Led by a big performance from Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics clinched the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the team that had a lot of ups and downs during the season will now face the most potent offensive squad in the league and they know they have to bring their A-Game to beat Steve Nash and his pupils.
That is precisely what Brad Stevens believes. The Celtics head coach knows they are on the verge of facing a big team with three elite scorers Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden.
They won’t have Jaylen Brown for this playoffs after suffering a season-ending injury, but their new Big 3 of Tatum, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker will try to make some noise in front of the New Yorkers. After the play-in game was over, Stevens said the Celtics are well aware of the Nets’ quality, which will force them to play great basketball from the very first minute of the series.
“We’ll do our best to get ready for Brooklyn. They’re the best of the best. As a fan of the NBA, it’s hard to see those guys losing. We’re going to have to play great and play great together.”
Brad Stevens: "We'll do our best to get ready for Brooklyn. They're the best of the best. As a fan of the NBA, it's hard to see those guys losing. We're going to have to play great and play great together."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 19, 2021
With Jayson Tatum inspired, dropping 50 on the Washington Wizards to take his team to the playoffs, the Celtics have a chance to compete. However, the job will be tough to carry out, especially knowing how inconsistent they’ve been this season.
Well, now we start a new competition and a lot can happen here. Not many people are convinced Tatum will be enough to take the Nets out of competition but this season has been full of surprises. This series starts next Saturday at 8 PM ET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNyFCWawOMY
