2021 NBA Playoffs: Contender or pretender with all 16 teams

2021 NBA Playoffs: Contender or Pretender – Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have the greatest collection of offensive talent in the league, and possibly that has ever been assembled in league history. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden are all top-15 offensive players, if not higher. Joe Harris is one of the league’s best shooters. Blake Griffin is not that far removed from being a top offensive star.

The problem is the defense, which was not good during the regular season; the Nets ranked 23rd in the league in defensive rating. Starting Irving and Harden in the backcourt puts the team at a disadvantage from the jump, but neither Joe Harris nor Kevin Durant are defensive difference makers even if both are solid (Durant was at one point, but hasn’t been this year). That leaves just one spot left in this team’s best lineups to insert a strong defender.

Two questions thus exist for the Nets. The first is whether they can score enough that the defense doesn’t matter. If they score at such a high level that their opponents cannot keep up, it doesn’t matter whether they smothered the other team. The second question is whether other teams will be able to exploit their defensive weaknesses. Some will, some won’t, but at some point the Nets will have to prove they can defend to some level.

This team has all the trappings of a contender, from redundancy in their offensive creation to experience in the postseason, which the team’s stars do at the very least. Head coach Steve Nash has kept this team rolling despite multiple extended absences from the stars. This team may not win, but they are absolutely a contender.

Verdict: Contender