Nets Look To Build On Play-In Victory
The Brooklyn Nets open their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics with Game 1 on Sunday. The Nets had to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a play-in game on Tuesday to advance to become the seventh seed in the East. They now get to take on the second-seeded Celtics, who tied with the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks in the standings but earned the second spot – behind the Miami Heat – between the trio thanks to tiebreakers. The stars will be out for this one, so make sure to put a bet online on this game after you read through our Game 1 preview.
Let’s check the latest NBA Picks, stats, injury reports, and NBA Odds for Nets vs Celtics. We’ve plenty of NBA Playoffs Odds for you to consider.
Will Durant, Irving Lift Nets To Game 1 Win?
The Brooklyn Nets have two of the top scorers in the game in forwarding Kevin Durant and guard Kyrie Irving, but will the duo find enough to get the seventh-seeded Nets a win on Sunday? The two combined for 59 of Brooklyn’s 115 points in the play-in victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, though three other Nets scored in double figures as well.
Irving was especially good, hitting 9-of-9 from the field in the first half and finishing with 34 points. He’ll be motivated to do well against his former team, especially with the Celtics fans raining plenty of boos on him.
“I know that team very well and they know us very well, and it’ll be a back-and-forth,” Irving said after Tuesday’s win, “and once you throw that ball in the air, you’re going to really see some spectacular basketball.”
Irving scored just 19 points in the one game he played against Boston this season. He averaged 27.4 points per game and 5.8 assists in 29 regular-season games.
Durant averaged 29.0 points, 5.0 reboundsa, 8.0 assists and 1.5 steals in two matchups with the Celtics during the regular season. He played in 55 regular-season contests but has been heating up at the tail end of the campaign, averaging 32.2 points in five April contests.
Celtics To Lean on Defense To Shut Down Nets
While the Boston Celtics are known for the scoring prowess of their own duo of forward Jayson Tatum and guard Jaylen Brown, it’s the team’s defense that got it to the second seed in the East. The Celtics led the NBA in scoring defense in the regular season at 104.5 points per game, though much of that was with center Robert Williams III patrolling the paint. He’ll miss at least this game with a knee injury, though reports have him possibly coming back at some point in the series.
Offensively, Tatum has raised his game in 2021-22, and now he gets the biggest stage to come through on. The 24-year-old averaged 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists this season, and he went for 54 points against the Nets in an early March matchup in Boston.
Brown is also a key for the Celtics’ chances at a title run. Brown averaged 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season, upping his game down the stretch to the tune of 25.8 points and 6.2 assists in six April contests.
A big factor in this series will be the play of guard Marcus Smart. The veteran can guard almost any position on the floor, so he’ll be matched up with either Irving or Durant a lot of the time. He’s also the team’s leader with 5.9 assists per game, and he averaged 17.8 points in four matchups with Brooklyn during the regular season.
Nets vs Celtics Head-to-Head
The Boston Celtics took three of the four meetings between these Atlantic Division rivals in 2021-22, all in February and March. The Brooklyn Nets won the first meeting in November, extending their regular-season winning streak in the series to four games, but Boston came out on top in the last three games.
Brooklyn topped the Celtics in five games in the first round of the playoffs a season ago. Boston is a different team now, though, as it is getting the edge in the NBA lines for Game 1.
Nets vs Celtics Game Information
- Game: Nets (44-38) vs Celtics (51-31)
- Location: TD Garden
- Day/Time: Sunday, April 17th, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Live stream: NBA Game Pass
Take a Look at the Other 2 NBA Eastern Conference Matchups
Nets vs Celtics Betting Lines
Nets vs Celtics Prediction
This will be a good series, with a lot of great individual efforts. Durant, Irving and Tatum will also put up big numbers, but it will be the Celtics and their team defense coming out on top in the series opener.
When doing your NBA betting, take Boston to win and cover in Game 1.
