Brooklyn Nets: 4 glaring holes to address during the offseason

1. The Brooklyn Nets need to get healthy and in top shape this offseason.

Speaking on the health, fitness, and conditioning of professional athletes always feels wrong in my eyes. These are competitors at the highest stage of their craft who dedicate countless amounts of time, energy, and money to their bodies. Regardless, there’s always room for improvement and health will be paramount to the Brooklyn Nets’ postseason success in 2022.

Last season, the Nets were plagued by injuries from start to finish. Combo guard Spencer Dinwiddie, the sole remaining player from past iterations of this team, played just three games all year due to an ACL injury. After being traded to Brooklyn, James Harden appeared in 36 of the 59 games he was eligible to participate in the regular season and suffered an injury in the first game of the second round.

Similarly, Durant played only 35 regular-season games and Irving played in 54 of 72 games before getting hurt midway through the Milwaukee series. These players didn’t have a ton of time to share the court, feel each other out and ascend to the top of the Eastern Conference as they should have.

We know who these players are by this point in their careers. Kyrie is 29, Harden is 31 and Durant is 32 with a lot of miles logged up to this point. Preserving their health and improving conditioning is the best way to give Brooklyn a fighting chance at dominating the NBA Finals over the next few years.

For Harden, in particular, this summer should be dedicated to getting in touch with his body. He clearly wasn’t in his best playing shape while forcing his way out of Houston. For someone with over 35,000 career minutes played, maintaining a healthy body will be key to achieving his elusive first championship.