Brooklyn Nets: Starting lineup, rotation after the James Harden trade
Starting lineup
PG: James Harden
No team so revolved around one player on offense as the Harden-era Houston Rockets. Over time they melded into an offense which Harden directed, produced, wrote and acted in. He can’t exert quite that same level of influence on the Brooklyn Nets, not with Kevin Durant in town, but offensive assistant Mike D’Antoni will certainly look to maximize Harden’s skills accordingly.
SG: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
After Spencer Dinwiddie went down with an ACL injury, “TLC” was tapped to replace him in the starting lineup. That may have happened to preserve the rotation as it was, or it may have happened because Luwawu-Cabarrot was the best fit with the starters. Either way, with Harden stepping into the slot previously occupied by Kyrie Irving, the 2-guard can focus on getting open and knocking down shots. On 4.6 3-point attempts per game, Luwawu-Cabarrot is shooting a strong 38.2 percent, the right kind of stat when you’re spotting up around James Harden and Kevin Durant.
Related Story. NBA Power Rankings Week 3: Are the Warriors back?. light
SF: Joe Harris
If Luwawu-Cabarrot is a strong shooter, Joe Harris is the Incredible Hulk of shooters. He is pouring in 51.5 percent of his 3-point attempts on a hefty 5.7 such shots per game. Harris doesn’t need a lot of touches but instead thrives moving without the ball in order to get open for outside looks. His defense is steady as well, and especially with this group, he will be called upon to take on the most daunting wing option on opposing rosters.
PF: Kevin Durant
No matter how good James Harden thinks he is going in, he is the wingman to Kevin Durant. The “7-ft” shooter is this team’s best player, before and after the trade. Optimizing the offense for Harden cannot come at the expense of Durant getting shots and opportunities to score in advantage situations. Harden raises this team’s floor and perhaps their ceiling; without Durant, this team would be pinned under their ceiling.
C: DeAndre Jordan
It is unfair to DeAndre Jordan to refer to his signing only as a “favor” to Irving and Durant, but at this point, that’s the reason he is on the team. He can guard the paint just around the rim adequately, and occasionally he still gets up for the big dunks. Yet head coach Steve Nash was phasing him out of the starting lineup in order to feature the all-around better Jarrett Allen, who has since been traded. Jordan has to step up and play more than 17 minutes per game.