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      The Nets Aren’t Unbeatable, but It’s OK to Be Impressed

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      The Boston Celtics tried in their first-round series but were too depleted to compete. The Nets’ next opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks, may have a better shot.The game and the series were never in serious doubt.The depleted Boston Celtics maintained a sliver of hope of emerging with a victory over the Nets on Tuesday by initially keeping the score close in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series. But, in quick and devastating succession, the Nets crushed any ambition the Celtics had left. That’s what can happen when you have stars like these:Kevin Durant opened the salvos with a 3-point shot midway through the fourth quarter.Kyrie Irving buried one on the Nets’ following possession.Next, James Harden followed with one of his own.In less than a minute, an 8-point Celtics deficit ballooned to 15 and a first-round series win for the Nets.For the Nets, the sequence showcased their roster as envisioned months ago, the stars aligning to alternate taking turns at the helm in piloting the Nets toward a championship.Yes, that lineup had few opportunities to coalesce throughout a rickety regular season. The Nets entered the postseason with questions about the chemistry of their three best players. They had played just eight games together while limited with injuries and coronavirus health and safety protocols.Durant, Irving and Harden are basketball geniuses.So what if they didn’t play much together?Throw one of them the ball in isolation and watch the buckets pour in.“We don’t want to take any of this for granted,” Irving said after the Game 5 victory. “We know this doesn’t happen too often in our culture, in our history, where three of the best scorers to ever play the game and then you have a collection of guys that have done unbelievable things as well in this league, either coming off the bench or starting with us.”The Nets faced a shorthanded Celtics team. Boston entered without the services of the All-Star Jaylen Brown (wrist) and lost key components as the series wore on in guard Kemba Walker (knee) and center Robert Williams (ankle). But the Celtics still mustered a fight and forced the Nets to break a sweat in dispatching them.“We’ve made strides in just a short period of time,” Irving said.Here are some other key takeaways following the Nets’ first-round victory over Boston.Kyrie Irving is ready for the moment.Irving balled out against the Celtics.He, of course, had experienced previous postseason success. He hit the crucial shot that propelled Cleveland to a championship over Golden State in 2016. But he did not have the subsequent breakthrough after he was traded to Boston in 2017 — as Celtics fans will certainly attest — and spent most of the 2019-20 season, his first with the Nets, out while rehabbing an injury.He is among friends now.More than anything, the Nets’ three stars sound like admirers of one another, appreciative of their individual skill sets.Here’s Durant discussing Irving following the Boston series: “His mind is so different that stuff that he brings out is just unexpected — one legger, off the right leg, shooting off the glass, left-hand finishes, right-hand finishes, ball handling.”“He’s a joy to watch and play with,” Durant added.Irving had a spectacular regular season. Against Boston, he was dynamic.He punctuated his first-round performance by pouring in 39 points in a Game 4 blowout win.“I’m grateful for the opportunity that I had in Boston,” Irving said, adding that “there was a lot going on personally while I was there in Boston that people don’t know about.”Now, he said, he’s moving on: “So just grateful that we have a chance to be together in the trenches, me and my teammates, and we just get to move on from this.”James Harden had the Nets’ first playoff triple double since the days of Jason Kidd.Adam Hunger/Associated PressJames Harden is willing to sacrifice.Harden, in the first-round series, showed he was willing to use any of the tools in his bag to win.Often, he blows past his primary defender and surveys the remaining defense. He scores if the lane is open, but is only too happy to pass the ball if an easy scoring opportunity presents itself.In Game 5, Harden amassed a triple-double — 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, becoming the first Net to do so in the playoffs since Jason Kidd in 2007.“He comes into the gym every day and it’s just excitement to play basketball,” Durant said. “With somebody who loves to play so much, the energy is just infectious and you can tell everybody was drawn to James since the day he got here and his presence was just key for us.”Harden is the lone member of the Nets’ Big Three without a championship. This may be his best shot.Kevin Durant’s defense will be key.Durant is an amazing scorer. That is not debatable.But the Nets have that area covered. Durant’s defense may be one of their best weapons for their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.Milwaukee breezed past Miami in a first-round sweep, atoning for last year’s playoff loss to the Heat and reinserting themselves as an Eastern Conference contender.No one on this planet can fully contain the offensive juggernaut that is Durant, Harden and Irving. Milwaukee, at least, has the ingredients to possibly slow them down. Jrue Holiday, acquired in an off-season trade, is arguably the league’s top perimeter defender. P.J. Tucker and Khris Middleton don’t mind mixing it up in the trenches. Giannis Antetokounmpo is last season’s defensive player of the year.“He’s long, athletic,” Durant said of Antetokounmpo. “He plays hard. He cares about his teammates. He cares about winning. Put that combination together, you make a tough player.”But Durant may as well have been describing himself. Against Boston, he swooped in from the weakside to have the backs of defeated primary defenders. His defensive acumen will probably be a key if the Nets are to advance to the conference finals.Second-round injury watch?Both the Nets and the Bucks are largely healthy but not at full strength. Milwaukee’s Donte DiVincenzo is out for the remainder of the playoffs with an ankle injury.Jeff Green, the Nets’ versatile defender, missed the last three games of the Boston series with a strained plantar fascia. More

