Getty Kevin Durant drives against Jayson Tatum.
The Brooklyn Nets dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers in their play-in game, and that now sets them up in a matchup against the 2-seed Boston Celtics.
Around Christmas, the Celtics looked like a team that would flounder this year, but they really turned it on and climbed all the way to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Nets on the other hand struggled with injuries and uncertainty throughout the season, and that’s a big reason as to why they finished in the 7th spot, but they are still a very dangerous threat and nobody expects the Celtics to just run them over.
NBA Hall of Famer and Inside the NBA host Charles Barkley is an outlier and he believes the Nets don’t have a shot at beating the Celtics.
Barkley Makes His Prediction
Charles Barkley on Nets: “I know they can’t beat the Celtics now”
Speaking on TNT after the play-in game versus the Cavs, Barkley made his prediction in saying he now knows the Nets don’t have a shot in beating the Celtics.
“I know they can’t beat the Celtics now,” he said. “All these fools on the other morning talk shows can let this ship sail. [Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant] played great and they barely beat a mediocre Cavs team.”
This is a complete 180 from what he said just days ago, where he believe Durant and Irving could win a series on their own.
“Kyrie Irving and KD, they can singlehandedly win 4 games out of 7.”
Chuck breaks down the Nets’ postseason outlook.
“They can single-handedly win 4 games out of 7,” he said at the time.
The reason he changed his mind is Irving had a perfect first half and Durant was masterful against the Cavs, but the Nets barely escaped with a victory.
One of the problems with the Nets is outside of their star duo, their third best player is arguably Bruce Brown. While Brown is a solid player in his own right, the team would love to have Ben Simmons step into that role.
A strong supporting cast is vital to winning an NBA championship, so if the Nets can’t get their other players to consistently step up, they could be in trouble. The Boston Celtics have a deep team, so the Nets are going to need Irving and Durant to give it all they have.
Nets Have a Key Advantage
GettyRobert Williams is out for the Celtics.
Something that Bruce Brown pointed out, to the dismay of Durant, is the Celtics are without their center Robert Williams.
“I can’t wait,” said Brown.“Them not having Robert Williams is huge. Now we can attack (Al) Horford and (Daniel) Theis.”
Williams is the dominant defender the Celtics relied on throughout the season, so Brown thinks they can go right into the paint and score easy baskets.
Durant shut that down immediately.
“That’s the caffeine pride talking. Them two dudes (Horford and Theis) can do the same stuff (as Williams),” Durant said. “It ain’t going to be that easy. I’ll tell you that.”
It will be interesting to see if the Nets do take advantage of that void because they’ll need every edge they can get. There is still optimism Ben Simmons could return in time for the playoffs, and they’d certainly love to have him.
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NBA Hall of Famer Makes Bold Prediction in Nets-Celtics Series