After beating the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4, 109-103, the Boston Celtics are a win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Will the Celtics finish off Brooklyn this Monday? Or will the Nets dig deep enough to get a win and extend the series?
Check out our preview below of this Celtics vs. Nets 2022 NBA Playoffs game.
History is definitely on the side of the Celtics in this series. No team ever in the history of the NBA has ever won a series after losing the first three games of the matchup. The Celtics are showing no mercy on Kevin Durant and the Nets, especially with the way they defend Brooklyn’s stars. Although the Nets are shooting over 50 percent in the series, the Celtics are doing a fantastic job holding down Durant, which sounded a bit impossible, but they’ve done that consistently. Durant is shooting just 36.5 percent in the series. In Game 3, Durant scored just 16 points on 6/11 shooting. Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, went just 6/17 for 16 points. Boston will not have any problem seeing Bruce Brown scoring the way he scored in Game 3 (he had 25 points on 19 shots) if that meant he’d take more shots than Durant and Irving.
The Celtics are 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 games as an underdog.
The Nets must be aware of the seemingly inescapable hole they fell in after Game 3’s loss to Boston. Then again, if there’s a team that can pull off a miracle, it could be one that has arguably the most unstoppable offensive force in league history. Plus, we’re just talking about Game 4 here. The Nets are still good enough to steal at least a win in the series. Sure, Durant is having trouble with his shot, but how long can the Celtics really keep him in check? There’s only so much a team can do to slow down someone like Durant. If he gets his rhythm early in Game 4 and Irving finds his shot right away, Brooklyn could establish momentum early. The Nets are also still shooting nicely from deep, connecting on 44.6 percent of their threes in the series.
The total has hit the Under in six of the Nets’ last 7 games as the favorite.
