Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets appeared to have given up any hope of catching the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 1 seed in the conference, as James Harden’s injury plunged them into a losing streak that allowed the No. 2 seed in the Milwaukee Bucks to catch them from behind on the back of more Giannis Antetokounmpo stardom.
Giannis and the Bucks proved they can go toe-to-toe with KD and Kyrie by taking them down in primetime. Giannis answered a 42-point broadside from Durant with a 49-point performance of his own, and he followed that up with 36 points and 12 rebounds in their next meeting.
The Nets and Milwaukee will likely be the second and third seeds in the Eastern Conference, but it is still undecided who could get home-court advantage in a hypothetical matchup if they both win their first-round battles.
Before the Nets worry about how to stop someone like Giannis, potentially by putting someone who isn’t DeAndre Jordan on him, they must make sure they get a leg up on their rivals by securing the No. 2 seed in the conference. Based on how that schedule looks, that could be easier than it sounds.
The MVP was back at it:
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 5, 2021
36 PTS | 12 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 4 3PM (tied season-high) pic.twitter.com/VIVwJM30QQ
The Brooklyn Nets could struggle to finish off Milwaukee.
The Bucks end the season with just one team, the Miami Heat, that is currently over .500 still on the schedule, but they will face a tough Indiana Pacers team. The Nets, meanwhile, don’t have a single above .500 team left on the schedule, as they play the Chicago Bulls twice and San Antonio Spurs once before ending the season against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Steve Nash has said that he thinks Harden will come back for one or two of the Nets’ final regular-season games in order to get up to speed in the postseason. While the Nets should be able to dispatch each of their opponents without Harden, they have struggled without him in the lineup this season.
Harden remains one of the best isolation scorers the game has ever seen, and Nash lets his Big 3 cook on the offensive end with regularity. Without the defensive chops to slow down opponents after playing such a high-risk style of basketball, the Nets have shown that they need No. 13 to put Milwaukee down.
Milwaukee is a tough matchup for any team, but Brooklyn could be in extra trouble considering the lack of a true stopper that can limit Antetokounmpo. If they face off in the second round, getting home-court advantage will be extra important for Nash and the rest of the squad.
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