Brooklyn Nets: 3 reasons they will not win the 2020-21 NBA title

The Brooklyn Nets have the Eastern Conference’s best record through April 8th, lifted by the best offense in the entire league. Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are the NBA’s latest super team and scooping up free agent fans and bandwagon braggarts on their way to the postseason.

Kevin Durant returned from injury this week and looked flawless in his first game back, dropping 17 points in 19 minutes without missing a shot from the field or the stripe, going 5-5 from each. The Nets look so good we ran a piece on Thursdayextolling their playoff virtues and highlighting how they could absolutely win the 2020-21 NBA title.

All of that is true; the Nets could win the title. But the rosy picture everyone is looking at has another side, an uglier one that should have us pumping the breaks. Everything looks good right now, but that doesn’t mean this team is ready to win a title.

The Brooklyn Nets have some serious flaws

The most obvious statistical reason that the Brooklyn Nets won’t win the title is that they rank 25th in defensive rating. That’s below the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, to name a few tanking teams. This flaw is obvious, so obvious we will pass it by as we evaluate some of the other reasons they won’t win the title this season.

We also won’t mention that their net rating is just seventh in the league and third in the Eastern Conference despite their first-place standing. While true, the title-favorite Los Angeles Lakers are just behind them in eighth, so in this crazy and unpredictable season, we won’t put too much stock into overall net rating as teams navigate injuries and contact tracing.

Even still there are at least three glaring reasons that this iteration of the Brooklyn Nets will not win the 2020-21 NBA title. All three dovetail into each other, compounding the concerns until they become impossible to ignore. Despite a cavalcade of offensive talent, the Brooklyn Nets are not winning the championship this season.