1. Could the Celtics have beaten the Nets? Yes. Should the Celtics have beaten the Nets? That’s a more complicated answer. On one hand you can say Brooklyn was missing two of their top-three players and Kyrie Irving shot terribly. That would lead to an answer that Boston should have won.
On the other hand, the Celtics were missing two of their top-three players too. While Jayson Tatum shot it well, Boston doesn’t have nearly the depth the Nets have. That makes winning games like this a difficult proposition.
It feels like the right place to be is happy with a split on a Phoenix/Brooklyn back-to-back, while slightly disappointed Boston didn’t get both.