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      Celtics Fan Arrested After Kyrie Irving Is Nearly Hit by Bottle

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      Irving, who was walking into an arena tunnel when he was almost hit, had recently asked fans not to be belligerent or racist when the Nets traveled to Boston.A fan in a Boston Celtics jersey was arrested Sunday after a bottle nearly struck Nets guard Kyrie Irving in the head following Boston’s Game 4 loss at TD Garden. It was the latest in a string of unruly fan behavior as N.B.A. arenas begin opening to near full capacity for the playoffs.Last week, before the best-of-seven series shifted to Boston, Irving, a former Celtics player who is Black, had anticipated booing but had asked fans not to be belligerent or racist. For decades, Black athletes in multiple sports, including the Celtics legend Bill Russell, have spoken about the racism they’ve experienced in Boston.“We claim that we care about each other as human beings, but we just call things out before they happen like I did the other day,” Irving said after Sunday’s game. “I’m telling people, ‘Just keep it basketball.’”Irving stressed that he expected fans to root for their home teams and that most were eager to watch quality athletes perform. But he said sports were now at a crossroads.“It’s been that way in history, in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long period of time and just underlying racism and just treating people like they’re in a human zoo,” Irving said. “Throwing stuff at them, saying things. There’s a certain point where it just gets to be too much.”Irving was heading into an arena tunnel after the Nets beat the Celtics, 141-126, when an object that appeared to be a water bottle sailed just past his head. Multiple videos on social media showed a person in a Celtics jersey being led away by the police.The bottle-throwing followed a run of incidents from last Wednesday night: In Philadelphia, a fan poured popcorn on the head of Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook as he left the game with an injury. In New York, a fan spat on Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young at Madison Square Garden. In Utah, security ejected three fans for obscene behavior toward the family of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.“We’ve had times in history when people have reacted and gone in the crowd, then we’re wrong and we need to be civilized and we need to keep our calm and we need to keep our cool and it’s reflected on us,” Irving said. “Just want to keep it upfront and truthful, and it’s just unacceptable for that stuff to be happening, but we move on.”Following Wednesday’s incidents, the N.B.A. released a statement saying its fan code of conduct would be “vigorously enforced.” The fans involved in those incidents have been barred indefinitely from the arenas.“Anything could have happened with that water bottle being thrown at me, but my brothers were surrounding me,” Irving said. “I had people in the crowd. So, just trying to get home to my wife and my kids.” More

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      It’s Been a Busy Few Days for One Arena

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      It’s Been a Busy Few Days for One ArenaTalya MinsbergReporting from Brooklyn 🏀Brittainy Newman for The New York TimesAfter the turnaround, the N.B.A. playoffs returned to Barclays Center on Tuesday night for Game 2 of the Nets’ first-round series with the Boston Celtics. The Nets won, 130-108, and took a 2-0 lead in the series. More

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      Rowdy, Rude and Really Loud: New York N.B.A. Fans Let Loose

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      We’re back, baby! The chants. The cursing at referees! The cursing at opposing players. The cursing just because you can! And that was just in living rooms.New York City basketball fans were out in full force this past weekend, as the Knicks began a first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Nets opened their postseason against the Boston Celtics.Much to the chagrin of Knicks fans — known for their patient, understanding nature — their team lost to the Hawks in Game 1 of their series on Sunday, 107-105, thanks to a last-second floater from the villainous Trae Young.Across the East River the day before, the Nets — currently the Knicks’ adorable, more talented younger brother — easily dispatched Boston, 104-93.Yes, the Nets are the team more likely to win a championship this season. With the addition of James Harden to the tandem of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, they might have one of the most talented rosters in N.B.A. history. Yet, if this weekend was any indication, if the Nets indeed win the title, New York City may react with a collective shrug.Meanwhile, as the Knicks tipped off against the Hawks, the fans in Manhattan reacted as if Elvis had risen from the dead.OK, we’re being kind of unfair to the Nets. They’ve built an enduring fan base of their own. So they say. But attendees yelling “Brooooklyn!” repeatedly doesn’t have the same ring as Knicks fans yelling, uh, nevermind. We can’t type that here.“The crowd kind of threw me off a bit,” Harden said. “It was pretty loud in there, and the vibe was what we’ve been missing.”Derrick Rose, the Knicks guard, said the crowd was “everything that we expected and probably a little bit more.”Basketball has a long history in New York City, even if N.B.A. championships do not. This is a city of basketball aficionados, and seeing both the Knicks and the Nets make legitimate playoff runs at the same time is a cultural event.Who knows when we’ll get to see this again? More

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      The Nets’ Starters Are Back Together. And So Are the Fans.

