Brooklyn Nets: Predicting leaders in all the statistical categories
By Duncan Smith
The Brooklyn Nets came within a shoe size of beating the Milwaukee Bucks and going to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, even without Kyrie Irving and a one-legged James Harden.
Kevin Durant solidified his unquestioned claim as one of the top players in the NBA and one of the best scorers in the league’s history in that second-round series, and showed that a healthy Nets squad may be an unstoppable force next season.
The Nets should be a dominant force from the start this season, even if Kevin Durant gets some time off throughout the year in order to save his full strength and powers for the NBA playoffs. A season ago, they got started without James Harden, who was a late addition to the crew.
With Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving all aboard from the start, they’re going to be a problem for the entire league.
But just how are they going to break down statistically? We’ll take a look in the crystal ball and try to project the statistical output for the following categories: Scoring, rebounds, assists, stocks (steals plus blocks), 2-point shooting, 3-point shooting and free-throw shooting.
We’ll start with scoring, and our projected leader should be no surprise at all.
Brooklyn Nets statistical leaders: Scoring – Kevin Durant
Predicted average: 27.5
Kevin Durant probably won’t score the most total points next season for the Brooklyn Nets, simply because he’s likely to miss more games than James Harden and Kyrie Irving, but he’ll be the most efficient scorer on high volume. That combines to make the easiest path towards him having the highest scoring average.
Due to him likely getting occasional scheduled time off, he should be able to play at his top level when he’s on the floor, and that’s going to be a fantastic outcome for the Nets next season.