Tag: 2022 East First Round

It’s all fair between Kyrie Irving and Boston Celtics fans, according to Gilbert Arenas

Agent Zero thinks it’s part of the game so long as certain lines aren’t crossed.

There is a line one should not cross when it comes to fans and players of visiting teams jawing at one another that should not be crossed that very few would take issue with involving epithets, family, and the like. But apart from those third wires of NBA trash talk, just how pitched can such exchanges get before they go too far?

While it has sadly not been the case in the past, the current level of animus between fans of the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving seems to be at a comparatively healthy level while also pushing the limit of what ought to be done in a game being broadcast on national television — are both sides being fair in this first-round playoff series?

According to retired NBAer Gilbert Arenas, absolutely. On his “No Chill” podcast on the Fubo Sports Network, Agent Zero and co-host Josiah Johnson chopped it up about the interplay between the former Celtic and its fans.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear what the Duo said, and see if you concur with a somewhat spicy take.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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How will the rest of the Brooklyn Nets – Boston Celtics first-round series go?

There were a number of trends for both teams that could be huge if they continue.

It is not uncommon for fans of an NBA team to get irrationally exuberant about the results of a Game 1 win in the postseason (just ask Boston Celtics fans about their series against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019 about that), and there is a risk from trying to pull too much about the future of a series from just the first game.

In the Celtics’ current series against the Brooklyn Nets, there were plenty of things that could be interpreted in favor or against Boston’s Game 1 performance, depending on which trends one thinks are real, and which are noise. Will the Celtics be able to continue to affect Kevin Durant’s ability to score? Can the Nets hope to have as good a game out of Kyrie Irving?

The hosts of the ESPN “(debatable)” show do exactly that with the prospect of how the rest of the 2022 East playoffs series will go.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear how Domonique Foxworth, Izzy Gutierrez, and Spencer Hall think the rest of Nets – Celtics will go.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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‘We’re all going to remember the Celtics-Nets finish FOREVER,’ says ESPN’s Zach Lowe

ESPN’s Lowe and quite a few of us are still reeling a bit from that game’s intensity and finish.

The very first game of the first round of the NBA’s 2022 Eastern Conference playoff series between the Boston Celtics was an instant classic by all accounts, with the punch-for-punch tilt close from wire to wire. Decided by a buzzer-beating layup coming from trust and ball movement as both veteran point guard Marcus Smart and star forward Jaylen Brown passed up potential game-winners to get the rock to a cutting Jayson Tatum, who laid up and in as time expired to secure the Game 1 win for Boston.

Widely seen as among the greatest starts to a first-round series — and by some, among the greatest of any Game 1 series — the tilt from start to finish has elevated anticipation for the rest of the series to perhaps unsustainable levels.

But even if no other game of the series plays out as such an intense contest, let’s join ESPN’s Zach Lowe and the rest of the “NBA Today” show crew in giving that game its flowers before Game 2 rolls around on Wednesday.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Did Celtics already take Nets’ best punch?

Or can we expect a more robust response to their Game 1 loss on Wednesday?

Did the Boston Celtics take the Brooklyn Nets’ best punch of the series in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoffs matchup? By any account, it wasn’t superstar forward Kevin Durant’s best game, but it also was far from his worst despite being the primary focus of the Celtics’ defense, and it was among the best all-around games of star point guard Kyrie Irving’s career.

Mix in that the team got considerable performances from players off of the bench like Goran Dragic, who probably can’t be providing that level of play on a night-to-night basis any more than Irving can be expected to score nearly 40 points every game.

There is a very solid case to be made that Boston took Brooklyn’s best punch on the chin and did not fall down.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Garden Report” podcast recently debated if the Nets might have similar such games left in the clip — check out the video embedded above to hear what they think of Brooklyn’s potential moving forward.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Should the Brooklyn Nets bring back Ben Simmons in their series with the Boston Celtics?

Not everyone thinks it would be a good idea.

It took almost everything the Boston Celtics had to beat the Brooklyn Nets 115 – 114 on a buzzer-beating shot from star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum in Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon, leaving many to wonder if the Nets just need to upgrade their defensive capabilities to help their chances of winning.

Normally you have the team you have once the postseason begins, but both teams have something of an ace up their sleeves in big men Robert Williams III and Ben Simmons for Boston and Brooklyn, respectively. And Simmons would have a major impact on the Nets’ tepid defense perhaps even beyond what Timelord would do for an already-stout Celtics coverage.

A bigger question looms for the Nets given they have yet to play a minute with the former 76ers forward: would bringing back Simmons in the thick of a postseason series even be a good idea?

The hosts of the ESPN “Hoop Streams” show recently debated the wisdom of such a move on the part of the Nets in a recent episode; check out the clip embedded above to hear their perspectives on having Simmons play in this seroes.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Boston star Jayson Tatum talks about buzzer-beating play from Marcus Smart in Game 1 Nets win

The St. Louis native believes the team has grown in terms of making the right play when it counts.

The Boston Celtics and their fans are still basking in the afterglow of a buzzer-beating, 115 – 114 Game 1 won over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon, courtesy of a brilliant last-second pass from veteran point guard Marcus Smart to a cutting Jayson Tatum for a layup that went in as time expired.

There is plenty of time to dissect what went wrong enough to put Boston in a position to need such a miraculous shot to beat the Nets on their own home court in the first place. But after a game they held superstar Nets forward Kevin Durant to just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc and managed to gut out the win, the main focus in the postgame scrum was how Boston’s star forward and Smart managed to pull off the play.

“Honestly, we all thought that Smart was going to shoot it,” said Tatum.

Kyrie Irving embracing the role of the heel at the Garden opens a door for mutual catharsis

The animosity, however, is likely here to stay.

If the not-exactly family-friendly interactions between former Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving and the Celtics fans in the arena for Irving’s Brooklyn Nets Game 1 against Boston on Sunday were getting in the Duke product’s head, it certainly did not show up in the box score.

Irving and the TD Garden crowd heckled one another in a continuation of their mutual ire, with the Nets star the subject of frequent and loud boos and trash talk from fans, and Irving responded in kind with a salute of ill repute a few times during the game. Asked about the atmosphere and his likely-to-be-fined responses, the Brooklyn point guard shared his perspective on the hostile reception.

“It’s nothing new when I come in this building and what it’s going to be like,” said Irving.

‘Inside the NBA’ crew react to Boston Celtics blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1

Shaq, Kenny, Chuck, and Ernie talk about the Celtics’ buzzer-beating win.

The first-round series between the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets in the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs was one of the most anticipated matchups in recent postseason history, and the electric atmosphere that surrounded Game 1 immediately elevated it to an instant classic won at the buzzer with a spinning layup by All-Star forward Jayson Tatum.

With 20 lead changes throughout the course of the tight contest from buzzer to buzzer, the last-second pass from veteran point guard Marcus Smart to the St. Louis native to seal the deal 115 – 114 will be remembered in Boston lore for some time.

The hosts of the TNT “Inside the NBA” spent some time reviewing the game and sharing their reactions to one of the more intense postseason contests we have seen in some time.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear what they have to say.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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