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Healthy Nets are championship or bust, Steve Nash's job depends on it




Injuries were a major part of why the Brooklyn Nets watched the NBA finals from their comfy sofas at home instead of challenging the Phoenix Suns for league supremacy this past July.

The other part of the equation that led to the Nets going home early was the simple fact that Mike Budenholzer maneuvered and made the proper adjustments to pull his club out of a 2-0 series hole and then an eventual 3-2 deficit.

The Bucks head man, who was rewarded with a lucrative extension this off-season, put to bed the narrative that his playoff coaching was subpar.

If there was a coach whose decisions  left a lot to ponder, that man was sitting on Brooklyn's coaching sidelines, Steve Nash. 

The first year coach looked exactly the part, reticent to trust the bench that spurred the team to 48 regular season wins without the Big Three healthy for the majority of the season.

Shortening rotations in the playoffs in nothing new, but Nash's refusal to dig deep in his bag with the team struggling to find offense outside of Kevin Durant and with Joe Harris misfiring from the outside is still a head scratcher.

Jeff Green was invaluable in Game 5 to help lift the Nets to within one game of the conference finals, but Bruce Brown's minutes shrunk, DeAndre Jordan remained inactive and Nicholas Claxton and Landry Shamet were used sparingly.

Durant was brilliant, but Nash's offense consisted of giving No. 7 the ball and getting the heck out of the way.  Without Kyrie Irving and a hobbled James Harden, the same Nets team that earned the distinction as the most efficient offense in NBA history, didn't resemble anything close to that against Milwaukee.

Sometimes you have to give a tip of the cap to your competition for locking down defensively, but Nash and former assistant Mike D'Antoni didn't do the team any favors by allowing the offense to go full hero ball.

Nash's coaching staff has been rebuilt with Ime Udoka being hired by the Celtics, D'Antoni leaving the organization, and David Vanderpool along with Steve Clifford coming into the fold. 

The reality is, if coaching is a factor for why the Nets come up short this upcoming season, Nash won't be able to survive another playoff exit.



No one roots for Goliath, which is why Nets are NBA's most disliked team by a longshot

 Super teams never seem to settle well with fans. From Miami's big three, to Golden State and now Brooklyn, no one roots for Goliath.

The Brooklyn Nets are fully loaded with a plethora of star talent, but what rubs fans the wrong way about this club?

Is it how James Harden forced his way out of Houston and showed up out of shape and unwilling to play for the franchise?

As for Kevin Durant, was joining a 73-win Warrior team enough to annoy most? How about unceremoniously leaving the Bay Area in the middle of a potential dynasty? Or to add insult to injury, joining forces with Kyrie Irving and Harden in Brooklyn?

Irving all but mailed it in during his time in Boston and showed every inclination to join his childhood team in the Nets and bring a first ever championship to the franchise. 

With a littany of reasons to despise how this Nets team has come together and the polarizing nature of each star's personality, Brooklyn is an easy target for those still drinking the hater-ade.

Whatever the case may be, the collection of basketball prowess Sean Marks somehow collected out of thin air is nothing short of astonishing.

The Nets are the talk of the NBA world and the benchmark by which every other team is measured. 




For the first time in their NBA history, the Nets are the team with the bullseye on their back. 

The club that catches the vitriol and animosity of fans of the other 29 teams, is the odds on favorite for a title. The heavyweights are primed to knockout the competition, much to the chagrin of the viewing public.

Only one other NBA playoff team had a worse defensive rating than Nets last season

The Brooklyn Nets offense was the most efficient in NBA history, but the defensive side left a lot to be desired. Only the Portland Trailblazers with a 115.3 defensive rating ranked worse than the Nets' 113.1. 

 Even though the headline indicates stats don't lie, they can often be skewed and misleading. Both the Nets, 117.3 and Trailblazers 117.1 led the league in offensive rating and played a breakneck speed. 

 The Nets' frenetic, lethal offense often resulted in high scoring contests for a team without a stellar on-ball defender outside of Bruce Brown on the perimeter and Kevin Durant contesting shots at the rim.
Adding Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge will only bolster the team's mid-range and inside scoring, but both 36 year olds aren't exactly quick on their feet and able to switch on 1 through 5. The reality is that from a numbers standpoint, the Nets defensive rating could actually get worse this season despite the additions of defensive specialist Jevon Carter and the return of Blake Griffin. 

 Come playoff time, Brooklyn's offensive capabilities are so overwhelming that it will mask many of the club's defensive deficiencies. 

