2021 Playoffs: East First Round | Nets vs. Celtics

Numbers preview: Nets (2) vs. Celtics (7)

Breaking down deep stats that could shape the series between Brooklyn and Boston.

John Schuhmann

Brooklyn Nets (48-24)

Pace: 100.3 (11)
OffRtg: 117.3 (1)
DefRtg: 113.1 (22)
NetRtg: +4.2 (7)

Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

vs. Boston: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

Nets notes – General:

Had the best record (9-5) in games played between the seven teams that finished at least 20 games over .500 and the third best record (20-13) in games played between the 15 teams that finished with winning records.
Had the most wins and the third best record (27-13) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes.
Had the league’s second best record (41-4) after leading by double-digits. Also had the most wins (they were 14-21) after trailing by double-digits.

Nets 2020-21 shot profile

Area	FGM	FGA	FG%	Rank	%FGA	Rank
Restricted area	1,274	1,934	65.9%	11	31%	11
Other paint	497	1,075	46.2%	3	17%	16
Mid-range	315	681	46.3%	2	11%	19
Corner 3	241	589	40.9%	10	9%	13
Above-break 3	779	2,001	38.9%	2	32%	11

%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts

Nets notes – Offense:

Scored 117.3 points per 100 possessions, the highest mark in the 25 years for which we have play-by-play data and, likely, NBA history. The difference between that and the league average (111.7 per 100, also the highest mark ever) was 5.6 per 100, just the 28th best mark of the last 25 seasons.
Their effective field goal percentage of 57.5% was also the highest mark in NBA history, surpassing that of the 2017-18 Warriors (56.9%). The Nets ranked sixth in field goal percentage in the paint (58.9%), second in mid-range field goal percentage (46.3%) and second in 3-point percentage (39.2%).
One of two teams – Atlanta was the other – that ranked in the top 10 in both free throw percentage (80.4%, sixth) and free throw rate (25.8 attempts per 100 shots from the field, eighth).
Ranked second in both isolation possessions per game (10.9) and points per possession on isos (1.05).
Saw the league’s biggest jump in assist/turnover ratio, from 1.60 (21st) last season to 1.98 (sixth) this season.
Played against 367 total possessions of zone, second most in the league, according to Synergy tracking. The 0.97 points per possession they scored against zone ranked 18th.

Nets four factors

Own/Opp.	eFG%	Rank	FTA Rate	Rank	TO%	Rank	OREB%	Rank
Own	57.5%	1	0.258	8	13.4%	12	25.2%	22
Opponent	53.1%	9	0.241	13	12.5%	27	27.4%	23

eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained

Nets notes – Defense:

Saw the second biggest jump in the percentage of their opponents’ shots that came from the restricted area or 3-point range from last season (66%), but still had the league’s eighth lowest rate (68%).
Defended a league-high 9.7 isolation possessions per game, according to Synergy tracking. Their 0.96 points allowed per possession on isos ranked 24th.
Allowed 15.3 second chance points per game, second most in the league.
Played only 20 possessions of zone, second fewest in the league, according to Synergy tracking. But were still the league’s slowest moving team on defense, averaging 3.69 miles per hour. Switched 38% of ball-screens, the league’s second highest rate, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
Ranked 27th in steals (6.7) and 25th in deflections (13.1) per game.

Nets notes – Lineups:

Most-used lineup – Harden, Irving, Brown, Harris and Jordan – played just 192 minutes, fewest among the most-used lineups of the 12 teams that finished in the top six of either conference.
James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant played 202 total minutes (in eight games) together. The Nets outscored their opponents by 7.2 points per 100 possessions with all three on the floor. Their most-used lineup with all three (76 minutes) included Joe Harris and Jeff Green, and outscored opponents by 17.4 per 100.
Allowed 118.3 points per 100 possessions in 490 minutes with Green and DeAndre Jordan on the floor together. That was the team’s worst mark (by a healthy margin) for any two-man combination that played at least 250 minutes.
Allowed 12.5 fewer points per 100 possessions with Nicolas Claxton on the floor (102.1) than they did with him off the floor (114.6). That was the second biggest on-off differential for points allowed per 100 possessions among 363 players who played at least 500 minutes for a single team.
Scored 121.7 points per 100 possessions with Durant on the floor. That was the highest on-court mark among 345 players who averaged at least 10 minutes per game. Irving had the seventh highest (119.4).

