Getty Tristan Thompson, left, talks with the Nets' Kevin Durant.
The Brooklyn Nets are the only team to be swept in the 2022 NBA playoffs. It came at the hands of All-Star Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics, who are now two wins away from raising the 18th banner in Boston. But the Celtics have had their struggles on their road to the Finals. They trailed 3-2 to the Milwaukee Bucks before winning the series in seven games and went the distance with the Miami Heat in a seven-game Eastern Conference Finals.
Twitter user @DragonFlyJonez offered a strong take on Nets star Kevin Durant and his struggles in their first-round elimination which warranted a strong response from Durant.
“You shot 22-83, 7-21 from 3, and had 21 turnovers in a sweep. You for sure struggled in that series vs Boston. They had your number in that series. Ain’t no way around it. I mean the confidence is admirable…you should feel that way. But the boys packed you out,” @DragonFlyJonez said to Durant.
“Eye still didn’t think I struggled with anything as a basketball player lol I got packed and done the packing, it evens out to me,” Durant replied.
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Analyst: Nets Roster a ‘Shell of Itself’
There are a lot of questions concerning what the Nets roster will look like in 2023. Brooklyn has several key players set to hit free agency this summer, including Andre Drummond and Bruce Brown.
In addition, the Nets have hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in their ‘Big 3’ of Durant, Ben Simmons, and Kyrie Irving. The result is not having the budget to put a decent coop of role players around their stars. Brendon Kleen, host of the “Locked on Suns” podcast calls the Nets roster is a shell of itself.
“Brooklyn is a shell of itself. The roster is a shell of itself. When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signed there, the Nets had Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Taurean Prince. All solid role players that are gone,” Kleen said.
“If you’re Kevin Durant wanting to win another championship before your late prime is over, that’s not the type of roster you want around you.”
Nets Loss to Celtics Is Disappointing but Not Surprising
Although the Nets getting swept by the Celtics was disappointing, when you examine the context of the series, the outcome was inevitable. The Nets had to blow up their roster unexpectedly when they traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in February. Harden was supposed to be on the Nets roster for the foreseeable future, so losing him midseason was a tough adjustment.
The Ben Simmons situation was also peculiar because his return date kept getting pushed back, which made the Nets’ game plan even harder to approach. After all, they never seemed sure of whether or not he would play in the regular season or the playoffs. Seth Curry was also a great pickup by the Nets … when he was available. The sharpshooter dealt with a lingering ankle injury all season, which required him to have surgery in May.
With all the outside factors the Nets endured, they never really stood a chance against the Celtics. And while the optics of getting swept aren’t great, they have nothing to be ashamed of concerning that loss, especially if the Celtics win the title.
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