 During the second round ousting by Milwaukee, the Nets struggled to get their historic offense off the ground with a hobbled James Harden and sans Kyrie Irving, while Durant shouldered the scoring load.

 At the end of the day, when the dust settles from the upcoming NBA season, the Nets may actually produce worse defensive numbers, but the team is better suited for a deep playoff run with Sean Marks' off-season additions.

Bar none, Nets have assembled most talented, decorated roster in NBA history

Not even the 1985-1986 Boston Celtics, the 1970-1971 Milwaukee Bucks, the 1972-1973 Los Angeles Lakers, 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls or the 2016-2017 Golden State Warriors can hold a candle to the breadth of talent and accolades that the 2021-2022 Brooklyn Nets bring to the table.

The Nets have 44 combined All-Star appearances on the roster with marquee names like James Harden, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap headlining a fantasy basketball lineup.

All this is fine and well, but if the Nets fall short of a championship as they did a season ago, they'll be alongside the likes of the 2015-2016 Warriors, the 2003-2004 Lakers, the 1992-1993 Suns and the 2017-2018 Rockets as immensely talented squads that all go in the history books for all the wrong reasons.

Brooklyn needs a clean bill of health with Harden and Irving missing portions of last year's playoff run and Steve Nash needs to show a willingness to go into his newly rebuilt and more experienced bench when things get tight during the playoff run.

Aside from the Dream Team and All-star teams, the Nets could go toe to toe with any club from any era. Time Will tell whether this club delivers on a championship promise, but if one thing is for certain, Brooklyn's talent level is otherworldly and rightfully make it the team to beat heading into the 2021-2022 campaign.

Kyrie Irving is not a fan of NBA Twitter comparing his game to Steph Curry's

Kyrie Irving is masterful on the court with incredible improvisation skills off the dribble and eye popping, dazzling finishes for a player who plays predominantly under the rim.

Steph Curry is this generation's most lethal shooter with tricky handles and the ability to utilize screens well enough to make Reggie Miller proud.

So when backup point guard Mike James took to Twitter and insisted that Irving's all around game is superior to that of Curry's save the long range shooting accuracy, social media went bonkers.

This comment from the Nets backup point guard raised eyebrows and in recent days Kevin Durant even liked an Instagram post that echoed James' comments.

While a small part of Irving must appreciate his teammates showing respect for his game and elevating him into top tier status, Brooklyn's floor general took to social media for the first time in a long time to set the record straight.

In the 2016 NBA finals, Irving most famously hit an eventual game winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the Cavaliers-Warriors Game 7 over an outstretched Curry. That shot gave Cleveland its first ever NBA title after overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to the heavily favored 73-win Warriors.

The debate will rage on between Irving and Curry, but fans should take time to appreciate reach player's individual greatness.

Curry's squads have won three out of four NBA finals matchups with Irving's teams, and with Golden State primed for a bounce back year and Brooklyn the favorites to hoist the Larry O'Brien, both players could be on a collision course come June.

Nets finally unload DeAndre Jordan in trade to Pistons, save $47M in salary and taxes

The rumored trade of DeAndre Jordan away from the Brooklyn Nets has finally come to fruition as Sean Marks orchestrated a deal with Detroit that sends the veteran big man, four future second round picks and 5.78 million to the Motor city in exchange for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya. Okafor spent two seasons with Brooklyn after the former 2015 NBA draft's third round pick was traded by Philadelphia to the Nets. Marks signing Paul Millsap and likely inking LaMarcus Aldridge in the near future make Jordan even more dispensable. 

Jordan was inactive during the Nets' playoff run and despite Milwaukee throwing big bodies at the Nets in the paint, Steve Nash kept his center on the bench. 

, With small ball lineups pervasive across the league, aging Giants like Jordan have difficulty finding minutes, especially in the Nets' switch heavy schemes. Next order of business for Sean Marks is lining up extensions for Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

Aging former All-Stars Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge might not have much left in the tank to help loaded Nets

If the year was 2011, adding Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge during free agency would be the NBA story of the off-season.

Flash forward ten years and adding a pair of 36-year-olds even to a star-studded roster doesn't nearly have the same impact.

Brooklyn had a glaring weakness in regards to the quality depth of its front court last season and that was no more evident than by their second round ousting at the hands of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star and Millsap a four timer have all the credentials to step in and make an immediate impact with the franchise.

The concern and question marks revolve around the mileage and age on both players and how much they'll be able to bring to the table.

