Jayson Tatum celebrates with teammates after another dominant showing in Game 3 (@Celtics/Instagram).

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With the Boston Celtics (arguably) improbably leading the Brooklyn Nets 3-0 in an opening-round 2-7 matchup, we’re joined by John Karalis, host of Locked on Celtics, Celtics beat reporter for The Boston Sports Journal and author of The Boston Celtics All-Time All-Stars

5:07-5:45: Most importantly, defending at an extraordinarily high level; that’s what got them to this place. In this series, they are not letting Kevin Durant close out. They are not letting Durant get going and start to do all the things that Durant does. When the Nets are closing out teams, it’s Durant, just bucket after bucket after bucket, midrange after midrange after midrange. Unstoppable. In this series, they’ve frustrated the hell out of him, they’ve beaten him up, and he’s throwing passes to nobody now.”

6:47-6:52: “When he’s got it going, [Tatum] could be as deadly as anybody in the league.”

13:51-14:54: “The switching has, I think, taken them out of their rhythm. And when Kevin Durant is out of rhythm, then the whole thing starts to fall apart ‘cuz Kyrie [Irving] plays off Kevin Durant, and it’s not the other way around. … I look at Game 3 and I say, ‘Bruce Brown got 19 field-goal attempts, and Kevin Durant got 11 field-goal attempts.’ And to me, that tells the story of the Celtics’ defense more than any of these other stats, the steals, the turnovers, Kyrie’s numbers, KD’s numbers. That one number: Bruce Brown had eight more field-goal attempts than Kevin Durant is everything you need to know.”

18:36-19:04: “Everybody on this team will tell you that [Marcus] Smart is the defensive leader. He organizes that defense. He knows everything that’s coming from the other team. His basketball IQ is incredibly high. He will be on guys when they make a mistake, or when something happens and there’s a miscommunication, he’s the guy defensively that gets them together.”

27:49-28:57: “Right now with the playoffs, everybody understands ‘Whatever works.’ And so if [Payton] Pritchard is the guy that comes in and can hit some shots, then great. He was huge in Game 2 with 10 points, eight in the fourth quarter to fuel that fourth-quarter turnaround for the Celtics. I think it doesn’t matter who, it could be Luke Kornet coming in off the bench, and if Luke Kornet suddenly gives the Celtics a 14-0 run and Al Horford is sitting on the bench, then so be it. … If the series needs shooting and Pritchard’s the guy who’s gonna be hitting the shots, then great. I think Derrick White is ready to play 40 minutes or four minutes, and at the end of the game he’s gonna be happy if they get the win.”

30:43-31:07: “[Grant Williams] has been phenomenal defensively. I really can’t say enough about his defense, and I think nationally that might be getting lost because Smart won Defensive Player of the Year and just the way the series is going. But defensively, he’s been maybe the most valuable Celtic in a way, because that’s supposed to be a weak link, and he hasn’t been at all.”

34:39-36:26: “I said Celtics in five because of that defense. … Pick your poison: Kyrie, terrible defender, especially in Game 3 when he has five fouls. Seth Curry, terrible defender. Goran Dragic, terrible. Blake Griffin, terrible. Now you have multiple guys on the floor and Kevin Durant is so worn out that he can’t be the defensive presence, the rim protector that he’s supposed to be. … I never saw Brooklyn with the ability to stop the Celtics. And I always saw the Celtics being able to kind of get whatever shot they wanted in switches against a heavily switching team like the Brooklyn Nets.”

For those interested, here’s John’s previous appearance On the NBA Beat.

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Music: “Who Likes to Party” by Kevin MacLeod.