Getty Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets celebrates after he was fouled by Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics.
The Brooklyn Nets may have disregarded the Boston Celtics in 5 games, but the fact that the Nets won in a gentleman’s sweep does not tell the entire story. A young scrappy Celtics squad that was down multiple starters made Brooklyn earn it every single possession and they deserve their due credit.
The Nets now look ahead to the Eastern Conference Semifinals as they will matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Brooklyn will open up their second-round matchup on Saturday, June 5 at Barclays Center in a showdown between the 2 seed and the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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Kyrie Hopes Nets Title Will ‘Unite the World’
The Nets’ first-round series with the Celtics was an especially emotional one for All-Star Kyrie Irving. Irving going against his former squad brought the worst out of some Celtics fans, including one fan being arrested for throwing a water bottle in his direction. Despite some of the controversy that surrounded his return to TD Garden, Irving is looking forward to bigger things. Kyrie is hoping that a Nets championship run can help to aid in fixing some of the things that are wrong with the world.
“We uniting the whole world with this championship run so I hope everybody is with us,” Irving said after the Nets’ Game 5 win over the Celtics per Nets Wire. “We uniting the whole world with this run. Stick with us, baby.”
Irving may already have his sights focused on the Larry O’Brien trophy, but he and the Nets cannot make the mistake of putting the cart before the horse. The Bucks are currently standing in the way of the Nets reaching their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2003 and many expect this series to be the toughest one for the Nets in this year’s playoffs. While Irving is always happy to celebrate the small wins, he knows that the Nets will have to eventually zero in on Milwaukee when the series starts, because the Bucks will not be an easy out.
“We do understand it’s a long journey, so we want to celebrate our small wins,” Kyrie Irving said per NetsDaily. “It’s easy to consider the Bucks. Obviously, they’re right in front of us in a few days and I’m right in the same boat as him [Harden]. Excited to think about the task at hand and how great that team is and what it is going to take to be successful against them on both ends of the floor. We’ll deal with that when that time comes but as of right now, we celebrate the small wins. Thankful we got out of here healthy.”
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Kevin Durant Knows That Bucks Series Will Be a Challenge
The Bucks are fresh off sweeping last year’s Eastern Conference Champions, the Miami Heat in dominant fashion, and after a disappointing exit in last year’s NBA Bubble will be looking to redeem themselves. The Bucks have become synonymous with early exits in the playoffs over the past few seasons but there is something different about this year’s Bucks squad. They seem more focused than they have ever been, and Kevin Durant knows it.
“They’re a great team and they are tough to deal with. We respect everyone on their team. We know exactly what they bring to the table, but we are just going to go out there and have fun playing the game of basketball,” Durant said per NetsDaily. “We are going to challenge each other. You know they are going to challenge us and vice versa. May the best team win.”
The Nets lost their final two matchups of the regular season with the Bucks albeit without James Harden. Now the Nets are fully loaded and will be looking to prove that they are the true kings of the Eastern Conference.
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Nets Kyrie Irving Makes Bold Guarantee Ahead of Bucks Series