Nets notes – Individuals:

Bruce Brown had an effective field goal percentage of 57.6%, up from 48.0% last season. That was the fifth biggest jump among 183 players with at least 300 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons.
Kevin Durant had a true shooting percentage of 66.6%, the highest mark among 48 players with at usage rate of 25% or higher. He ranked seventh in 3-point percentage (45.0%) and his 57.1% in the third quarter was tied for the best mark for any player with at least 50 3-point attempts in any quarter.
Jeff Green defended 114 isolation possessions, second most in the league. The 1.11 points per possession he allowed on isolations ranked 81st among 87 players who defended at least 50. The 1.18 that Blake Griffin allowed ranked 86th.
Griffin had an effective field goal percentage of 50.9%, up from 40.6% last season. That was the sixth biggest jump among 250 players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons.
Griffin tied for the league lead with 22 drawn charges.
James Harden assisted on 44.2% of his team’s buckets while he was on the floor. That was the second highest rate among 345 players who averaged at least 10 minutes per game. He led the league with 7.2 “pass-ahead” passes per game, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
Harden shot 27-for-53 (50.9%) on clutch shots, the sixth best mark among 33 players who have attempted at least 50. He also shot 37-for-39 (94.9%) on clutch free throws, the second best mark among 26 players who attempted at least 25.
Joe Harris led the league in 3-point percentage (47.5%), the second best mark in NBA history for a player with at least 400 attempts. The 51.5% that Harris shot on catch-and-shoot 3s was the best mark for a player with at least 200 attempts in the eight seasons of player tracking.
Harris’ effective field goal percentage in the second quarter (72.6%) was the highest mark for any player with at least 100 field goal attempts in any quarter. Durant’s 72.1% in the third quarter was the second highest.
Harris had free throw rate of 8.9 attempts per 100 shots from the field, the ninth lowest rate among 250 players with at least 300 field goal attempts.
Kyrie Irving was the ninth different player in NBA history to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the free throw line on a qualifying number of attempts. He was just the fourth different player to do it – joining Nets coach Steve Nash (x2), Stephen Curry and Durant – with at least 300 3-point attempts.
Irving shot 164-for-305 (53.8%) on pull-up 2-pointers, the best mark among 64 players who attempted at least 150. Durant had the ninth best mark (49.3%). They were two of the four players – Nikola Jokic and Chris Paul were the others – to shoot 50% or better on at least 100 non-restricted-area paint shots and 50% or better on at least 100 mid-range shots.
Durant (1.18), Irving (1.11) and Harden (1.09 with Brooklyn) ranked second, fifth and ninth, respectively in points per possession on isolations among 42 players with at least 100 isolation possessions, according to Synergy play-type tracking. Harden’s 8.0 isolation possessions per game (with Brooklyn) led the league.
DeAndre Jordan did not qualify for the official field goal percentage leaders, but his mark of 76.3% (190-for-249) was the highest (also the highest effective field goal percentage) in NBA history for a player with at least 100 field goal attempts. Other Jordan seasons rank seventh, eighth, ninth, 13th, 22nd and 33rd. His 79.9% in the restricted area is the second best mark (behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 80.7% this season) for any player with at least 200 restricted-area attempts in the 25 seasons for which we have shot-location data.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot saw the seventh biggest drop in 3-point percentage (from 38.8% to 31.4%) among 202 players with at least 100 attempts in each of the last two seasons. He shot 26-for-86 (30.2%) on corner 3s, the third worst mark among 60 players who attempted at least 75.