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      Over 14,000 fans attended Game 1 of the Nets-Celtics series as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Blake Griffin and Joe Harris started together for the first time this season.Kevin Durant has dazzled in the postseason, having claimed two Most Valuable Player Awards in N.B.A. finals. But before Saturday night, his last postseason appearance was in 2019.Durant, a member of the Golden State Warriors then, had worked hurriedly to return to Game 5 of that year’s N.B.A. finals from a calf strain. He played about a quarter against the Toronto Raptors before limping off the court with an Achilles’ tendon tear.Plenty has occurred in basketball and in the world since. But on Saturday night, a tinge of familiarity returned.There was Durant, in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, pacing the Nets in scoring in front of over 14,000 cheering fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.“The whole ride this year, seeing him come back from such a devastating injury, he had such a long layoff, such a big hill to climb and a lot of doubt,” Nets Coach Steve Nash said of Durant. “Who knows if he comes back anywhere near the level he’s accustomed to?“So a tribute to his work ethic, his sacrifice, his talent, that he’s still able to play at an incredibly high level after that injury, that layoff.”The N.B.A. had waited months to find out how Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden would perform as headliners in a star-studded lineup.To be sure, the Nets are working through wrinkles typically smoothed over during a traditional training camp, or even the regular season. Cycles of injuries prevented Durant, Irving and Harden, who came over from Houston in a blockbuster trade in January, from sharing the court often.Game 1, a 104-93 victory over Boston, was the first time Durant, Irving, Harden, Blake Griffin and Joe Harris started together this season.“We knew it would be fun to play in front of the fans, but to step out there and see the place packed like that and the energy in the building was unbelievable,” Nash said. “I think there was a little bit of newness in many ways. We weren’t sharp offensively, but we found a way.”Nets guard James Harden celebrated a 3-point shot against the Celtics. The Nets missed their first 10 3-point attempts, and finished 8 of 34 from beyond the arc.Corey Sipkin/Associated PressThe Nets brushed off a sluggish start and, perhaps, the unfamiliarity of playing in front of a sizable crowd for the first time since the N.B.A. paused the 2019-20 season in March.An off-brand version of the Nets emerged in the bubble restart last year at Walt Disney World in Florida. Durant and Irving were rehabilitating from injuries. Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan did not play after testing positive for the coronavirus. Wilson Chandler opted out of resuming the season.The Nets had to scramble to fill out their roster, and Toronto quickly swept them from the first round of the playoffs.Saturday presented a traditional feel, more in line with what was envisioned when Durant and Irving shook up the N.B.A. by deciding to join forces in free agency before the 2019-20 season.Barclays Center rocked and reverberated with 14,391 spectators in attendance, the maximum allowed and just a few thousand short of the arena’s full capacity.“Maybe I’m speaking for myself, but the crowd kind of just threw me off a little bit,” Harden said. “It was pretty loud in there. The vibe was what we’ve been missing.”The Nets missed their first 10 3-pointers and trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half.“They definitely gave us an advantage, and it was weird,” Durant said of playing again in front of a large crowd. “We haven’t seen them all season. And there was 1,500 there the last couple months of the season, but to see people at the front row and then see more in the upper and lower bowl, it was pretty cool. And I’m pretty sure they enjoyed the win, but we want to play better for them as well.”Durant, Irving and Harden ignited in the third quarter, providing the Nets with their first 22 points of the second half, while erasing a 6-point halftime deficit.Importantly, the Nets limited Boston to 40 second-half points.“Maybe we just rushed,” Nash said. “We were a little impatient to start the game. I’d probably say the truth is somewhere in the middle — a little bit that they haven’t played much together, a little bit that it was an exciting evening for everyone to walk in the gym to see that many people, and our fans were outstanding.”Durant ended with 32 points and 12 rebounds. Both were game highs.“It’s always great playing in this time of year,” Durant said. “That intensity is the next level; it’s different than what’s in the regular season. It felt great to be back out there among the best teams and players in the league and looking forward to Game 2.”Irving scored 29 points. Harden added 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.“It definitely felt different compared to what most of the season felt like, going to different arenas,” Irving said. “But coming back home and welcoming a lot of our fans home, you could feel the anticipation for a quality basketball game out there.”The attendance at Barclays Center on Saturday night was 14,391. Elsa/Getty ImagesEven this depleted version of the Celtics is too skillful and prideful to be classified as a breezy matchup for the Nets.Marcus Smart is lucky he isn’t a debit card, because there is no charge he’s unwilling to take. Robert Williams was a nuisance in the post, blocking nine shots, a Celtics single-game playoff record. (Blocks became an official statistic after Bill Russell had retired.)Boston will need much more from Jayson Tatum (6 for 20 for 22 points) and Kemba Walker (5 for 16 for 15 points) to steal a game or two and turn the matchup into a series.“Anything can happen,” said Irving, a former Celtic who would know firsthand when he said Boston was a well-coached team. “Especially against the Celtics. That lucky Irishman is always around the Celtics.”Irving added: “It’s going to be a great battle between a lot of great players on the floor.”If it is the case that “anything” does not happen, Brooklyn will continue using this series to get needed repetitions before facing what will be a more difficult second-round opponent, the winner of the series between the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and the sixth-seeded Miami Heat. More

