Brooklyn Nets Face Elimination and Uncertainty

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

GAME FOUR
Boston Celtics

vs.

Brooklyn Nets

FROM

Flatbush Avenue

Nets Continue Battling Themselves

We've seen this before ... this is nothing new; there's no need for an overly technical breakdown of the situation.  

All can be boiled down to ball possession: it's been a season-long issue that stems back to last year.

In game three, the Nets and Celtics achieved the same points from behind the arc and free throw line.  Both even shot 50% from the field.  Rebounds and assists were also reasonably balanced.  But Boston had seven more possessions than Brooklyn and squeezed out a six-point margin of victory.  

In most games, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving outscore this discrepancy.  Sure, the Nets had six players score in double-digits.  But when KD and Kyrie are not on their game, this happens.  Durant was limited to just 11 FG attempts, and Kyrie was 0/7 from behind the arc; both scored just 16 points.  Instead, Bruce Brown led the Nets with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Patty Mills' and Nic Claxton's efforts off the bench went for naught.

Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum led the floor with 29 FG attempts and 39 points, and Jaylen Brown followed with 23 points.

Flatbush is now down three games to none for so many reasons and more than several people to blame. 

Game four is Monday night at the Flatbush Avenue gym.

Go down fighting, will ya ...

Brooklyn Nets: Nothing Short of a Team Effort Will Do

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

GAME THREE

Boston Celtics

vs.

Brooklyn Nets

FROM

FLATBUSH AVENUE

Extract the Positives from Games One and Two and Mold Them Together Into a Victory in Game Three

The Nets could not answer when Boston's defense stepped it up in the fourth quarter.

Or, they failed to finish; meltdown; pick your poison.  

This much is true: Boston fought back and won in each game.

Flatbush took a ten-point lead into the half and, entering the fourth quarter, was still ahead by five.  But they scored just four points in the opening five minutes of the final session.  Kyrie Irving scored just two points in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Durant scored six points, all from the line.  

Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown poured in ten fourth-quarter points in three minutes, starting at the nine-minute mark.  Brooklyn got outscored by 17 points in the second half.  In the fourth quarter, they were outscored by twelve.  

Boston made Durant earn his 27 points the hard way.  Kevin was just 4/17 from the field and 18/20 from the line.  

The Nets got the requisite contributions from Seth Curry and Bruce Brown, and Goran Dragic posted a second consecutive solid effort, but it all went for naught as Kyrie Irving was 4/13 from the field and 2/2 from the line for a mere ten points.

The Celtics scored 115 points in game one and 114 points in game two, whereas the Nets' scoring outside of Dragic has been erratic.

They return to Flatbush Avenue on Saturday down two games in the series.  More importantly, it's time they finally come together as one at Barclays Center.  The Nets need the Nic Claxton of game one and the Bruce Brown and Seth Curry of game two working with Goran Dragic, who has performed with required consistency.

Defend this house!

Does Steve Nash try and negotiate that, or does he let them figure it out on their own?

What a terrible question to be asking this time of year.

Brooklyn Nets: Boston Bummer

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

GAME ONE

NETS        114

CELTICS   115

FINAL

Isolated in Beantown

That was a brutal way to go down.  

What a brilliant counter-spin move and layup by Jayson Tatum, though.

The idea is to steal a game at Boston.  That almost happened, but it didn't, so the Nets are down one.  But, as they say, it's not a series until the home team loses.  Let's see what happens Wednesday.

The Nets had just twenty overall assists, led by Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry with six each.  Next on the list is Kevin Durant, with three.  That simply will not do.  

Said another way isolation ball is not working.  Kyrie and KD aren't even trying to dish off.  Moreover, I saw no motion from the other participants.  Only three Nets players finished with double-digit FG attempts.  Kevin Durant led the team with 24 shot attempts, and Kyrie Irving followed with twenty.  Otherwise, Goran Dragic was a distant third with eleven attempts.

Kyrie Irving carried the entire team because Boston stuck to Kevin Durant like flypaper.  Durant was limited to 9/24 (37.5%) from the field and just five attempts from the line for 23 points to go along with a team-high eight turnovers.

Now, imagine Goran Dragic not scoring 14 points in 26 minutes ...

Hope like hell he does it again!

Nic Claxton showed up.  But I can't say that about the rest.  Is it their own fault, KD and Kyrie's fault, Boston's fault, coaching, none of the above, or a little of everything?

Boston outrebounded Flatbush by 14, had eleven more possessions, and outscored the Nets in the paint by 24 points.  And yet, the Nets only lost by one.

Kevin Durant is sure to play better, and Kyrie will be there.  But Flatbush still needs someone to step it up.  Boston can let Kyrie score 60 points if they continue shutting down Durant.  Excellent game by Dragic and Claxton.  But it's not enough.  Boston had four players with at least 20 points.  

Bruce Brown played the third-most minutes (37) behind KD and Kyrie but only attempted three FG all game with nary a trip to the line.  He connected on his lone three-point attempt.  Perhaps KD and Kyrie need to trust in him more.  It's not like they have a choice.

Brooklyn Nets: Flatbush to Beantown

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

The Brooklyn Nets are coming!  The Nets are coming!

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

ROUND ONE

BROOKLYN NETS

vs.

BOSTON CELTICS

Ben Simmons is a non-issue.  

But Goran Dragic, Patty Mills, and Seth Curry's respective performance is.  The same goes for Andre Drummond, Nic Claxton, and Bruce Brown, who stands to be the most essential contributor not named Kyrie or Kevin.  

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have undertaken the responsibilities of facilitating and distribution.  Irving is still dishing out his regular 6.6 assists per game.  However, Kevin Durant averaged 6.4 assists for the season but averaged 7.8 assists over the final ten games.  Six times during the regular season, KD posted double-digit assists.  Four of those occurred over the last thirteen games.  He then dished off eleven times in the play-in game against Cleveland.  

Irving and Durant will create their own shots and get their points.  Durant dropped 55 points against Atlanta earlier this month and scored 37 points the last time Flatbush faced Boston.  Kyrie averaged 30.8 points over his final thirteen games, highlighted by his 60-point night against Orlando and three other games of at least 40 points, and posted a game-high 34 points against the Cavs.

Thus, the onus is on Dragic, Mills, Curry, Drummond, Claxton, and Brown to compete, defend, and convert.  Let me say that again: they need defensive stops and conversion points at the other end.  Flatbush routinely permits the opposition with more attempts per game.  So they need to contest Jayson Tatum throughout and bring Boston's overall shooting percentage down.  I'd even consider giving LaMarcus Aldridge some minutes for some requisite personal fouls.  

The Nets can't have Kyrie and Kevin accounting for upwards of and beyond 70 points and still come up short.  It's happened before.

Therein lies Brooklyn's ability or inability to advance through the conference playoffs.