Nets vs. Celtics Preview: Who will prevail in first round of NBA playoffs?

With Tuesday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Nets secured a spot in the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and are set to take on the Boston Celtics, who finished second in the conference.

This is an early test for Brooklyn, with oddsmakers expecting this series to be a toss-up. Here’s what to expect out of what’s sure to be one of the league’s most exciting first-round matchups this season...

For those who tuned out during the latter half of the season, Boston turned around a disappointing, low-seeded start near the end of January, going 26-6 to end the season and boasting the best net rating in the league by nearly double the second place team.

With the help of a couple of small trade deadline deals and a collective buy-in from the roster to head coach Ime Udoka’s strategy, the Celtics not only got on track but emerged as a legitimate contender.

We don’t have much to glean from the season series. Their first matchup came in late November when James Harden was a Net and Boston hadn’t found its groove. The next two featured a wholly depleted Brooklyn team.

That leaves their most recent meeting in Boston over a month ago. The Celtics narrowly won, 126-120, behind Jayson Tatum’s 54 points, while Kevin Durant put up 37. There is another twist however, in that Robert Williams III played in this contest, but his availability for this series is in question.

In what may be a key aspect to the series, Tatum took 17 free throws in that game. He and fellow star wing Jaylen Brown can pop off for 30+ on any given night, and with the Nets lacking in perimeter defenders of their size and strength, it’ll take an enormous team effort to slow them down.

Durant was key on that end in the play-in game against Cleveland, but he was able to help off less threatening scorers. 

He’ll likely find himself doing double duty, leading the Nets on both ends of the court as somebody needs to make life difficult for Brown and/or Tatum. With James Johnson out of the mix, only Kessler Edwards is left as a capable one-on-one option.

It’s possible head coach Steve Nash decides to switch heavy and make the Celtics stars shoot a bunch of mid-range shots over their smaller guards. Either way, it’ll be on Brooklyn’s rotations and the Celtics keeping up their decisive ball movement that determines how Boston’s offense functions in minutes Brown and Tatum aren’t cooking. 

Expect Nic Claxton to play a huge role as the more athletic and better defensive option over Andre Drummond.

On the flip side, the Celtics’ bread-and-butter is their defense, with them able to throw multiple coverages at the Nets with crisp help, with some reliable one-on-one defenders as well. 

Without Williams, their interior defense isn’t quite as stifling, but they’re to be feared regardless. Tatum and Brown will have their chances on Durant, while Kyrie Irving has to cope with the likes of Defensive Player of the Year candidate Marcus Smart and Derrick White.

No Williams means Claxton gets a nice vertical edge over the more ground-bound Al Horford and Daniel Theis. There’s going to be a large amount of pressure on him and Bruce Brown to make quick and correct reads off the short roll as their stars get trapped. Cleveland this is not. Brooklyn will also need Seth Curry to be a major impact on offense, keeping defenses honest with his dribble-drives and in-between game.

However this series goes, expect six or seven games. These teams are well matched up in talent and coaching, setting up what’s sure to be an exciting, close series.