National Basketball Association

Are Brooklyn Nets toast entering Game 4 vs. Celtics?

Published Apr. 25, 2022 1:32 p.m. ET

The Brooklyn Nets are in serious trouble.

A first-round Eastern Conference series that many predicted would last seven games has turned out to be as one-sided as they come, with Brooklyn on the brink of elimination after falling into a 3-0 hole to the Boston Celtics.

And with the return of Robert Williams to Boston's lineup, plus the extended absence of one Ben Simmons, things are looking as murky as ever for the once-favored Nets.

Kevin Durant is averaging a career-low 22 points per game on a 36.5% shooting clip through the series' first three games, while Kyrie Irving has been held below 20 points in back-to-back outings for just the third time all season. Boston, on the other hand, is leading all playoff teams with 10.7 steals per game, while Jayson Tatum is coming off a performance for the ages, finishing Game 3 with 39 points, six steals, six assists, and five boards.

Brooklyn has a chance to stave off elimination Monday night in its own backyard, but many analysts have already packed it in for their season — and perhaps their future as a whole.

Chris Broussard compared the squad to a hearty breakfast meal, telling his cohosts on "First Things First" Monday morning that Brooklyn was as good as "toast."

"This is embarrassing," he disappointedly exclaimed on the show. Broussard had picked the troupe to bulldoze its way into the NBA Finals ahead of the playoffs.

"They're defeated. KD has seen it all, and he sounded like he's never seen anything like this Boston defense. He's admitted that he's in his own head. He's lost. And Kyrie [Irving] is talking about ‘chemistry’ and ‘continuity’ and ‘how do you make up for that when you haven’t played since October?' As if he's not the reason!

"I think they lose tonight. But if they win so what? Who cares? They're not going past five games. Nobody in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit, and they're not about to be the first team to do it."

Broussard went on to criticize Durant for leaving Golden State for Brooklyn, which he believes was a dire mistake.

"Kevin Durant left Golden State for many reasons, but one of them was because he got tired of Steve Kerr's motion offense. He talked about wanting to play iso. … I bet he hopes and prays that he has someone now to create offense for him. You believed all the press clippings that you were the greatest scorer ever, that you could never be stopped, and Jayson Tatum is shutting you down!"

Nick Wright hit his cohosts with the old "I told you so."

"Everything I said about this fraudulent team is accurate," Wright asserted.

"Their coaching is awful. All of us said after Game 1 that ‘they almost won Game 1, the game that will be Kevin Durant’s worst game of the series.' Little did we know it'd be his best! … Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and KD has got to produce. You can't shoot 36% for a series. It's the worst series of his career."

Kevin Wildes retained some semblance of belief in the squad, and its self-dubbed "sniper."

"Now we get elimination game Kevin Durant. Yes, he's better than the greats in elimination games," Wildes said. "There's only four guys ahead of him in points per game in elimination games."

Like Wright and Broussard, Skip Bayless couldn't foresee Brooklyn making history either, and he said on "Undisputed" that Ben Simmons' injury was part of the problem.

"Where did this mysterious herniated disk come from? Baloney! What have you been doing? Maybe he herniated his disk trying to pick up his check. He's the most stylish bench player I've ever seen."

Shannon Sharpe didn't buy Simmons' injury claims either.

"Everybody is trying to rack their brains around how he herniated his disk when all he's been doing is sitting on the sidelines!" Sharpe said.

Even Simmons at 100% may not be enough to quell the oncoming tidal wave that's trying to sweep Brooklyn off its feet. And now, it's desperately hanging on to whatever it can to avoid just that: Extinction by way of a four-game sweep.