garbage time for the 4th quarter
Second quarter
- This is already a danger zone for Boston. They aren't really running plays on offense, they're missing shots and letting Brooklyn get into transition, and they're fouling.
- Brad Stevens has gone with Romeo Langford in his search for someone to do something right
- Joe Harris has 22 points on 6-8 shooting from 3 with 4:07 left in the first half.
- The Celtics have 10 turnovers, giving up 17 points off those. The Nets also have 6 offensive rebounds.
- The Nets put up 71 points with Kevin Durant only scoring 12, Harden 10, and Kyrie Irving 8. That's a big problem. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum only has 7 points. He's shooting 2-10.
First quarter
- The Celtics immediately attacked the Blake Griffin switch and got Kemba Walker a layup and Jayson Tatum a 3-pointer
- Both teams are making shots. They're a combined 9-14 to start the game.
- Brooklyn whipped off a 10-3 run getting layups from Kyrie Irving and a pair of 3-pointers from Joe Harris, who had been quiet in Game 1
- Joe Harris has 14 points already, and this is quickly becoming a bad start for Boston. The run is actually 13-0 run over about 90 seconds
- At its worst, it got to 30-13. Evan Fournier hit a 3 and a layup to stop the bleeding. If there's any positive right now its that if there's ever a time for a big monster run by an opponent, it's early in the first. There's a lot of time to recover.
- Boston answered with an 11-2 run.
- Brooklyn answered right back. When their offense is going, Boston simply has to hope for misses. When Boston relaxes at all, it's over.
- Brooklyn has 12 assists on 16 made baskets in the 1st.
The Celtics (36-36, 34-38 ATS) fell to the Brooklyn Nets (48-24, 38-34 ATS) on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series, 104-93. They now head into Game 2 with major improvements needed on the offensive end.
According to the online sports book Betonline.ag, the Nets are 9 point favorites.
- Point Spread: Nets -9
- Over-Under: 227.5 points
- Money line: Nets -450, Celtics +360
Outside of Jaylen Brown and Spencer Dinwiddie, both teams have empty injury reports entering tonight’s game. Robert Williams “should be good to go,” according to Brad Stevens in his Monday press conference.
Quotes
Brad Stevens spoke about the positives and negatives of Game 1:
“I felt really good about how we needed to play…we weren’t as good offensively…any time you’re in a playoff series I think it's really important to anticipate what they might do differently…I thought we played good defense…we have to be way better offensively…not a lot of people talk about their [Nets] weakside movement.”
Tristan Thompson commented on the so-called "swagger" the Nets play with:
“Listen, if you have a team with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, you better step on the court feeling good about yourself, but we don’t give a s*** about that. At the end of the day, they put their socks on one at a time just like us.”
Evan Fournier talked about what the C's took away from Game 1:
“I think it’s kind of hard to say it’s a good experience when you lose…we should all be disappointed because it’s a loss, but you can always learn…you can learn from that, and watch it, and see why we weren’t good… that’s the point of playing through a playoff series, you learn from your mistakes…take the next game, make adjustments, and see where it goes…it went the way it went and we will do better from it.”
Player Stats
Kevin Durant led the Nets in scoring in Game 1, dropping 32 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Kyrie Irving (29) and James Harden (21) backed him up in the scoring column, but all three struggled from behind the arc. The trio combined to shoot 5-of-24 (20.8%) from deep. Four out of their five made threes came during a third-quarter offensive explosion for Brooklyn.
The rest of the roster struggled even more than the Nets’ big three. Joe Harris’ 10 points marked the only other double-digit scoring performance for Brooklyn. Nic Claxton put up a respectable six points on 3-of-6 shooting, but Brooklyn’s superstars did most of the heavy lifting.
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Boston’s stars shot even worse than Brooklyn’s. Jayson Tatum (22 PTS) and Kemba Walker (15 PTS) combined to shoot 11-of-36 (30.6%) from the field. Tatum failed to convert a field goal in the entire second half of the game. Marcus Smart (17 PTS) provided a steady hand for Boston’s offense. Evan Fournier shot 3-of-10 from the field as well, rounding out a tough day at the office for the C’s.
Offensive struggles aside, Robert Williams stole the show for Boston. He recorded nine blocks on the night, setting a franchise record for most in a playoff game. He also added 11 points and nine rebounds to his totals. Williams’ rim protection helped the C’s stay in the game despite their issues on offense.
Team Stats
The Nets ran into offensive struggles of their own. They shot 35-84 (41.7%) from the field and 8-34 (23.5%) from three-point range. On the seven wide-open three-pointers they shot, Brooklyn only converted on one of them. Outside of the third quarter, the Nets shot 24-of-65 (36.9%) FG and 3-of-22 (13.6) 3PT.
In a weird twist of fate, Brooklyn hung their hat on the defensive end of the floor in Game 1. They held the Celtics to 21 points or less in three of the four quarters. They disrupted Tatum enough to the point where he stopped being as aggressive in the second half.
The Celtics offense started off hot but crumbled late in the game. After shooting 5-of-11 (45.5%) from deep in the first quarter, the C’s shot 6-of-19 (31.6%) the rest of the way. However, their real struggles came inside the arc. Boston shot well near the basket (16-of-32 (50.0%) within eight feet), but fell apart right outside that range (2-of-15 (13.3%) from 8-16 feet).
Boston’s defense kept them in the game as they held the Nets to only 104 points. It marked the eighth time they scored less than 105 all season. The Celtics managed to get a good contest on 53 of Brooklyn’s 84 field goal attempts (63.1%). Of those not contested well, only nine were considered wide-open shots.
Boston continuously settled for bad shots throughout the game, leading to offensive issues. Robert Williams played a major factor on defense but could have factored in much more on the offensive side of the ball. His pick n’ roll dominance rips through Brooklyn’s undersized big man rotation, yet the C’s ran very few plays for him. The ball handler should look for the pass first rather than the shot in Game 2.
On/Off
Payton Pritchard earned the highest offensive rating when on the floor (130.8) in Game 1, which begs the question of why he only played 6:39. His offensive production is undeniable, yet in a game where the C’s could not buy a basket, he only attempted one shot? Brad Stevens needs to utilize his offense more in Game 2.
Outside of garbage time, Aaron Nesmith’s defensive rating (75.8) ranked best on the team. Unfortunately, his offensive rating (76.5) leaves much to be desired. The rookie played solid minutes in Game 1 but could do better with some more looks from deep.
In what were unexpected minutes in the first place, Jabari Parker held the best net rating (19.0) in Game 1 by far. Pritchard (9.3) and Robert William (9.0) ranked second and third. Parker provided a nice offensive spark for the C’s and even managed to hold his own defensively. Durant attempted to attack him, but Parker held him to 2-6 shooting in 1:47 of matchup time. Opponents shot 4-of-12 (33.3%) in total when guarded by Parker in Game 1.
As could be inferred by his stellar stat line, Williams’ defensive rating (93.2) was stellar. In just 22 minutes of action, he made a larger impact than all of the starters combined. None of Boston’s starters finished with a positive net rating on the game.
Prediction
The Celtics’ defense came to play, but the offense sputtered out throughout Game 1. Brooklyn also struggled offensively, so the Celtics may have missed their best opportunity to capitalize and steal a win. However, with the way the C’s defended in Game 1, they should be able to hold Brooklyn to similar scoring numbers. Boston bounced back well from poor shooting nights all year long, and the same should be expected in Game 2. If the C’s defend even half as well tonight and add some offensive firepower, they may just leave Brooklyn tied at 1-1.
Celtics 110, Nets 108