Brooklyn Nets: Will on-the-court unfamiliarity hurt them in the playoffs?

Will on-the-court unfamiliarity hurt the Brooklyn Nets in the playoffs?  

It’s the old adage of rust vs. rest. And many times, especially in sports, there are valid arguments on both ends of the spectrum. However, at times, rust could often be mistaken for rest. For the Brooklyn Nets, it’s not exactly a rust vs. rest question.

It’s more about unfamiliarity vs. health with less than 20 regular-season games until the start of the playoffs.

Even as they sit in a tie for first place at the top of the Eastern Conference, you can’t help but wonder whether only playing in seven games together this season will hurt or help the Nets in the postseason.

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It’s true, the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden has only played in seven games together. Specifically, they’ve only been on the court together for 186 minutes. Which equates to less than four complete games together.

That trio ranks 25th with the team in minutes played together. When they have been on the floor together they’ve been great. Together, that trio has a 122.4 offensive rating and a 114 defensive rating, which equates to an 8.4 net rating.

That will likely get it done, but you have to question whether their unfamiliarity together on the floor will help or hurt this team in the playoffs. With all this time off, will it guarantee that the Nets will be 100 percent healthy heading into the playoffs?

If not, would this unfamiliarity on the court have been worth it?

Interestingly enough, the team has really struggled when James Harden has been out of the lineup. Without Durant, the team has fared fairly fine.

Durant has only played in 21 games this season; Harden, who was acquired by the team in January, has already played more games with Brooklyn this season than Durant. That said, there’s no question that the team can only reach its fairly high ceiling with a healthy trio of Kyrie, Durant, and Harden.

Heading into the playoffs, this new adage will be put to the test. There’s no doubt that, at least on paper, the Nets have the best trio in the league. On NBA 2K, there would be no excuse not to win a championship while playing with a team as talented as the Nets.

We’re going to find out over the next couple of months whether the Brooklyn Nets will be hurt or not by their on-the-court unfamiliarity with each other.