Nets Need To Think Bigger Than Relying On A KD Bounceback To Even Series
It would be a grave mistake for the Nets to go into Game 2 in Boston on Wednesday thinking that all they need is a Kevin Durant bounceback performance to even the Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
While it’s true that the Celtics needed a Jayson Tatum buzzer-beater to nip the Nets by a single point in a game where the usually super-efficient KD shot 9-for-24 from the field (including 1-for-5 from behind the three-point line), Brooklyn needs to understand that their opponent can play better too.
Per NBA.com’s tracking, the Celtics shot 6-for-19 from deep when they had at least six feet of room, six percentage points below their regular season average. In addition, Boston Head Coach Ime Udoka, an assistant with Brooklyn last season, had to notice certain areas where he can further expose weaknesses, such as how his club outscored the Nets, 47-36, in just 14 minutes where their Twin Towers of Al Horford and Daniel Theis shared the floor.
If Udoka’s counterpart Steve Nash goes into Wednesday believing a few minor tweaks will do the trick, Game 2 might not be as close, no matter KD’s not-so-marginal improvement.
The bottom line is that if the Nets want to continue playing small against the taller, more physical Celtics, then they’ll have to play more like the Warriors and not like the, um, Nets. By that I mean there has to be a lot more movement—not just ball movement but player movement. Durant and Kyrie Irving are among the greatest isolation scorers ever, but expecting them to hit spectacular shots off one-on-one moves trip-after-trip isn’t sustainable offense. Having them attack as individuals when the Celtics can help off two non-shooters in either Andre Drummond/Nic Claxton and Bruce Brown plays into Boston’s strengths.
Besides the fact that Irving doesn’t typically dart around the court off the ball like Golden State’s Stephen Curry (4.15 mph average speed on offense this season compared with 3.85 mph for Irving, per NBA.com), the Nets just don’t have enough wing size on their roster they’d need to compete on the defensive end to play that way, especially on the glass. If Stephen’s brother Seth Curry was, say, six-foot 7 instead of six-foot 2, he might be able to box out Theis underneath, which was what he was incredulously asked to do in Game 1.
To offset that disadvantage, the Nets needed Curry to capitalize on mismatches on the other end. That didn’t happen. After a nine-point first quarter, Curry was M-I-A on offense in his remaining 20 minutes of court time, missing all four of his field goal attempts. He didn’t even get off a single shot in his seven fourth quarter minutes.
It’s a continuation of a trend over Brooklyn’s last eight games. Whether it’s because his sore ankle slows him down over the course of any game or his team simply forgets to optimally utilize him, Curry shot 56.3% from the floor and 50% on 3s in the first quarters of the 5 contests he was active (including the play-in victory over Cleveland) and 42.4% and 34.8%, respectively, thereafter.
You can see how this is a big problem. The Nets aren’t getting maximum production by going small on offense and are getting overpowered on defense. The only solution, then, is to go bigger—and play differently, at least until (if) Ben Simmons is cleared in his recovery from a herniated disc in his back.
How?
According to NBA.com’s tracking, the Celtics shot 7-for-13 (53.8%) when the 6-foot 4 Brown was the nearest Nets defender and rebounded 42% of their misses during Brown’s 37 minutes of action. Nor did Brown make a single play in his typical role as a roll man in the pick-and-roll offense, though he knocked down his sole three-point look. So much for attacking the basket with shot-blocking center Robert Williams sidelined with a knee injury.
Sorry, but Brown has to come out of the starting 5. Whether that means Claxton starts alongside Drummond and Nash dusts off either LaMarcus Aldridge or Blake Griffin from his bench or some of other combination is put in place to allow the Nets to match up properly, it has to be done.
Instead of switching on Boston’s screens, the Nets can either blitz Tatum or hedge-and-recover, knowing that they now would have more size down low to protect the rim should Tatum find an outlet.
Replacing Brown wouldn’t be a panic move--NBA playoffs series require adjustments. The Celtics happen to be a different animal than a team like Miami, against whom Brown would certainly be more useful. Nash can’t simply walk it back and expect to tame this beast.