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      Why Being a Knicks Fan Hurts So Good

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      Knicks fans used to disappointment are now reveling in a season of joy. “God forbid, if we win, we are going to burn this city down,” one famous fan said.Ashley Nicole Moss did not have much of a choice when she was growing up. Her father, Jeff, was a Knicks fan, which meant that she was a Knicks fan, too.For part of her childhood in Brooklyn and Queens, Moss, 27, found that rooting for the Knicks was not such a horrible thing. When she was especially young, the team often made the playoffs and even advanced to the N.B.A. finals in 1999, which she said was among her earliest memories as a fan. So she was completely unprepared for the subsequent two decades, which were largely a wilderness of losing and dysfunction, of failed hopes and shattered dreams.“It’s been a lot of disappointment and a lot of frustration,” said Moss, who is a co-host of “KnicksFanTV” on YouTube.All of which has made this season — this glorious season — so much more special for fans like Moss. The Knicks have engineered a comeback story, sending their long-suffering fans into a fervor. While the Nets, over in Brooklyn, are brimming with high-priced talent as a championship favorite, the Knicks have gone from punchline to playoff contender in the space of several thrilling months.“God forbid, if we win, we are going to burn this city down,” said Daniel Baker, an avowed Knicks fan more popularly known as Desus Nice on the late-night comedy show “Desus & Mero.” “Sorry, I’m just letting you all know.”The Knicks, with the second-lowest payroll in the league and a roster almost devoid of stars, will open their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are seeded fourth in the Eastern Conference after finishing with a 41-31 record in the regular season.“It’s a team that people can relate to,” Moss said, “because of that true New York mentality: You grind from the bottom, and you work your way up.”The filmmaker Spike Lee, who has famously clashed with the team’s owner, James L. Dolan, said the past was history.“This is a new era,” he said. “A new day. And all I see are orange and blue skies.”Two stars in Madison Square Garden: Julius Randle and Spike Lee.Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports, via ReutersIt is not often that the Knicks can cast themselves as gritty underdogs, given their history of profligate spending. Yet they have won just one playoff series since 2001. They are two seasons removed from finishing with the league’s worst record. They also haven’t landed big free agents: Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving opted instead for the Nets.But after trying something new — fiscal prudence — the Knicks have built themselves in the image of their first-year coach, Tom Thibodeau, who barks instructions with the low growl of an outboard motor. The Knicks rank among the league leaders in blue-collar categories like opposing field-goal percentage and rebound rate. There is not a whole lot of flash. Instead, fans celebrate the unsung things that the players do so well: a hard screen, an intercepted outlet pass.And while the Nets seem to channel the Harlem Globetrotters by lobbing passes off the backboard for alley-oop dunks, the Knicks lean on the more earthbound labor provided by the likes of Julius Randle, a forward and first-time All-Star who led the league in the most roll-up-your-sleeves category imaginable: minutes played.Earlier this season, when the Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers to improve their record to 17-17, a video that went viral on social media captured some fans rejoicing outside the Garden as if the team were on the brink of a championship.“And that was real,” said Josh Safdie, a Knicks fan who was co-director of the film “Uncut Gems” with his brother, Benny. “The same thing was happening in my living room.”Even the N.B.A.’s top star, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, recognizes the importance of the team’s resurgence, saying on Twitter in April that “the league is simply better off when the Knicks are winning.”Knicks fans have experienced pockets of joy in recent seasons, of course. There was Jeremy Lin’s star turn in the off-Broadway production of “Linsanity.” And the early part of Carmelo Anthony’s tenure was often a lot of fun, with the team making three straight playoff appearances. But more common is fans investing in potential saviors — the former team president Phil Jackson, the former lottery pick Kristaps Porzingis — only to come away crushed.Knicks fans during Linsanity in 2012.Barton Silverman/The New York Times“As a Knicks fan, you’re signing up for basically insanity,” Baker said. “The beginning of the year, as a Knicks fan, you’re like, ‘Yo, we’re going to the finals.’ You have no rhyme or reason to say that. You have no player that’s going to take you to the finals, but you just go in with your gut.”Joel Martinez, Baker’s co-star on “Desus & Mero” who is better known as The Kid Mero, likened the Knicks to a “wild, volatile stock.”For Safdie, a formative moment came in 1994, when the Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing, faced the Houston Rockets in the N.B.A. finals. In Game 6, with a chance for his team to close out the series and win its first championship in two decades, the Knicks’ John Starks had his shot blocked at the buzzer, and the Rockets escaped with a narrow win.“Ewing was open,” Safdie said, his voice rising at the memory of it. “Ewing was wide open!”At the time, Safdie cried before heading to a nearby playground to shoot hoops. He consoled himself with the belief that the Knicks would win Game 7. They lost.“For the consummate Knicks fan, there’s a certain kind of masochism that comes with it,” Safdie said. “I’m a moody guy to begin with, but my moods and attitudes fluctuate so much based on the play of the Knicks.”For fans of a finer vintage, the present is often viewed through the lens of the team’s more illustrious past. Nostalgia, though, comes with a whiff of sadness, because the team’s only championships in 1970 and 1973 become more distant by the day.Lewis Dorf, 69, recalled working as one of the team’s ball boys for three seasons, from 1966 to 1969. During one of Dorf’s first nights on the job, the Knicks’ Willis Reed decked several Lakers, splattering blood on Dorf’s team-issue Converse sneakers. Some time later, Dorf had Reed over to his family’s home for dinner.Lewis Dorf in his lucky Knicks shirt.Kat Slootsky for The New York TimesA signed Willis Reed picture on Dorf’s wall along with his other Knicks memorabilia.Kat Slootsky for The New York Times“Those kinds of memories stick with you,” said Dorf, a high school sports referee who now lives in West Orange, N.J.Steve Finamore, 56, a longtime high school basketball coach in Michigan, grew up in Brooklyn mimicking Reed’s post moves, Earl Monroe’s spinning drives and Walt Frazier’s ball-handling wizardry. There was never any question, he said, about his fandom. The Nets were an afterthought in New Jersey, and the Knicks were a part of his identity as a New Yorker who loved basketball.“It’s something that grew on us,” he said, “the way plants grow in your backyard.”It was not until 2013 that Finamore had a crisis of conscience. Even though the Knicks were coming off a competitive season, Finamore was tiring of the drama that seemed to surround Dolan and some of the team’s stars. The Nets, meanwhile, had traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in a bold title bid. Feeling the tug of his Brooklyn roots, Finamore picked up a couple of pieces of Nets gear before his wife, Mary, intervened.“She said, ‘You’ve been a Knicks fan since 1973, and you’re going to leave them now?’” Finamore recalled. “My loyalty won out. I realized there was no way I could do it.”Daniel Wann, a professor of psychology at Murray State University who has specialized in studying sports fans, said people tend to tie their identities to larger groups. But many of the groups that people once used to form connections have been in decline, Wann said. Fewer people attend church, for example, and most no longer live within walking distance of their relatives.So following a sports team, he said, gives many an important sense of belonging. Suffering along with a losing team is often considered a badge of honor because it shines a light on their loyalty.“It’s really hard to say, ‘Well, I don’t care anymore,’ even in those times when you want to say that you don’t care anymore,” Wann said. “The reality is, it’s just too much a part of who you are to let it go.”Dennis Doyle, a 38-year-old lawyer from Queens, spent the 2014-15 season attending every Knicks game, home and away. It turned out to be the worst season in franchise history.Dennis Doyle attended every Knicks game in the 2014-15 season, when the team went 17-65.Barton Silverman/The New York Times“I’ve always looked at it like it’s not a choice,” Doyle said of being a Knicks fan. “It’s almost like having a disease. It’s just something you’re kind of stuck with, and there was always too strong of an emotional bond.”His reward for persevering has come this season.“It’s such a pleasure to watch them,” Doyle said. “They play hard, and they play defense. And even though their offense stinks sometimes, you can live with that. I’m just so proud.”Dorf, who has been a season-ticket holder for 52 years, scrambled over the past week to land good seats for the first round. He said it was the first time he had felt stressed about tickets since 1999, when the Knicks last went to the finals. (On Tuesday, when Dorf called his ticket representative, he wore his commemorative T-shirt from the 1998-99 season as a “good luck charm,” he said.)Safdie said he was hoping to attend Sunday’s series opener. If not, he said, he will probably do what he usually does: stream the MSG Network’s broadcast of the game on his tablet, positioning his face approximately “four inches from the screen.” More

