Boston Celtics: 3 keys to upsetting the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2

Despite being heavy underdogs in their first round series against the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics actually looked competent for most of the opening game of the series, before falling apart in the second half.

The Celtics were able to limit Brooklyn’s big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden for most of the first half, before they took over in the second half. Boston couldn’t match them on the offensive end, only putting up 40 points in the second half, which ultimately caused their downfall.

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As the series heads towards Game 2 tomorrow night, Boston showed enough to make Celtics fans believe that they can at least stay in the rest of the games in this series. Had they managed to get anything going offensively in the second half, they probably would have come out on top in Game 1. Here are three keys the Boston Celtics will need to focus on if they want to even up the series before it returns to the TD Garden.

No. 3: Boston Celtics must keep up the defensive intensity

It was a complete flip of the script for the Celtics in Game 1, as their defense managed to keep them in a game for once rather than being the cause of a loss. The Nets struggled out of the gate, and missed some shots they would later hit in the second half, but the Celtics defense did a good job for most of the night making life difficult for Brooklyn’s offensive attack.

A large reason for their good defensive play starts in the interior with Rob Williams. Williams was an absolute menace in the paint in this one, as he blocked an absurd nine shots away from the Brooklyn Nets, and made sure their time spent in the paint wasn’t pleasant.

The difference between Williams and Tristan Thompson on defense cannot be overstated here. Thompson was constantly getting picked on by the Nets at the start, and while the rest of the defense did a good job of helping Thompson out down the line, he was exposed on defense early in this one. Williams meanwhile has the foot speed to at least make life difficult for players at the perimeter, before switching off the perimeter and rolling towards the paint, which is something he did time and again in Game 1.

With Williams anchoring the Celtics defense in the paint, that allows the team to fly around the perimeter and make life as difficult as they can for the Nets elite scorers. Brooklyn obviously has some fantastic offensive talent which limits the effectiveness of this plan to an extent, but it’s the best option Boston has to slow down this team.

If there’s one thing Boston should bring with them from Game 1 to Game 2 is their defensive intensity. They limited the Nets secondary scorers to basically nothing, and forced Durant, Irving, and Harden, to do the heavy lifting. If they can implement the same defensive game plan in Game 2, they will have a really good shot to come away with a win.