![]() You don't have to bend your imagination too far to picture this bunch parading down Biscayne Boulevard in June. Like, best-record-in-the-East, second-best-net-rating-in-the-conference good. Has Spo taken this squad to a place where its success is taken for granted? Is the lack of a tier-one megastar to blame? Or do these dangerous loomers have issues that justify the back-burner treatment? It says something about the Miami Heat-and probably more about the public perception of them-that the loudest anyone discussed them this season was when Jimmy Butler bickered with head coach Erik Spoelstra and big man Udonis Haslem on the sideline. ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst said Thursday on Get Up that the three-time All-Star could make his Brooklyn debut midway through the first-round series against the Boston Celtics.īut is all of that enough to overcome the lack of home-court advantage, the treacherous path through the Eastern Conference, the team's defensive limitations and the sometimes spotty support scoring? We've seen Durant and Irving work magic on this stage before, but this is a test unlike any they've previously encountered. The possible addition of Simmons only ups the intrigue. The pair is plus-13.1 across 523 minutes together. The presence of Durant and Irving alone promises that. Issues on defense and the interior also held those numbers in check. 7 seed during the play-in tournament Tuesday, tied for 14th in winning percentage (.537) and landed 15th in net rating ( plus-0.9). Through it all, Brooklyn emerged as.fine. It did not feature Kevin Durant, who lost more than a month with a knee injury, or Kyrie Irving, who couldn't play home games until late March because of New York City's COVID-19 vaccine requirement for public indoor spaces and private businesses.Īnd obviously, there were zero appearances by Simmons, the primary piece returned in the James Harden megadeal at the February deadline. Just four players cleared the 60-game mark, and that group included sporadically used rookie Cam Thomas and the since-waived James Johnson. The Brooklyn Nets' campaign felt less like a seamless story than it did a series of disjointed plot points that ultimately painted an incomplete picture of what this club is-and what it can be. When, or in some cases if, these players return and get themselves up to speed could go a long way toward crowning the next champion. The Denver Nuggets, of course, remain without the potent offensive tandem of Jamal Murray (knee) and Michael Porter Jr. Leading the supporting cast is three-time All-Star Ben Simmons, who could make his season debut in the playoffs after sitting for more than a year with back soreness and because of mental health concerns. Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, is fighting his way back from a torn left meniscus. The headliners are two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry (left foot sprain), two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and three-time All-Star Luka Doncic (left calf strain). Know how that could change, though? If you cobbled together all of the players on the injury report, that group would become basketball's next Goliath. With all due respect to the league-leading Phoenix Suns (more on them later), this championship race feels wide-open. If it can't solve the toughest postseason puzzles this time around, it may not get another crack at them. If you like watching this team play together, carve out some couch time and soak it in while you still can. ![]() The supporting cast is loaded with plug-and-play vets who could instantly strengthen this summer's win-now shoppers. Any team with an opening would give him a long look. The amount of interest in them-and the impact of their addition elsewhere-would be immense. ![]() ![]() Mitchell and Gobert are All-Star regulars on the right side of 30. If this team underperforms and the front office pulls the plug, a full-scale demolition could be felt across the basketball landscape. Tack on the constant speculation about the people involved-be it the constant dissections of the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert relationship, the threat of the Knicks luring Mitchell back home to New York or coach Quin Snyder being mentioned for other gigs-and it's possible this postseason is a make-or-break one. This core has been together for a while now and has yet to get over the second-round hump. 598 winning percentage and the Association's third-highest net rating wouldn't need a fuel check, but there are reasons to wonder if the Utah Jazz are running on fumes.
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