The Brooklyn Nets are going to be a big problem
By Criss Partee
The Brooklyn Nets look like the best team in the East
The Brooklyn Nets are going to cause a lot of problems for NBA teams this season. That is not a hyperbolic statement either. The Nets will win close to 60 games in a shortened 72 game season.
Barring an extended absence of any core players due to injury, most notably Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving, this team has the potential to run through the regular season without any hiccups. These two, along with Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen, and DeAndre Jordan, will without a doubt finish among the top two teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
If head coach Steve Nash can keep everyone involved offensively and not let this become the Durant and Irving show exclusively, this team has the potential to accomplish some spectacular things in 2021 en route to a potential NBA Finals run.
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A couple of days ago in Boston, the Nets ran an extremely well-coached Boston Celtics team out of the gym to the tune of 113-89. While this is the preseason, seeing the starters on the floor in extended minutes, this Nets team already looks like a well-oiled machine.
This machine happens to be spearheaded by former league MVP and back-to-back Finals MVP in Durant, who is coming off a devastating Achilles injury suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals. For a player that had not played an NBA game in 18 months, Durant looks like he will not miss a beat once the regular season gets going, December 22nd.
Against the Celtics on Friday, Durant only scored 25 points in 27 minutes. Right now, it looks like Durant will pick up where he left off with the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
Speaking of the Warriors, the NBA wasted zero-time matching Durant up against his former squad in the Bay Area, as the Nets and Warriors are slated as the season opener on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.
Durant cannot help but be extra motivated seeing how his tenure in Golden State ended, despite making three straight Finals appearances and winning two.
Forget about all the James Harden trade rumors. This Nets team does not look as if they need Harden’s services, especially once you factor in what they will have to trade away in acquiring him.
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As it stands, the Nets already look and feel like legit championship contenders in the East, and it is going to be tough to see any team in the Eastern Conference beating them four times once the playoffs roll around.