Nets will call on hot shot Joe Harris against Celtics

When it comes to absolute firepower, no team in the NBA compares to the Nets. Obviously, the big guns that command the most defensive attention are Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, scorers of historic proportions.

But when the first round opens Saturday night at Barclays Center, the Celtics know they also must try to find a solution for Joe Harris, who this season became the fifth player in NBA history to win multiple three-point percentage titles with a 47.5% mark that just nipped the 47.4% number he posted to win the title two seasons ago.

Asked about the significance of his achievement following practice on Thursday, Harris brushed it off. "I don’t think about it a ton," he said. "Obviously, it’s just a byproduct of the work that has been put in. I pride myself on being an elite shooter in this league, so those are the marks I’m trying to reach."

The hard work Harris put in over the first 69 games led to a hip injury that caused him to miss the final three regular-season games. He thought it was a simple bruise, but the Nets’ performance staff determined there was a strain that caused him to lose hip strength. But Harris went through a full practice on Thursday and pronounced himself fit.

"I feel fine to be honest, and I’m ready to go come Game 1," Harris said. "Everybody else in the organization would echo the same. It was kind of an unusual sort of injury, nothing in particular that really stood out. It wasn’t even painful by any means. It was just one of those things where I had a little weakness in the hip, in the glut area, and I’m back close to 100% right now."

The importance of Harris’ three-point marksmanship can’t be underestimated. When the Nets reached the playoffs two years ago, one of the keys to the 76ers’ 4-1 victory was their ability to take away Harris as a threat. He went from averaging 13.7 points and shooting 47.4% from three during the regular season to averaging 8.8 points and shooting 19.0% (4-of-21) from three.

"In the Philly series, they did an excellent job defensively in terms of taking a lot of our offensive options away," Harris recalled. "There was D’Angelo (Russell) at the time and myself, Caris (LeVert). It was a competitive series but definitely a difficult series, especially because it was our first go at it together.

"That’s the nature of the playoffs. The intensity level rises, the game-planning is up another notch, the attention to detail and taking away shooters is kind of ramped up a notch as well."

Given the dramatically different cast the Nets have put together to gain the role of NBA title favorites, coach Steve Nash doesn’t anticipate the Celtics or anyone else being able to defend Harris as well as the 76ers did.

"I’m sure they don’t want to give him any free looks," Nash said of the Celtics. "He’s one of the best shooters in our game. Having said that, it’s a little trickier when you have three (other) guys out there that can break the defense down. That’s the beauty of our team.

"We don’t have a lot of time together or history together, but we do have talent. If we can make those pieces work with fluidity and understanding, that’s the beauty of this roster and this team."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.