Falling in love with the 3 leads to downfall vs. Nets
BOSTON — It’s prudent not to overreact to the thumping the Brooklyn Nets handed the Celtics, other than to say they are not on the Nets’ level and aren’t particularly close.
Even without Kyrie Irving, considered an afterthought for the time being, the Nets are an elite club with several prolific scorers. They jumped the Celtics Wednesday and never relented in cruising to a 123-104 win at TD Garden.
The Nets led by as many as 29 as the Celtics reverted to old habits — too many 3-pointers, concentrating too much on officiating, then allowing missed shots to affect their defense.
It was a dismal performance overall. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were no match for counterparts Kevin Durant and James Harden. Tatum and Brown were 1-for-17 shooting from the 3-point line and Tatum was a minus-33 in 30 minutes.
The Celtics did their best work with Brown sitting on the bench and Tatum watching from an exercise bike. They were frustrated by shots not falling and Brooklyn’s collapsing and trapping defense.
It was an opportunity for the Celtics to show a national television audience they had taken a step forward after an awful start to the season. They had won eight of 11 games and their defense had been the catalyst. But this game resembled the playoff series of several months ago when the Nets treated the Celtics like their little brother.
Brooklyn definitely wanted to send a message. The Nets were motivated for this game. The Celtics
entered with an uncertainty they could compete with Brooklyn and it showed from the opening tip. They fell behind, 18-7, in the first five-plus minutes and were chasing or tripping over themselves the entire night.
Al Horford is in his 15th year and has faced his share of great teams. He fully understood the Nets were trying to tell the Celtics something with their performance.
“Definitely, they came out the more aggressive team,” he said. “I think we gave them a little too much respect, in my opinion. They are what they are, they’re a good team. But it’s a learning experience for our group and I know that we’ll be better next time.”
This is not to say the Celtics don’t have the capability of competing with the Nets but right now, they don’t. And they even lacked the poise and precision to stay close, which was the most disappointing aspect of the performance. The Nets opened the second half with an 18-3 run and led, 80-52.
“The message [to the players] was I felt like it was the first time in a while that we got outhustled and outworked,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “They came out playing harder than us from the start and then you compound it with the missed shots. It’s obviously a different game when you’re making shots.”
A 28-point deficit is unacceptable. Bill Russell, 87, who also attended Friday’s win over the Lakers, sat courtside and watched the whipping. The Celtics’ faithful were kind and dedicated enough to become reengaged when Boston cut the deficit to 12 with 9:23 left. But that excitement was shortlived.