As the Boston Celtics had control of their own destiny in the final day of the regular season, they decided to not rest their main guys to clinch the second seed and increase the likelihood of playing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Dodging an opponent was not an option for coach Ime Udoka and the Celtics as they have stamped their class in this series with a commanding 3-0 lead.

After the Game 1 buzzer beater of Jayson Tatum, fans were ecstatic that this would be one of the most exciting first round series in recent memory. The intriguing level is still on a spectacular level for casual NBA fans, but the Nets supporters are in dire need of a miracle soon. Entering their Monday night showdown, the Celtics will target to sweep Brooklyn and send them home early. Thus, these are three reasons for Boston to sustained their excellent success.

Celtics Will Sweep Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving And The Nets

Jayson Tatum outplaying Kevin Durant on both ends

When the playoffs begin, this is the juncture when the superstars elevate their production both offensively and defensively. All the games are on national television and everyone can magnify the accomplishments or failures of any player. In the first three games of the series, Tatum has vastly outplayed one of the best players in the association Kevin Durant.

The scoring prowess of Tatum is unquestioned, but it is his defensive performance on Durant that has caught the eye of the people. As the individual guarding Durant, he has limited him to 19 field goals made over three games and forced Durant to commit 17 turnovers in total. These numbers are uncharacteristic for Durant, but the heavy credit must be given to Tatum's exceptional defense that has resulted to a ton of easy baskets for Boston.

Sustained excellence on the defensive side

The head of the snake of the Celtics defense Marcus Smart has been incredible in containing the scoring production of Kyrie Irving. The 39-point explosion of Irving in Game 1 has been an outlier because the game plan and schemes of Udoka has proven to keep the Nets in an uncomfortable position throughout the game. Another defensive genius in Robert Williams III returned to the lineup in Game 3 as an added boost to the interior defense of Boston.

The absence of Ben Simmons and Joe Harris has severely hampered the reliable options of the Nets in playoff time. Coach Steve Nash is forced to utilize guys like Patty Mills, Goran Dragic, and Andre Drummond for an extended amount of time who are all struggling in this series because of the constant disruptions and contests of the Celtics defenders.

Udoka is more prepared than Nash

Coincidentally, Udoka was an assistant coach in Nash's coaching staff last season. When the Boston job was offered, Udoka accepted it, and he has proven to become one of the best tacticians in the association this year. His defensive philosophies and fantastic principles has forced Brooklyn to be on disarray at the offensive side. The offensive sets of Nash have not been executed well at any point of this series.

The Nets are relying more on the talent and skill of Durant and Irving as Nash has not put his guys in perfect positions with pin-downs or off-the-ball schemes. The physicality and off-the-ball bumping has left Durant exhausted, so Nash must not consider making Durant a point forward at any time of the game. For Udoka on the other hand, he has continuously found the recipe to maneuver through the Nets defense led by Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The talent of the Nets gives them a small chance to still make this series a competitive one, but Boston is focused on wrapping it up on Monday and wait for the winner of the Milwaukee Bucks-Chicago Bulls series. If the Celtics are able to wrap it up early, it gives them a ton of time to rest in Boston because they will also have home court advantage against either the Bucks or Bulls in the second round.

It has been an impressive run for the Celtics so far, and they show no signs of slowing down for a legitimate chance of winning it all for the first time since 2008.