Jun 2, 2021
Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of
’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
In the waning minutes of Brooklyn’s 123–109 series-clinching win over Boston, the TNT cameras captured a terrifying image: Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving leaning against a table, laughing and smiling, three healthy NBA superstars seemingly in lockstep with one another. For conference rivals, that image is as frightening as it gets.
The Nets are headed to the second round after mopping up the Celtics. It was a predictable outcome. Any chance Boston had of hanging in this series evaporated when Kemba Walker and Robert Williams joined Jaylen Brown on the injured list after Game 3. Any hope the Celtics had of forcing a Game 6 in Boston was buried under an avalanche of Brooklyn three-pointers in the fourth quarter.