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      In the NBA Playoffs, The Scariest Teams Are Lower Seeds

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      Injuries and illness dragged down the records of several teams, including the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. That could mean early postseason exits for the season’s best.The N.B.A.’s play-in tournament nearly fell flat with a series of blowout games until LeBron James and Stephen Curry rescued the postseason appetizer experiment with a dynamic one-off between the Los Angeles Lakers and Curry’s Golden State.Now, the real games are here, with the Knicks and the Nets both earning a seat at the table.The championship is up for grabs after a truncated off-season and a somewhat sluggish and injury-filled regular season.In the Western Conference, neither of the two top seeds — the Utah Jazz or the Phoenix Suns — is favored to escape the conference with the defending-champion Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers lurking.In the Eastern Conference, the Nets are finally at full strength at the right time, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are revamped, looking to advance beyond past stumbles, and Jimmy Butler and his Heat — last season’s Eastern Conference champions — will try to prove that success last year was no fluke.Here’s a look at the matchups.Eastern ConferenceNo. 1 Philadelphia 76ersvs. No. 8 Washington WizardsPhiladelphia’s Joel Embiid is one of three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award.Matt Slocum/Associated PressThe Wizards have emerged as an Eastern Conference feel-good story to rival the Knicks. To seize the East’s final playoff berth, they rallied from a 17-32 start and a coronavirus outbreak that shut down the team for nearly two weeks.The problem: Washington’s reward is a first-round matchup with the best Philadelphia team since Allen Iverson led the 76ers to the N.B.A. finals in 2001. Joel Embiid is one of three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, Ben Simmons ranks as one of the league’s most feared defenders and Coach Doc Rivers, in his first season with the Sixers, has this group primed to capitalize on an enticing playoff draw.The three teams best equipped to keep the Sixers out of the N.B.A. finals — Milwaukee, Miami and the Nets — are all on the other side of the bracket, meaning Philadelphia can face only one of them and not before the conference finals.The potency of Bradley Beal and the triple-double king Russell Westbrook in the Wizards’ backcourt might enable them to steal a game, but this is a series in which the Wizards could use Thomas Bryant, their rugged big man who sustained a season-ending knee injury in January. As good as Daniel Gafford has been since Washington acquired him from Chicago on trade deadline day in March, Gafford and a resurgent Robin Lopez will need help to cope with Embiid.No. 2 Brooklyn Netsvs. No. 7 Boston CelticsBoston’s challenge in facing the Nets is daunting, but Jayson Tatum gives the Celtics (some) hope.Bob Dechiara/USA Today Sports, via ReutersThe Nets’ starters have not played together enough to be deemed invincible, but it will take a team at full strength to pose any serious challenge. The Celtics are not that team.Boston limped through the regular season with injuries to Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Evan Fournier, whom the Celtics traded for in March. Most significantly, Jaylen Brown and his 24.7 points and 6 rebounds per game are out for the season following his wrist surgery.Walker and the offensive virtuoso Jayson Tatum will have to play magnificently and carry the burden just to steal a game or two against a Nets defense that can be porous. The Nets finished with one of the most efficient offenses in N.B.A. history, scoring 117.3 points per 100 offensive possessions, and vied for the Eastern Conference’s top seed, despite piecing together rotations throughout the season.The most realistic result of this series is that the Nets will use the games as an opportunity to jell following a regular season in which Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving rarely all shared the court. Their real test won’t come until they meet healthier opponents down the playoff line.No. 3 Milwaukee Bucksvs. No. 6 Miami HeatJimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have a chance to show that their success last season was not a fluke.Bob Dechiara/USA Today Sports, via ReutersLast season, the Heat thumped the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, needing just five games to eliminate Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. It was another disappointingly brief postseason appearance for Milwaukee, which has reoriented itself behind Antetokounmpo for another crack at its first trip to the N.B.A. finals since 1974 — and its first championship since 1971. Few contenders, if any, have gone about their business more quietly. Antetokounmpo went a long way toward ensuring a drama-free existence for the franchise by signing a huge contract extension before the start of the season, and the addition of Jrue Holiday has given the team some defensive-minded toughness.A season removed from an Eastern Conference championship (and a demolition of the Bucks in the process), the Heat have had their ups and downs. Jimmy Butler appeared in just 52 games because of injuries and illness, but he is a fearsome competitor — especially in the postseason. Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro are constant perimeter threats, and the power forward Bam Adebayo is coming off the most productive regular season of his career. Slowing Antetokounmpo — who was limited by an ankle injury last season — will be the challenge.No. 4 New York Knicksvs. No. 5 Atlanta HawksTrae Young was Atlanta’s leading scorer this season, averaging 25.3 points per game.Brett Davis/USA Today Sports, via ReutersThe Knicks and Hawks might be the most evenly matched teams in the first round. Each team has a marquee player who carried it to the postseason: Julius Randle for the Knicks, and Trae Young for the Hawks. Both teams played their best basketball in the second half of the season after an inconsistent first half. Both were among the slowest in terms of pace.All of that to say: This is a tossup. The Hawks do have a wild card in their favor: health. They’re getting some key players back, including Kris Dunn and De’Andre Hunter, who were out with injuries for most of the season. That could cause some headaches for the Knicks, who have mostly avoided the injury bug.The Knicks were elite defensively and have the weapons to contain Young. But offensively, the Knicks have had trouble finding consistent help for Randle. That being said, Randle played the best basketball of his season against the Atlanta. The Knicks won all three of their matchups.Western ConferenceNo. 