Turbulent Nets season ends in catastrophe

NEW YORK – A season that started with a championship aspiration mercifully ended in a disappointment in a spectacular fashion. 

The pre-season title favorites Brooklyn Nets bombed out as the only winless team in the playoffs. 

The Boston Celtics fended off the Nets’ late rally to score a sweep, 116-112, Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time) before another star-studded crowd led by Filipino-American Grammy winner Olivia Rodrigo. 

Kevin Durant turned in his best postseason performance with 39 points, but it was not enough. The Nets failed to capitalize after the Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum exited the game with six fouls in the final 2:49 of the game. 

Tatum had 29 and was the series' best player. 

Despite Durant’s Game Four explosion, albeit on an inefficient 13 of 39 shots, the 33-year-old superstar looked exasperated at the end of the series, where he shot a playoff career-worst 38.6%. 

“Give credit to the Celtics. First off, they are an incredible team. They have a chance to do some big things the rest of the playoffs,” Durant said. 

The Celtics’ size smothered Durant. The Nets, hyped as the most dangerous seventh seed before the playoffs, never found a way to get over the hump. 

In the end, chemistry overwhelmingly beat talent. 

“They’re the better team. This is the best defense in the league,” said Durant referring to the Celtics. 

The Nets had to endure the most turbulent season in the Durant-Irving era. 

But most of the challenges came from within, starting with Irving’s costly decision to remain unvaccinated, which limited him to 29 games.

"I think it was just really heavy, emotionally the season. We all felt it,” Irving said. “I felt like I was letting the team down to a point where I wasn't able to play. We were trying to exercise every option for me to play, but I never wanted it to just be about me. And it became a distraction at times, and you know, as you see, we just had some drastic changes.”

Irving was the first domino to fall. 

Durant had to take more load, which led to a knee injury that caused him to miss 21 games. Then James Harden eventually quit on the team and sought out a trade. 

But the off-court drama didn’t end there. 

The headliner in the Harden blockbuster trade, Ben Simmons, backed out last-minute from making his season debut in Game Four. Simmons was not around in the Barclays Center when the Nets got swept, with the team citing his back soreness as the culprit. 

Before the game, Nets coach Steve Nash groped for the right words to explain the circumstances of Simmons’ sudden decision to back out from playing in Game 4. 

“I want to be careful here. I don't want to overstate my understanding of the situation because I'm not in Ben’s shoes. That's very important for me not to speak for Ben because I can't relate to what he's going through. There is a mental component with everything,” Nash said. 

Those curveballs were just too much for the Nets to overcome. 

Players were in and out. 

They couldn’t build the chemistry that most championship contenders have. 

The Nets assembled arguably, the most explosive Big 3 in today’s NBA. But they were a combustible group with questionable characters. It blew up in the Nets’ face. 

They have sold their culture in exchange for superstars. 

Durant just wants to move on from the failed super team experiment. 

“No regrets,” Durant said. “Shit happens. No crying over spilled milk. It is about how we can progress and get better from here.”

With only one playoff win to show in three seasons together, Durant and Irving have failed to deliver on their promise to bring championships to Brooklyn. 

So, where do the Nets go from here?

Durant recently signed a four-year, $198 million extension that will keep him in Brooklyn through the 2025-26 season. 

Irving quickly put to rest questions about his future. 

"I don't really plan on going anywhere," Irving said. This [sweep] is an added motivation for our franchise to be at the top of the league for the next few years. And I'm just looking forward to the summer and just building with our guys here."

He is eligible to sign a maximum five-year extension worth $247.6 million once he declines his $36.9 million player option next season. 

Irving wants to run it back with Durant. 

"When I say I'm here with Kevin, I think that it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside (Joe (Tsai) and Sean (Marks), and just our group of family members that we have in our locker room in our in our organization," Irving said. 

Tsai, the Alibaba co-founder, and his GM, Marks, have a soul-searching to do this summer after the team's soulless performance. 

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.