Are The Nets Legit?

To answer the question posed in the title, it sure looks like. Going into the season there were a lot of questions about this team's ceiling. KD was coming off an ACL tear and no one knew how good he would be, Kyrie had said some more controversial things and Steve Nash, a first year head coach, had been given the reins to a talent filled team. Initially this was going to go up the night they beat the Warriors, however I decided to hold off and watch the Christmas Day matchup against the Boston Celtics, a much more formidable opponent, and after that game my opinion of them has only risen.

Before looking at Brooklyn, it’s necessary to take a look at their opponents in the first two games. Firstly, the Warriors aren’t what they used to be, but despite their early troubles, the roster is far from bad. They still have Steph Curry after all, they also added Kelly Oubre, a very nice wing to have who can do a bit of everything. Andrew Wiggins is currently starting and despite him not living up to the expectations, he’s still an above average player who can score in bunches. Not to mention they have James Wiseman, the number two pick in the last draft, as well as Eric Paschall, someone who looks like he’ll be a pretty good role player. Now looking at the Celtics, after their ECF run last year everyone already knows who they are. While Kemba Walker is still out they added Tristan Thompson and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both legitimate stars in the league.

But now looking at the Nets, they decided to start Spencer Dinwiddie over Caris LeVert, alongside Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan and Joe Harris. Dinwiddie over LeVert is an interesting call based on how good LeVert did in the bubble and the fact that Dinwiddie has mostly been a sixth man for Brooklyn. However, it clearly has worked out well for them. This can mostly be attributed to the fact that when Irving and Dinwiddie are in together it takes pressure off of Kyrie and he can differ to Dinwiddie’s playmaking more so than anyone else in that starting five, thus he has the ability to take a posesion off, something that is a big deal late in close games. Jordan is a great five for this team, he knows his role and plays good defense, not to mention his clear chemistry with KD and Kyrie. Then off the bench they brought the aforementioned LeVert, Landry Shamet, Jarrett Allen, and Jeff Green. All of those players could start on at least 50% of teams in the league, proving that this team may be one of, if not the deepest team in the league. Additionally, outside of the two centers, all of those players are above average to elite three point shooters.

Looking at the way the team played as a whole in the first two games, it was phenomenal. The ball movement looked amazing and the three point shooting was great. Their offense never looked static as four of the five starters can create for themselves, and the same goes for the bench. It’s clear the type of game this coaching staff wants to play, fast paced, full of ball movement, lots of threes. The chemistry on this team looks great, everyone looked unselfish and no one was forcing bad shots. Irving especially, he’s been criticized as a shoot first guard, yet he looks willing to share the ball with this team. And considering the fact that KD and Kyrie, two players who thrive in isolation, looked great in this system, the rest of the league should be worried. They can score efficiently at all three levels, and are particularly deadly in the midrange, something that will be crucial in the postseason.

Individually, Irving and Durant both looked great in these two games. Against Golden State, Irving lit it up early on, going 10 of 16 from the field and 4 of 7 from deep. His handles looked as good as ever and his midrange game looked amazing. KD went 7 of 16 from the field and 1 of 2 from three. He looked like vintage Durant, his sole three was a nice pull up jumper and he didn’t shy away from finishing inside, notably when he had a nice two hand dunk in the first half. He still managed to beat his defender off the dribble, something there were some concerns about after his injury. Also, both KD and Kyrie put up those numbers in around 25 minutes of play each, impressive. Additionally, Durant’s defense looked great. A big fear after his ACL tear was his defense wouldn’t be as good as it once was if he lost his lateral speed. However, this was not the case as he looked good on that end, and while KD was never a lockdown defender, his speed and length always made him pretty good on the other side of the ball. On Christmas against Boston, Kyrie showed out. He dropped 37 points with 8 assists, and he went 7 of 10 from three. He was shooting over screens very well and was taking, and making, deep catch and shoot threes as well. KD had a quiet 29 points on 9 of 16 from the field. In his second game out he looked more aggressive when taking the ball to the rim and he looked like he wasn’t afraid of contact, which is a great sight.

The KD and Kyrie duo looked great in general, they went 15 of 23 from three and 39 of 69 from the field, both of which are ridiculous splits. Most importantly to the success of the team, Kyrie looks like he wants to be there. In his early days in Cleveland, there was talk that Irving could become a top ten player in the league, and perhaps the best point guard. The way he looks with this team, that could be a real possibility now. When Kyrie is on, he’s one of the most unstoppable players in the league, and he looks like he’s going to be on all year with this fast paced, fun to watch, Nets team.

After the Warriors game, the TNT crew talked about how based on the performance of LeVert, Dinwiddie and Allen, the Houston Rockets should jump at the chance to trade James Harden for those three (among other assets). This would be an awful move. Harden wouldn’t fit that team at all, not to mention those three players and some picks aren’t enough for a former MVP. Harden wouldn’t fit the new look Nets at all, and even if he were to revert to being a traditional two guard, he would be redundant and take shots away from Kyrie and KD. The Nets don’t need a third star, their duo combined with their extremely good supporting cast looks to be more than enough.

Overall, the Nets should be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and they match up well against other top teams. Their style of play is a contrast to some of the more post-centric teams in the East, whom the Nets should be able to handle come playoff time. And in regards to the teams that they play a similar style to, they have better personnel and their duo is better. The ECF should end up being Nets vs Bucks, with the Nets personnel and great coaching staff, they should be making an appearance in the Finals. Bit of a stretch? Maybe, but they look that good.