Contenders or Pretenders? Figuring out where the Brooklyn Nets stand
By Cal Durrett
Why Are the Brooklyn Nets Contenders?
At full strength, the Nets have a ton of talent and could have a top-10 offense and a top-15 defense. That’s a recipe for at least a second-round playoff team and, depending on the matchup, an Eastern Conference Finals team. No one doubts this team’s talent, but, at the moment, the safest bet would be to bet against them, given all of the moving parts that Coach Steve Nash will have to manage, and he hasn’t exactly done a terrific job of that thus far.
Dealing with multiple divas is admittedly hard enough, and having to deal with one who tried to get you fired is even harder. Despite that, maybe, just maybe, this situation is just crazy enough to work. Get this team a decent seed and on the right side of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket and they could cause some real headaches. Irving has taken over playoff games in the past.
And so has Durant, in spectacular fashion.
If Nash can figure out how to best utilize Simmons, then they could really be cooking with fire. One option would be to start sharpshooters Joe Harris or Seth Curry in place of Royce O’Neale to maximize spacing, or stagger Simmons’ minutes with starting center Nic Claxton and have him play as the team’s defacto backup center.
That would hopefully help get him going, having him play more with the ball in his hands with four shooters around him. Or, they could even bring him off the bench in a Manu Ginobili-esque super-sub role to ensure that happens. There are also wild cards like T.J. Warren, who’s only played four games in the past two seasons but averaged nearly 20 points and shot 40% from three in his last full season in Indiana, as well as the buyout market.
In the buyout market, they could conceivably get an upgrade at backup center, with rookie Day’ron Sharpe having to learn on the fly and not quite cutting it. That would help shore up their weakest position and raise their floor.