Boston Celtics (36-36)

Jayson Tatum and Boston powered past Washington to secure a matchup with Brooklyn in the first round.

Pace: 98.9 (20)
OffRtg: 113.1 (10)
DefRtg: 111.8 (13)
NetRtg: +1.2 (13)

Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

vs. Brooklyn: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

Celtics notes – General:

Finished with a .500 record for just the second time in the franchise’s 75 seasons. The other time was also in a 72-game season (1954-55).
Have the Eastern Conference’s longest active playoff streak (seven seasons). Only team still alive that has won a playoff series in each of the last four years (Houston and Toronto have also done so, but did not qualify for the playoffs or the Play-In).
Played 43 games, most in the league, that were within five points in the last five minutes. Were 17-26 (0.395, fourth worst in the league) in those games and 19-10 (0.655) otherwise. Had the point differential (+1.5 per game, sixth best in the East) of a team that was 40-32.

Celtics 2020-21 shot profile

Area	FGM	FGA	FG%	Rank	%FGA	Rank
Restricted area	1,157	1,739	66.5%	10	27%	24
Other paint	508	1,202	42.3%	15	19%	11
Mid-range	341	841	40.5%	16	13%	14
Corner 3	208	531	39.2%	16	8%	23
Above-break 3	771	2,072	37.2%	7	32%	7

%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts

Celtics notes – Offense:

Ranked in the top 10 offensively for the fourth time in the last five seasons, but saw a jump of only 0.3 points per 100 possessions from last season while the league average jumped 1.6 per 100.
Only 60% of their 3-point attempts, the league’s second lowest rate, were catch-and-shoot attempts. Ranked 14th in pull-up effective field goal percentage (45.9%) after leading the league last season (48.8%).
Ranked 16th in ball movement (329 passes per 24 minutes of possession) and 21st in player movement (11.0 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession).
Ranked last in effective field goal percentage in the last six seconds of the shot clock (41.5%), according to Second Spectrum tracking.

Celtics four factors

Own/Opp.	eFG%	Rank	FTA Rate	Rank	TO%	Rank	OREB%	Rank
Own	54.3%	12	0.234	23	14.1%	18	28.9%	3
Opponent	53.9%	16	0.273	27	14.2%	13	26.3%	13

eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained

Celtics notes – Defense:

Saw the league’s third biggest jump (+5.3) in points allowed per 100 possessions, from 106.5 (fourth) last season to 111.8 (13th) this season.
Ranked 22nd in opponent 3-point percentage (37.4%), ending a streak of 13 straight seasons in the top six.
Ranked third in the (lowest) percentage of their opponents’ shots that came in the restricted area (27%), but 21st in opponent restricted area field goal percentage (65.2%).

Celtics notes – Lineups:

Most-used lineup played only 131 total minutes, fewest among the most-used lineups for the 20 teams that reached the postseason. It included Daniel Theis, who was traded in March. Most-used five-man lineup that doesn’t include Theis, Jaylen Brown (out for the season) or Jeff Teague (also traded) played just 39 minutes together.
Outscored their opponents by 14.4 points per 100 possessions with Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Evan Fournier and Jayson Tatum on the floor together, but that was in just 95 total minutes.
Scored 8.9 points more points per 100 possessions with Tatum on the floor (114.8) than they did with him off the floor (105.9). That was tied for the 15th biggest on-off OffRtg differential among 233 players who played at least 1,000 minutes for a single team.
Reserves accounted for just 28% of their scoring, the league’s second lowest rate.

