5 biggest NBA storylines going into the 2021-22 season

NBA storylines: 3. Can the Brooklyn Nets stay healthy?

The Brooklyn Nets were a shoe-size difference away from the Eastern Conference Finals last season — without James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Kevin Durant is elite, but no one wins a championship alone.

The Nets have mostly retained their previous season’s excellent depth like Bruce Brown Jr. and Blake Griffin, but they also added bronze medalist and Australian flamethrower Patty Mills.

Coach Steve Nash proved to be a good fit for this superstar roster, so the only questions that remain are around the Nets’ are their defense, ego management, and health.

When it comes to their defense the Nets were solid considering the lack of defenders the roster had, as they ranked 23rd overall in defensive rating. They improved significantly in the playoffs ranking 3rd (granted it’s a very small sample size). It’s all well and good to have great depth and a well-oiled defense system but it comes down to it, the only thing that matters is how their three stars play.

There’s no question it’s a nightmare-inducing trio of offensive talent, nothing is stopping them from putting up 130 points on any given night. However, we barely saw it happen, In the regular season Durant, Irving and Harden played a total of 202 minutes together.

Harden has been an ironman throughout his career, he has only played less than 70 games in a season three times – that may worry people as the minutes could be only just now be starting to wear (to not mention his off-court miles) but I lean optimistically with Harden’s health.

We all know Durant has been similar besides two freak injuries, but it’s safe to assume he’s healthy considering the performance he had against the Bucks (playing literally every minute) as well as doing it at the same level while torching teams in the Tokyo Olympics (if he’s willingly giving up his offseason rest to play in the Olympics that surely indicts he’s healthy).

When it comes to Irving there are too many injuries to count, and you have to account for his mental health absences too. The way the team is constructed, it allows for one of the three stars to rest occasionally — I assume that will go to Irving the most.

Can the Nets stay healthy? It’s bold to assume there won’t be any knick-knack injuries between the three of them but that’s why you trade for a third star, injury assurance. While one recovers you have two others to steady the ship. If the Nets can enter the 2021-2022 playoffs healthy, they are without a doubt the favorites to win the title.