1 Utah Jazzvs. No. 8 Memphis GrizzliesUtah’s Jordan Clarkson is one of three finalists for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. He averaged a career-high 18.4 points per game.Neville E. Guard/USA Today Sports, via ReutersWhat to make of the Utah Jazz? They were the best team in the N.B.A. and did not have a single top candidate for the Most Valuable Player Award. Donovan Mitchell, their young star in the midst of a career year, missed the final 16 games of the season because of an ankle injury. The Jazz went 10-6 in those games. Utah led the league in point differential, meaning the average margin of victory for their games. The team was dominant, in large part because of Rudy Gobert’s anchoring of the defense, and because of players like Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson picking up the slack with Mitchell absent.It’s unclear whether Mitchell will be able to return for the first round. But the biggest issue is that we’ve seen great regular seasons from the Jazz in the past two years, only for them to get bounced in the first round. But this is the best regular-season Jazz team since 1998-99.They’ll face Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, who overpowered Golden State in a play-in game on Friday night for the eighth seed. Morant, who won the Rookie of the Year Award last season, was relentless on Friday with 35 points. The Grizzlies are young and inexperienced, but they’re also fearless. That mind-set will give them their best chance against the Jazz.No. 2 Phoenix Sunsvs. No. 7 Los Angeles LakersLeBron James’s game-winning 3-pointer against Golden State in the play-in game, which gave the Lakers the seventh seed, signaled that he’s ready for the playoffs.Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressThe Suns assembled their best regular season since 2006-7, motoring through a competitive conference to win their division. Just two seasons ago, they went 19-63 and were a laughingstock. But their talented young core, led by Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, has begun to fulfill its potential, and the addition of Chris Paul in the off-season infused the team with leadership, desire and direction.The Suns’ reward for all their hard work? A first-round meeting with the defending champions. It doesn’t exactly seem fair that Phoenix has to christen its first trip to the postseason since 2010 by figuring out how to contend with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. (Welcome back to the playoffs!)The Lakers are an oddity as a No. 7 seed: Injuries to their stars hindered their season, and the roster was seldom whole. James, for example, appeared in just 45 games because of an ankle sprain. But if his game-sealing 3-pointer against Golden State in the play-in round is any indication, he could be rounding back into form — and the Suns could be in for a tough series.No. 3 Denver Nuggetsvs. No. 6 Portland Trail BlazersThe Trail Blazers are healthier than they were this time last season, but they will still need to rely on their All-Star guard Damian Lillard.Steve Dykes/Associated PressThe last time these teams met in the playoffs, the result was an epic seven-game clash that included a quadruple-overtime game before Portland exhaustingly outlasted Denver in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals.Both teams have sensational M.V.P. candidates — Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Portland’s Damian Lillard, stars looking to journey past the conference finals for the first time.Both also wavered through uneven stretches during the regular season. Denver was below .500 after the first 13 games of the season, and Portland often struggled while cycling through a series of injuries to key rotation players.But Portland will have the services of CJ McCollum and the former Nugget Jusuf Nurkic after each missed chunks of the regular season. The Nuggets will be without Jamal Murray, one of the breakout stars of last season’s playoffs, after he sustained a knee injury in April. Denver’s Monte Morris and Will Barton are also nursing recent injuries.Jokic should be able to find holes in Portland’s 29th-ranked defense. The Nuggets will look for Aaron Gordon, acquired in a March trade with Orlando, and Michael Porter Jr. to replace some of Murray’s scoring punch, and will need to pay attention to Lillard and McCollum on screens.No. 4 Los Angeles Clippersvs. No. 5 Dallas MavericksThe Clippers fell apart in last season’s playoffs, but they stand a good chance against the Dallas Mavericks this year.Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesWhen the Clippers lost their final two regular-season games to Houston and Oklahoma City, two of the league’s worst teams, it signaled to the rest of the N.B.A. that the Clippers wanted to get out of the Lakers’ side of the Western playoff bracket and delay a possible matchup until the conference finals. With the Clippers needing only a win over the Thunder to clinch the No. 3 seed, rest assured that they were equally motivated by the prospect of dropping to No. 4 and locking in a first-round series with Dallas.The state of the Clippers’ psyche remains a major curiosity after their second-round collapse against Denver last season, but no one questions their confidence in being able to beat the Mavericks for the second straight postseason. It’s a matchup they clearly relish; health is the greater uncertainty after they coped with myriad injuries this season.For all of the danger Dallas’ Luka Doncic poses, Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue has a variety of defensive options (Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris for starters) to send at Doncic and make him work for his numbers. To have a chance, the Mavericks will need consistent production from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson, and even more so from their big men who can stretch the floor with shooting — Maxi Kleber and Kristaps Porzingis. More

