NBA Playoffs 2022 on Sunday, 17.04.2022
Superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are harmonising better and better for the visitors! But in my Celtics Nets tip, I’ll discuss why I’d rather put my faith in the NBA’s best defence.
Gosh, if the Boston Celtics had known that, they probably would have held back from playing so well at the end of the season. After all, the 2nd place finish was handed to them by none other than the Nets, who were quite rightly considered the top favourite by the bookmakers at the start of the season.
It is true that things went haywire for the New Yorkers! But in the meantime, the black and whites seem to have stabilised somewhat under the leadership of Kevin Durant.
Therefore, the guests – even for the Celtics, who are strong as hell in my eyes – pose a real challenge. But in these first two games in front of a home crowd, I could easily see the Green and Whites still coming out on top with relative ease.
From Game 3, when the scene shifts to New York, Ben Simmons will return to the Nets and provide more balance! But until then, my unwavering confidence is in the Celtics’ defense!
Offensively, the two franchises are evenly matched, but in terms of rebounding, the C’s are considered the best defence in the league, according to the official NBA stats site, with a defensive rating of 106.2!
By comparison, Brooklyn is only 20th in this category with a rating of 112.3. The forced departure of James Harden at the end of the transfer window has permanently weakened the visitors in this respect – even if Durant is currently performing strongly on the offensive end.
The only downer for the Celtics is the recent injury to their centre. Robert Williams suffered a torn meniscus just a few days ago, which will keep the important man at the basket out of action for the entire duration of the series.
However, the C’s are not dependent on any player and function much better as a collective than Brooklyn. In fact, the home side have produced some numbers this season that make me extremely confident.
For one thing, Boston has accumulated the league’s most wins by at least a 20-point differential (18), and for another, they’ve won 24 of their last 30 games in the regular season!
The Celtics also have the edge in head-to-head matchups this season – 3 to 1 after games! Their weak defence has always posed big problems for the New Yorkers.
The Celtics are also better positioned across the board than their upcoming opponents. After the Harden-Simmons trade, Brooklyn has increasingly regressed to a two-man show consisting of Durant and Irving.
Seth Curry, actually the most dangerous third option, is banged up, while Patty Mills has delivered one poor performance after another since March. Joe Harris is even likely to miss the Series entirely!
With that in mind, it’s not hard to see why the bookmakers have designed their Celtics Nets odds to give the home side the relatively clear favourites.
The C’s are going into the race with odds of around 1.50 to celebrate their fourth win of the season over the New Yorkers! A win for the visitors, on the other hand, is traded at around 2.50 on the same markets.
Conclusion: The Nets remain a highly dangerous force with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving alone, who can be very dangerous to any team going forward. However, I think the green and white are prepared for this duel.
After all, the C’s are already 3 to 1 in season duels, and they will also send an extremely strong defence onto the floor – measured by their net rating, even the best in the NBA!
In addition, Boston have won 23 of their last 30 NBA games and have had a slightly longer break than New York! Brooklyn will work well going forward, but will allow far too much in the backcourt.
My Celtics Nets tip: Relatively clear win for the C’s!
