A Final Look at the Short Nets Season

Excitement was replaced by exhaustion when the Nets took the field for Monday’s fait accompli playoff game against the booming Boston Celtics.

The early-season excitement surrounding the Nets and their radiant roster faded with a season-long headshot against Murphy’s law dictum that anything that can go wrong usually happens.

Rows of famous New York audiences such as Mary J. Blige, Spike Lee, and Aaron Judge attended Game 3 at the Barclays Center and—despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary—was confident in a quick win. He would push the Nets back into the series on Monday.

Even Ben Simmons, who was noted for his kaleidoscope outfits earlier in the series, wasn’t there.

Nets fans attending Monday’s game looked exhausted from a season that felt like it was more, perhaps due to off-court distractions. Witnessing their team’s mid-season revival that the Brooklynites expected the Nets, Celtics fans arrived ready to pour salt on the festering wounds.

Boston – too fit, too tall, too stubborn – has slammed the door into a head-scratching Nets season.

Kyrie Irving missed most of the season for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Kevin Durant, who injured his knee, missed more than a month.

The Nets had an 11-game losing streak. James Harden forced a swap to Philadelphia and, among others, brought back Simmons, who never went to court, at the center of the deal.

It was Durant who usually shouldered the burden all by himself throughout the season. It was the best of the series with 39 points on Monday during the playoffs.

However, Jayson Tatum’s two-way performance throughout the series neutralized Durant. Boston fans serenaded Tatum in Brooklyn with “MVP” chants on Monday before fouling with 2 minutes 48 seconds and the Celtics leading 6 points. Their last win was only 4 points – enough for victory. And so much for the Nets.

Irving is now in line for a contract extension. Most of the Nets veteran rotation players are scheduled for free cast. No one knows when the injured Simmons will play. But the story of this season may not be how it ended, but whether the Nets’ stars were left long enough to find a way to start over.