Nets' Kevin Durant looks forward to the challenge of Celtics' Jayson Tatum in NBA playoffs

If there is a marquee matchup in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series between the Nets and the Celtics, it is between Nets great Kevin Durant and Celtics upstart Jayson Tatum.

But there aren’t just two players on the floor. There are five, and Celtics guard Marcus Smart figures to play a major role covering James Harden and possibly Kyrie Irving at times.

Tatum is a huge concern for the Nets. He had five games in which he scored at least 40 points this season, including games of 53 and 60 and then his 50-point performance against the Wizards in the play-in win on Tuesday that secured the 7th seed the Celtics previously had earned in the Eastern Conference.

Tatum will be matched against Durant, a nine-time all-NBA player who has won two NBA Finals MVP awards, in Game 1 of the series on Saturday night.

"The best thing I’d say about JT is how he stays the same no matter what the lineup is, guys are in and out, he had COVID, his running mate [Jaylen Brown] is out for the rest of the season, Kemba [Walker] was in and out of the lineup, and he stayed solid with the way he played the game, changing styles from scoring from the top of the key to the post, from either side of the floor, adding the passing into the game now," Durant said after practice on Friday.

"I feel like he had some blinders on and just focused in on developing and continuing to grow as a player, and that’s what I admire the most from afar. He’s learning more and more about NBA defenses, and as a young guy, he’s been through so much already. He’s only going to get smarter. At this point, people are throwing everything at him, and he’s handling it pretty well ."

Durant was set to make his first playoff appearance in two years since he famously suffered a torn Achilles tendon when he came back from a calf injury to play Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals for Golden State in Toronto. He lasted 12 minutes before suffering the injury that cost him the entire 2019-20 season. But when asked about the emotion of returning to playoff action, Durant downplayed it.

"I try not to have any emotions," Durant said. "Just go out there and do my job as best as I can, play as hard as I can every minute when I’m out there. Simply, that’s how I approach it."

At the same time, it is clear Durant has been fully engaged in playoff preparation. When asked how the Nets might handle the Celtics' Smart, who likely will be assigned to cover Harden but who also could find himself on Irving at times, Durant was prepared. He disagreed with the suggestion that Smart brings more of an intangible presence on defense rather than stuffing the stat sheet.

"I know a lot of people talk about Marcus Smart’s intangibles, but scoring the basketball, he’s definitely gotten better over the years from knocking down the three to posting up little guards to getting to his left hand, pulling up in the pick-and-roll," Durant said. "Marcus Smart can actually put stats on the stat sheet, too.

"He’s just a glue guy for them, but he also is a guy they depend on to knock down shots, so we’ve got to be on point."

Even though their Big 3 of Durant, Irving and Harden played together just eight times in the regular season, they are healthy to start the playoffs. Describing the week of practice the Nets had leading to Saturday’s Game 1, Nets guard Bruce Brown said, "It’s been great. They’re building a lot of chemistry out there. We can’t wait until [the series] starts."

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.