The Brooklyn Nets bounced the Boston Celtics out of the playoffs in the first round last year in five games, and despite having to go through the play-in tournament, the Nets are favored to topple the Celtics once again in 2022.
Boston struggled to start the season, but a sudden mid-season transformation saw the Celtics playing some of the best defense in the league. The Celtics won the season series with the Nets, 3-1, which included two blowout wins in Boston’s favor.
After the Nets beat the Cavs to advance to the first round, NBA legend Charles Barkley flatly said that Brooklyn can’t beat Boston in the upcoming series.
“What I saw tonight, they can’t beat the Celtics. Those two guys [Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving] were fabulous, and they barely beat a mediocre Cavs team. [Jaylen] Brown and [Jayson] Tatum… are gonna play great. I don’t know either one of those guys well, but Tatum has definitely got that ego [to be great].
…. I know both of those guys are going to play well. I’m sorry they don’t have [Robert] Williams, but Marcus Smart, to me, I think he’s going to be huge. Because he is just a great defender, his intensity is going to bring a lot. The Celtics are going to beat them.”
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