Photo from Sports Illustrated
Since acquiring James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets are 7 and 3 in their last 10 games. They currently sit at the number 3 spot in the Eastern Conference with high expectations of making it to the finals now that they have Harden as another weapon on offense.
Alongside him is Kevin Durant who is putting up almost identical stats as Stephen Curry's unanimous MVP season with 30.5ppg/7.5rpg/5.5apg, shooting a stellar 52 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3. It's safe to say that the Slim Reaper will be a lethal weapon for the Nets, despite this being his first season coming back from an Achilles injury he suffered back in the 2019 Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
Although the big 3 of Irving, Harden, and Durant show great promise, the trade to acquire Harden had its setbacks as well.
With the loss of Jarret Allen, the Nets' only true Center to rely on is Deandre Jordan, a prominent veteran with great defensive presence when on the floor. However, once he's off the floor they rely on more of a small ball lineup off the bench. While they do have young developing big men like Nicolas Claxton, he has yet to see any significant playing time this season.
The rumors of the Nets in trade talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire JaVale McGee is prominent for their future as the season progresses. Although the Nets are ranked at number 6 offensively, their defensive rank is at an unimpressive 28th.
We have already seen their errors on both ends of the court have cost them games, much like in their one point loss to the Washington Wizards, currently ranked as the worst defensive team in the league.
In the recent Wizards' win over the Nets, they trailed by 5 with 12 seconds left in the game. Bradley Beal was able to pull up at the top of the key and hit a clutch 3 to cut the deficit to only 2, and with only 7 seconds left the Wizards would be forced to intentionally foul.
Unfortunately for the Nets, Harris turned it over on the inbound pass, allowing Westbrook to hit a wide open 3 and seal the win for the Wizards. Now, we can view this game as just an unfortunate series of events, or a wake up call for the Nets.
If they had trouble closing out a game against the worst defensively rated team in the league, then their road to the playoffs, let alone the finals will be a lot more difficult than they originally imagined. As teams like the 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks will produce problems for the Nets.
It is essential that the Brooklyn Nets improve their defense drastically before the trade deadline if they hope of putting up a challenge in the post season.
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