Brooklyn's Title Chances All Come Down to Their Defense

The Brooklyn Nets and their star trio played their first postseason game together on Saturday and secured a Game 1 victory after a slow start. They found themselves down six at halftime but put together a much better performance in the second half, showing the kind of defensive potential this offensive powerhouse can reach. Although the big three combined for a robust 82 points, what sparked the comeback was their defensive efforts, holding Boston to only 40 points in the second half to claim the Game 1 victory.

INTERESTING FACTS

Brooklyn’s Big 3 combined for 82 points in their 1st playoff game together in only their 9th total game overall
Kevin Durant became the 1st player with 30+ PTS & 10+ REB in his playoff debut with multiple teams (BKN, GSW) in NBA history

Odds vs. BOS: BKN -360 (Spread -8.0)

MAIN TAKEAWAY

BROOKLYN’S TITLE CHANCES ALL COME DOWN TO THEIR DEFENSE

COLORS KEY | FULL NETS OUTLOOK

It is well known that Brooklyn can score the basketball, with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving all as viable options, but their ability to stop opponents from scoring is what could keep them from grabbing the title. The Nets were ranked 21st in points allowed during the 2020-21 regular season, which was one of the worst among playoff teams. There is no doubt they can score, but championship-level defense wasn’t thought to be part of their DNA yet they showed that in the second half of Game 1. If they can consistently defend at even an average level, it’ll be hard for anyone to compete at Brooklyn’s level

BEST HIGHLIGHTS

Brooklyn’s trio combines for 82 points in Game 1

The @BrooklynNets dynamic trio drops 82 in their first #NBAPlayoffs game together. 👀@KDTrey5: 32 PTS, 12 REB@KyrieIrving: 29 PTS@JHarden13: 21 PTS, 8 AST, 4 STL
Game 2 – Tue, 7:30pm/et, TNT pic.twitter.com/pwpH4WXIMN
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2021