Celtics notes – Individuals:

Evan Fournier shot 40.3% on pull-up 3-pointers, the seventh best mark among 61 players who attempted at least 100.
Fournier had a higher effective field goal percentage in 16 games with the Celtics (57.6%) than he did in 26 games with the Magic (56.0%), but his free throw rate went down from 33.3 attempts per 100 shots from the field with Orlando to just 8.1 per 100 with Boston.
Payton Pritchard shot 76-for-152 (46.7%) on catch-and-shoot 3s, the fifth best mark among 138 players who attempted at least 150.
Marcus Smart ranked seventh in the league with 3.3 deflections per game.
Jayson Tatum is one of three players – Stephen Curry and Bradley Beal are the others – with multiple 50-point games this season, with his third coming in the Celtics’ Play-In win over Washington. He led the league in fourth-quarter scoring at 7.5 points per game, and also led the league with eight buckets (on 15 attempts) to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime.
Tatum was one of five players with at least 100 pull-up 2-point attempts and at least 100 pull-up 3-point attempts (54 players total) who shot better on the 3s (36.3%) than on the 2s (35.1%).
Tatum scored 1.39 points per possession in transition, the fifth best mark among 134 players with at least 100 transition possessions, according to Synergy tracking.
Tristan Thompson averaged just 0.8 deflections per 36 minutes, fifth fewest among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
Kemba Walker shot just 38.9% (51-for-131) on pull-up 2-pointers, down from 47.0% (70-for-149) last season.
Walker led the league with 0.51 drawn charges per game.
Grant Williams committed 5.1 fouls per 36 minutes, the second highest rate among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
Robert Williams III did not qualify for the official field goal percentage leaders, but his mark of 72.1% (186-for-258) was the fifth highest (also the fifth highest effective field goal percentage) in NBA history for a player with at least 100 field goal attempts.
Robert Williams ranked seventh in blocks per game (1.8). His 3.3 blocks per 36 minutes were fourth most among 362 players who played at least 500 minutes.

Regular season matchup

Celtics begin preparation for Nets

Shaq, Kenny and Chuck look ahead to the challenge the Celtics will face against the Nets.

Nets won season series, 3-0

Nets 123, Celtics 95 (Dec. 25 @ Boston)
Nets 121, Celtics 109 (Jan. 4 @ Brooklyn)
Nets 109, Celtics 104 (Apr. 23 @ Brooklyn)

Pace: 99.7 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes
Brooklyn OffRtg: 118.9 (8th vs. Boston)
Boston OffRtg: 102.3 (27th vs. Brooklyn)

Total points scored, season series

Area	BKN	BOS	Diff.
Restricted area	104	94	10
Other paint	30	36	-6
Total in paint	134	130	4
Mid-range	16	26	-10
3-point range	135	114	21
Total outside paint	151	140	11
Free throws	68	38	30
Fast break points	61	25	36
2nd chance points	52	49	3

Matchup notes:

The first two games took place before the Nets acquired James Harden or Blake Griffin, and Kevin Durant played in only the first meeting. Kemba Walker and Robert Williams III played in only the second meeting, and Jaylen Brown was not available for the third. The Celtics didn’t have a lineup that played in more than one of the three games..
The Christmas game was the Celtics’ second worst loss of the season and, over the three meetings, the Nets outscored them by 16.5 points per 100 possessions, the best mark for any team against Boston this season. But the other two games were both within five points in the last five minutes. The Celtics scored just four points on nine clutch possessions, with more turnovers (3) than field goal attempts (2).
The Celtics’ effective field goal percentage (47.7%) was the second worst mark for any team against Brooklyn this season. Their offensive rebounding percentage (35.0%) was the best mark for any team against Brooklyn.
Over the three games, the Nets scored just 92.1 points per 100 possessions (70 on 76) in the first quarter and 128.1 per 100 thereafter.
The Nets’ 28 second chance points on Mar. 11 were a season high and their 32 fast break points on Apr. 23 were tied for the fifth most for any team in a game this season.
Kyrie Irving’s 92 total points (on 51% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 16-for-16 from the line) against the Celtics were tied for his most against any opponent. He also scored 92 points against his other former team. Marcus Smart was his primary defender.
Jayson Tatum’s 89 points (on 51% from the field and 44% from 3-point range) were the fifth most scored against the Nets this season. But he had only nine free throw attempts to go along with his 71 shots from the field. Durant defending Tatum most in the Christmas meeting, but with the Nets’ switching a lot of guys guarded him over the season series.