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Showing posts with label Podcast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Podcast. Show all posts

Nets' GM Sean Marks needs to keep his eyes on the prize by inking Irving, Durant and Harden to long term extensions

 The Nets are notorious for keeping contract talks and injury updates under wraps, but the fact that not even a single report has surfaced that Sean Marks is actively involved in discussions to extend Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden is mildly alarming.




All three players hold player options following the upcoming NBA season and while fans fully expect them to be back in Brooklyn on long term extensions, having that loose end hanging out there throughout the 2021-2022 campaign is less than ideal. It would be the backdrop to the team's championship pursuit and force three players who aren't exactly media darlings into answer questions time and time again about their futures.

While Durant is pursuing a Gold Medal with Team USA in Tokyo, Irving and a svelte Harden are in the lab and making use of a full off-season, Marks will need to get their ears and find a mutually beneficial deal to agree to.

Owner Joe Tsai has shown a willingness to spend into the luxury tax and that will be a reality if the Big Three remain in the borough for the foreseeable future.

The Nets have a championship window with three of the top 7 players in the NBA and need to capitalize on the situation as much as possible. Marks can't take his eye off the eight ball now as inking his top playmakers needs to be a top priority before the season starts.



NBA Basketball Gods Smite Down Super teams, leaving Bucks, Suns as last two standing

It might be sacrilegious to say it, but the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns may not be the best teams in their respective conferences, they've simply survived the walking minefield otherwise known as the 2021 NBA playoffs. Not a single player on either team has ever won a ring and that trend was likely to continue before a rash of unforseen injuries sent the Nets, Lakers, Jazz, Nuggets, Clippers and Sixers home early with due to injuries to star players.
The NBA is a star-driven league and with perennial All-Stars James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, and Jamal Murray unable to play for either stretches or the entirety of the playoffs. The 2021 NBA Finals has intrigued with 16-year veteran Chris Paul chasing his first ever Larry O'Brien trophy, or Giannis Antetokounmpo trying


  to solidify his status as an all-time great by putting a trophy in his case. Injuries are part of the game, and this is no slight to either the Suns or the Bucks, but they did not face fully healthy opponents on their way to the championship round.

Kevin Love is a perfect fit in Brooklyn if bought out by Cavs

A lot is being made of Kevin Durant and Kevin Love rooming up in Team USA's quest for the Gold in this summer's Tokyo Olympics. The veteran power forward is a likely buyout candidate in Cleveland and rumors are linking him to the Nets as a viable target for GM Sean Marks.
The soon to be 33 year old won the 2016 NBA championship with Kyrie Irving on the Cavs, b and bringing him into the fold in Brooklyn could be the missing piece. Love is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter while averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds per contest. The 13-year veteran's ability to spread the floor with perimeter shooting and help on the boards will offset his pedestrian defensive play.


  The Nets will need all the shooting they can get around Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, while defense and rebounding have long been the group's weak spot. Love's days in Cleveland area numbered, so a change of scenery and pursuit of a championship in Brooklyn would bring even more dynamism and excitement to the Nets.

Harden reveals what everyone already knew, he was a lot more hurt than Nets let on

James Harden was essentially playing on one leg in Games 5,6, and 7, but he gave it his al nonetheless. Following the Game 7 loss, Harden told reporters that he had a Grade 2 hamstring strain with a normal recovery time of 4-6 weeks. Harden took barely a fraction of that time to heal the injury before charging back to provide a lift in Game 5 despite not scoring a single point.
With each subsequent game, Harden looked to be moving more freely and scored 16 points in Game 6 and 22 in Game 7. Even so, Brooklyn's hobbled star faced an uphill battle to get anywhere back to full strength even if the Nets advanced past the Bucks. Kyrie Irving was seen limping along the sidelines during Game 7 and the prospect of him playing in the next round was doubtful at best. A second round exit was a bitter pill to swallow for all Nets'fans, but the reality is, health was not on their side and the Nets big 1.5 faced an uphill climb to advance deeper into the playoffs with their star players suffering from significant injuries.

Defining moment for Nets in Game 5 in Brooklyn

James Harden has been upgraded to questionable for Game 5 against the Bucks. The Nets playmaker will test his injured hamstring with the Nets season potentially on the line. Kevin Durant can't do it alone as Brooklyn's supporting cast will need to come alive in front of the home crowd and help in the absence of Kyrie Irving and a less than 100 percent James Harden. A loss in Game 5 would put the Nets on the brink without Irving being available for the remainder of the series. Steve Nash's inexperience as head coach has reared its ugly head as the team still hasn't found an answer for Milwaukee's physical play on the perimeter. If the Nets hope to regain the series advantage, they'll need a total team effort with Blake Griffin, Bruce Brown, Landry Shamet and Joe Harris pulling their weight in the friendly confines of Barclays Center.

