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Brooklyn Nets: 3 reasons they will win the 2020-21 NBA title

By Josh Cornelissen

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 09: Kyrie Irving #11 and James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets while playing the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on February 09, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 09: Kyrie Irving #11 and James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets while playing the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on February 09, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images /

2. Elite offense, even if one player is off

The reason the Brooklyn Nets are first in the Eastern Conference, with the third-best record overall, is that they have an incendiary offense, spearheaded by their stars but sustained by a deep rotation of talented offensive players. The Nets rank first in the league in offensive rating, scoring 118.5 points per 100 possessions.

What is incredible about that stat is that, as we mentioned in the intro, the Nets have played just seven games with their full complement of stars. In those seven games, the Nets have scored 135, 128, 98 (what??), 132, 124, 117 and 134 points, or an average of 124 points. With Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving all in the lineup, this team is unstoppable on offense.

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What is remarkable is that the Nets lead the league in offensive rating despite the infrequency with which those players have all been available. The Nets have played 52 games this season; Durant has missed 32 of those games, Irving 15, and Harden missed the first 13 loafing on the Rockets and another six since joining the Nets, with more to come as he nurses a hamstring injury.

Despite the injuries, the Nets just keep humming along. Durant returned Wednesday night (4/7) from a long absence, and the Nets suited up without Harden, an MVP candidate. They dropped a ho-hum 139 points, including 79 in the first half and 115 by the end of the third quarter.

That’s the beauty of having three on-ball creators who can also shoot. When all three are in the game and healthy, defenses can’t leave one to double another. Yet when one or two are off the court, due to rotations or for the entire game, their offense doesn’t crater. In the playoffs, defenses look to take away what you are best at. With Durant, Harden and Irving on the court, often paired with an elite shooter in Joe Harris and a stretch big — LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, or even a rim-runner like Nic Claxton — there is no way to take something away without being pulverized elsewhere.

Some offenses wilt in the postseason. James Harden knows how that feels, running a heliocentric offense in Houston that couldn’t adjust when their best actions were taken away. Now in Brooklyn, he is part of a machine that looks unstoppable.

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