Brooklyn Nets: Best case scenario for every player in the 2019/20 season
By Nolan Jensen
Kyrie Irving- “Fringe MVP candidate”
Irving enters his 9th season in the NBA at the age of 27-years-old; he’s played 61 playoff games and has hit one of the biggest clutch shots of recent memory in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
He’s been there, done that, and he’ll most likely get a proverbial green light from Kenny Atkinson next season. His playmaking acumen has improved, a career-high in assists to turnover ratio (2.65) last season with the Celtics can speak testament to that. He’s still one of the NBA’s most unstoppable isolation scorers and has proved to be more than capable as the primary ball-handler in pick and roll sets (0.99 PPP)—which this team runs a lot of.
With perimeter weapons and two of the NBA’s better roll men in pick and roll sets at his disposal, he might be in for a career-season next year in Brooklyn that could result in his best placing in the MVP race.
Spencer Dinwiddie- “Sixth Man of the Year”
This past season, Spencer Dinwiddie placed fourth in the NBA in Sixth Man of the Year voting and would’ve likely been a finalist had it not been for 14 missed games. He’s emerged as one of the better bench players in the NBA, his ability to create for others and himself using his dribble-drive penetration and patience in the pick and roll was crucial in making the Nets the second-highest scoring bench in the league last year.
With every passing season, his efficiency has improved, he’s become a flamethrower off the Nets’ bench. Surpassing resident 6MOTY, Lou Williams, won’t be an easy challenge, but Dinwiddie presents a legitimate threat in taking his crown.
Joe Harris- “Back-to-back 3PT Champion”
As Brooklyn Nets purists have come to know, Harris is much more than just a three-point threat beyond the perimeter. He recognizes that the opposition will overplay him from distance and is no stranger to putting the ball on the deck and taking it to the rim with surprisingly crafty finishes. However, his marksmanship from three-point land is what makes the Nets’ offensive dynamic so appealing.
Asking him to shoot 47.4 percent from distance again is rather unfair, but for a guy that shoots 42.7 percent from there for his career, it’s not exactly a stretch thinking he’ll finish amongst the NBA’s elite in three-point percentage again.
His off-ball movement combined with his shooting gravity is as good as anyone’s in the league, expect another stellar season from deep for Joey Buckets.