In NBA's era of load management, James Harden is the exception

James Harden has drawn criticism for just about everything under the sun: defense, shot selection, theatrics trying to sell a foul call, an ugly exit from Houston, but you can never question the man's heart and toughness.
Harden will test his hamstring during pregame warmups in Game 5 and the team has upgraded him from out to doubtful. Even if the Nets top playmaker can give 15-20 minutes of quality play and create easier shots for his teammates, he could provide the much needed boost his team so desperately needs. While clearly the team doesn't want to risk long term damage to his hamstring, if he's able to loosen it up enough to be effective, the message he's sending to Nets fans is he's willing to gut it out to keep his team from possible facing elimination. Now, his availability for the rest of the series looks a little more promising than it did 24 hours ago. Brooklyn certainly watched what happened to Anthony Davis when he tried to return early from a groin injury in Game 6 of the first round versus the Suns, but just Harden's resolve and toughness to be there when the team needs him most will go a long way in helping rally his team and the crowd at Barclays Center on Tuesday night.

LIVE: Nets Insider Episode Sunday, 6/6, 11am ET

Join Rick Laughland of NetsInsider, Randy Zellea of Backsportspage and Greg Logan of Newsday as they recap Game 1 between the Nets and Bucks and take a look ahead in the series as Brooklyn faces the prospect of playing without James Harden. The link below connects you to the live show and an archived version will be available. Be sure to subscribe to the Nets Podcast on Spotify, iHeart Radio, iTunes and more!

On this day in NBA history, the Nets blew a 25-point third quarter lead to Celtics in Game 3 of 2002 ECF

Photo courtesy of Andrew Bernstein
Celtics fans remember it like it was yesterday and Nets fans were hoping they would forget, but May 25, 2003, will live in infamy in the battle between Atlantic Division foes. New Jersey was crusing in the second half of Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference with a 25-point advantage in Boston and well on its way to a 2-1 series edge over the Celtics.

Leadig 74-59 with under a minute to play in the third quarter, many anticipated that the final frame would be extended garbage time with each team's starters getting rest on the bench.

Instead, Boston staged a comeback of historic proportions, storming back to outscore the Nets 41-16 in the fourth quarter and clinch the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history, at the time. Jason Kidd's Cinderella Nets encountered their first sign of adversity in the midst of a magical run and instead of folding after an embarrassing defeat, they rebounded in Game 4 to escape Boston with a win after Paul Pierce missed potential game tying free throws in the closing seconds.

The New Jersey Nets won both Games 5 and 6 to end Boston's season and clinch the franchise's first ever NBA Finals berth, the first of two consecutive. This year's Nets are not anticipating any catastrophic blown leads in the series with the Celtics, a series in which they're heavily favored, but the painful memory for fans in the New York Metropolitan area is a constant reminder of what the great Yogi Berra exclaimed, "It ain't over, till it's over!' Since the Nets monumental collapse in Game 3 of 2002 the Eastern Conference Finals, they've gone 8-0 against the Celtics including a convincing Game 1 victory this year with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden combining for 82-points.

The 2020-2021 Nets are not the beloved underdogs like the Kidd-led teams of the early-2000s, in fact just the opposite, but long-time fans of the franchise are still cautiously optimistic that this year's title-favored Nets will deliver on that promise.

Nets Insider Podcast-Nets vs. Celtics Playoff Preview

Join Rick Laughland of Nets Insider and Randy Zellea of Backsportspage for a look ahead at the opening round playoff matchup between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics that begins Saturday, May 22 at 8pm. Join Randy Zellea of Back Sports Page and Rick Laughland of Nets Insider as they cover every era of Nets basketball from Teaneck, New Jersey to Brooklyn, New York. Zellea worked within the Nets pubic relations department during the Nets back to back NBA finals run with Jason Kidd leading the charge, while Laughland covered the team during it's transition to Brooklyn including the shortlived KG, Paul Pierce era. With stories going back over twenty seasons covering the team professionally and as fans of the franchise, the Nets Insider podcast is a can't miss show for Nets fans ages 2-102.
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