The Brooklyn Nets face an uphill battle in their quest to win a championship. The 2022 NBA Finals favorites for most of the regular season, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are two losses away from being eliminated from the playoffs.

The Boston Celtics own a 2-0 series lead over the Nets in the first round. With the series shifting to Brooklyn for Game 3 Saturday, the Nets have +340 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook to upset Boston and advance to the second round.

The Nets have +1900 odds to win the championship. That’s a stark difference from the beginning of the playoffs. After Brooklyn defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament to clinch the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed, the Nets had +600 odds to win the NBA Finals.

Eight teams are ahead of the Nets with +1800 odds or better to win the championship. The Celtics lead all East teams with +550 NBA Finals odds.

Despite starting off the playoffs with two straight losses, the Nets have reasons to be optimistic about their chances for a comeback. Ben Simmons plans on making his season debut in Game 4 against Boston, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Simmons last played in an NBA game 10 months ago when the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the 2021 playoffs. Before holding out this season because he wanted to be traded, Simmons had been selected to three straight All-Star teams.

As the primary scorer against Boston’s top-ranked defense, Durant has played well below his standards. The two-time Finals MVP is shooting 31.7% from the field with 12 turnovers. If Simmons can contribute at all offensively, it could go a long way.

Given the time he’s spent away from the court, Simmons might not provide much offensive production. His best value could come in spurts on defense against either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Simmons was an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection in 2020 and 2021.

If the Nets manage to beat the Celtics, they would probably be favored in the second round. Brooklyn would face the winner of the first-round matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls. Khris Middleton could miss a month for Milwaukee because of a sprained MCL.

Durant is likely to play better for the remainder of the playoffs. The superstar averaged 34.3 points on 51.4% shooting last postseason.

Before shooting poorly in Game 2, Kyrie Irving had 39 points on 20 shot attempts in the series opener.

Steve Nash Kevin Durant
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash (L) and Kevin Durant (R) chat during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on November 12, 2021. Getty Images/Jonathan Bachman
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