Sean Marks and Steve Nash will likely employ heavy load management to Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden, but how will they handle the minutes from the newly signed veterans?

During the playoffs, the versatile big men will provide a boost in the rebounding and inside scoring department, but depending on the matchup, teams can utilize small ball lineups that would likely force Aldridge to the bench.

Raining on the Nets free agency parade isn't the goal, but age and minutes restrictions during the regular season may minimize the duo's impact along with potential playoff opponents' pace of play and utilization of a small ball lineup to negate Nash using frontcourt depth.

Former Nets PG, NBA sensation Jeremy Lin discharged from Shanghai Hospital after COVID-19 treatment

Linsanit, AKA Jeremy Lin, took the NBA by storm in 2011-2012 with the New York Knicks and played parts of two seasons with the Nets from 2016-2018 at the start of general manager Sean Marks' tenure with the team. Lin played only 37 games in two years with Brooklyn as injuries derailed his chance to be the team's starting point guard long-term.
In August of 2021, Jeremy Lin was admitted into a hospital in Shanghai after testing positive for COVID-19. Lin received three weeks of treatment to battle through the virus. Currently playing for the Beijing Ducks, Lin appears recovering and recuperating. In May of 2021, Lin hinted at his retirement from the NBA after playing for the Warriors G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. The cultural icon took his talents to Beijing at the start of this year too serve as the Ducks starting floor general.

NBA's updated restrictions on unvaccinated players may have a tangible impact on Nets

 The NBA is doing everything in its power to nudge unvaccinated players in the direction of taking the COVID-19 vaccine prior to training camp opening later this month.



Due to HIPPA laws, the names of the league's players who are yet to be vaccinated has not been made public, but without a medical or religious exemption, the league's players will be unable to perform their everyday job of playing at the team facility or home arena in markets that require vaccinations.

A few weeks back, the Nets put similar restrictions on unvaccinated employees or anyone in contact with players, staff or team executives.

The Nets starters: Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris and Blake Griffin are expected to be at the team's facility for training camp, but if any of the aforementioned names are absent from camp,  concern will start to grow from the fan base that a key player or players will be unable to play due to the new vaccine requirements.

Recent reports have indicated that as many as 90 percent of all NBA players are vaccinated, but until the familiar faces Nets fans are accustomed to seeing electrify Barclays Center are present for roll call, the more adjuda it will produce for a fan base just hoping for its nucleus to stay healthy and on the court.





Nets' brass challenged with balancing act of load management versus chemistry factor for Durant, Harden, Irving

 Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving played merely nine regular season games and five playoff games as a healthy trio. The results in those contests were undeniable as the three superstars seemed to mesh effortlessly and largely blow away the competition with overwhelming talent and offensive prowess.




Getting Durant, Irving and Harden on-court reps in the regular season is important to continue to build a rapport with one another but also for the development of young rotation players: Nicolas Claxton, Bruce Brown along with free agent additions Patti Mills, Jevon Carter (via trade) and DeAndre' Bembry. 

At what cost are Steve Nash and Sean Marks willing to incur to ensure the Nets are a well-oiled machine come playoff time? 

Brooklyn finished 48-24, second in the conference behind Philadelphia and despite Game 7 on its home floor against Milwaukee, fell inches short of advancing to the conference finals. 

Home court advantage is certainly a factor in the playoffs, but conserving minutes and keeping the team's most dynamic players fresh for a title run has to be a top priority. Irving is coming off a severely sprained ankle, Harden a moderate hamstring strain, and while Durant was healthy for last year's stretch run, he helped carry Team USA to Gold in the Tokyo Olympics after shortened offseason, playoff push and prior to that 18-months without playing in a regular season game. 

Treating Brooklyn's three-headed monster with kid gloves is not the recipe for success either. Irving has battled his share of foot and leg injuries throughout his career, while the normally iron-man Harden was never able to fully recover from a hamstring strain after showing up late to Rockets training camp out of shape. 

So the question remains, what is the perfect amount of games for the Nets' Big Three to play together? 40? 50? 60 or more? 

Marks' and Nash's philosophy likely won't be so straightforward as they have the luxury of all players being able to orchestrate the offense so they can staggered load management games play two stars together, one on his own or in back-to-backs and long road trips let the rest of the club's roster handle the heavy lifting. 

It's clear that the requisite talent is in Brooklyn to deliver on championship hopes, but managing minutes and the job the team's training staff can do to keep its stars healthy will go a long way in determining the Nets' fate during the 2021-2022. 

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