Earthquakes in the East

The Sixers look like titans, the Bucks struggle and the Celtics are somewhere between handling and being wary of the Nets.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

It’s a little weird to have three Eastern Conference playoff games in one day, but the results taken together tell us something about the narrative state of play out there. The consensus going in — bloodbaths for the Celtics-Nets and Sixers-Raptors series, a walkover for the Bucks against the Bulls — has been shaken up rather thoroughly. Let’s dig in.

Scores

Nets 107, Celtics 114 (BOS leads 2-0) — The Celtics absolutely cannot complain or fret about a 2-0 lead against such a high-ceiling opponent. But the fact that the Nets have been able to score really efficiently without Kevin Durant playing to his normal level is surely a little concerning. Brooklyn’s offense is potent, but should the Celtics face the Bucks next … Milwaukee’s offense was even more efficient than the Nets attack this season. The Sixers and Heat offenses are pretty strong, too.

Meanwhile, all three of those likely potential future opponents for Boston have much stouter defenses than what Brooklyn is offering up on that end, so challenges loom if the C’s don’t tighten up their league-leading resistance. It seems like Robert Williams III is on a path to return in the not-too-distant future. It seems like Boston needs him.

That said, Boston really did tighten up on defense in the second half. Maybe Ime Udoka and the key leaders figured something out. We’ll see in Game 3.

Don’t count out the Nets, of course: Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant, and I suspect he won’t go 0/10 in the second half again in this series. This has been a pretty narrow margin for Boston so far.

This is the most likeable Celtics team of my lifetime. Special shout-out to Jaylen Brown, lest he get stuck in the shadow of Marcus Smart’s DPOY trophy and Jayson Tatum’s All-NBA nod. Jaylen Brown is GREAT.

Highlights:

One more: Al Horford is playing like a kid. I love it.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA

12 hours later I still cant believe al horford actually pulled this off