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      Even the Celtics Think the Nets Will Probably Win

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      The Nets would be heavily favored in the first-round playoff matchup even without Boston’s injury woes. “As a fan of the N.B.A., it’s hard to see those guys losing,” Celtics Coach Brad Stevens said.Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving spent about as much time on the court together with the Nets this season as it takes to watch a Martin Scorsese movie.The lack of reps is likely to have little impact as the No. 2 Nets face the No. 7 Boston Celtics, winners of Tuesday’s play-in game over the Washington Wizards, in the first round of the N.B.A. playoffs in the Eastern Conference.The Nets are assembled for the singular purpose of stacking 16 postseason wins, which add up to a championship. They enter the playoffs with all three stars available after Harden returned from a hamstring strain before resting the regular-season finale, which didn’t matter for the team’s playoff seeding.The threesome has the combined credentials for a special postseason. Durant is a two-time champion and won a finals Most Valuable Player Award with Golden State. Irving was a vital member of Cleveland’s 2016 championship. And Harden, a scoring champion and former M.V.P., once played in the finals with Durant in Oklahoma City.But for all their accolades, they were mostly absent from last year’s postseason. Durant was still recovering from his ruptured Achilles’ tendon. Irving dealt with a shoulder injury. And Harden’s Houston Rockets whimpered out of the playoffs, eventually triggering the seismic deal that landed him with the Nets.Individually, they do not have much on the basketball court to prove. Collectively, a successful postseason from the Nets could show that years of planning and plotting by other franchises can all be for nothing. The N.B.A. is a star-driven league and the Nets flex a stacked deck.Here’s what you need to know about their first-round series against the Celtics.The three biggest Nets stars, Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant, spent only 202 minutes together on the court during the regular season because of injuries, coronavirus protocols and personal absences.Adam Hunger/Associated PressHow many games have Durant, Harden and Irving played in together?Eight games for a total of 202 minutes.Really?Yes, just four more quarters than a playoff series stretched to its max. Durant missed games because of coronavirus health and safety protocols and a hamstring injury. Irving missed time for personal reasons and for a facial contusion near the end of the season. And Harden, traded to the Nets from the Rockets in January, missed much of the end of the regular season with a right hamstring injury.How did the Nets still finish with the second-best record in the East?They can do video-game highlight plays, like Durant’s recent finishing with an alley-oop pass off the backboard.The Nets are not just any team with a rookie coach and an unsteady lineup. There is a reason Coach Steve Nash hasn’t sweated much this season. While Durant, Irving and Durant did not share the court often, Nash has often had a combination of the three at his disposal and they’ve all been sensational. Impressively, Harden did not need much time to familiarize himself with the Nets’ personnel.Irving capped one of the finest seasons of his career in becoming just the ninth player in N.B.A. history to shoot at least 90 percent from the free-throw line, 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from behind-the-arc. He joined Durant and Nash in rarefied territory.Enough about those three. What about the rest of the roster?A team is stacked when the league’s leading 3-point shooter isn’t mentioned until this point. The sharpshooter Joe Harris paced the league by making 47.5 percent of his shots from deep, and he should be available after missing the final three games of the regular season with a gluteal strain.The Nets tried to upend the buyout market by obtaining former stars — Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge — hoping they still had a little mileage left in the tank. Griffin has showed the occasional spring in his step and had 20 points in a win over the Denver Nuggets. An irregular heartbeat abruptly forced Aldridge’s retirement from the N.B.A. in April at the age of 35.Jeff Green, a veteran with plenty of playoff experience and a member of the Durant-Harden Oklahoma City teams, has been a decent addition. Bruce Brown wiggled his way into the rotation following the Harden trade and never relinquished his opportunity. The Nets shouldn’t lack for scoring, but they will be without Spencer Dinwiddie, the capable guard, who is recovering from a knee injury.Harden’s trade to the Nets in January from Houston shifted the power dynamic in the N.B.A.Adam Hunger/Associated PressWhat’s an interesting Nets subplot?As a head coach, Mike D’Antoni revolutionized the league’s offense, ushering it into modernity by prioritizing space and 3-point shooting. His two main conduits for breathing life into the vision in his stops in Phoenix and Houston? Nash and Harden.For all of D’Antoni’s influence, he never won an N.B.A. championship. With the Nets, he is an assistant to Nash and working with Harden, who is also still vying for his first title.Anything juicier?How about Irving against his former coach, Brad Stevens, teammates and organization? In 2018, Irving told the die-hard Celtics fan base, “If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here.” Then in July 2019, he signed with the Nets.How did Boston make the playoffs?Barely. Like the Nets, Boston (36-36) meandered through the regular-season, hindered by injuries and virus protocols. The Celtics needed the play-in game and Jayson Tatum’s 50 points against the Wizards to arrive at this matchup. They spent much of the season not looking like a franchise that had journeyed to the Eastern Conference finals three of the last four seasons.Unlike the Nets, Boston will not be at full strength at the right time. The All-Star Jaylen Brown is out after wrist surgery for a torn ligament. Center Robert Williams is uncertain after he aggravated a turf toe injury during the play-in game.“We’ll do our best to get ready for Brooklyn,” a realistic Stevens told reporters after defeating the Wizards. “They’re the best of the best. As a fan of the N.B.A., it’s hard to see those guys losing. We’re going to have to play great and play great together.”What’s a key matchup to watch?Durant and Tatum are two of the most prolific and innovative scorers on the planet. This will be Durant’s first postseason since he suffered his Achilles’ tendon injury in Game 5 of the 2019 N.B.A. finals with Golden State. As much of an offensive talent as Durant is, Nash has labeled him his team’s best defender and Durant will likely check Tatum often in the series.Jayson Tatum is Boston’s best hope for upsetting the Nets.Brad Penner/USA Today Sports, via ReutersHow did the Nets and Celtics fare against each another during the regular season?The Nets swept the three games from the Celtics, despite having to mix and match their lineups.Why will the Nets win?See the above.Why will the Celtics win?Tatum and this recent photo of Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York dressed up in random Nets gear. De Blasio was posing to bring attention to the Barclays Center pop-up vaccination site, but it is not exactly a look that strikes fear in an opponent. More