The Brooklyn Nets have a lot to prove over the course of their remaining 23 regular-season games, starting with the Celtics. On Feb. 8, Boston jumped out to a massive 28-2 lead over Brooklyn but that was in the pre-Seth Curry and Andre Drummond days.
For the second time in a little over two weeks, the Nets-Celtics were slated to face off. Before the tip-off, the NBA on TNT crew discussed the direction that Brooklyn’s headed in.
Shaquille O’Neal stated the obvious and said that on paper the Nets have the most talent in the league. However, Charles Barkley was the only analyst to say that he believes that Brooklyn can win its first NBA title this year.
Out of the four members of the crew, Kenny Smith possesses the least amount of hope in the Nets. He made a bold statement about Brooklyn’s new-look lineup.
Kenny Smith doesn’t have faith in the Brooklyn Nets’ title hopes.
Smith said that he doesn’t think that the Nets have enough time to form a type of chemistry on the court between now and mid-April. And in the off chance that Brooklyn will win a championship this season, Smith said that the Nets’ Big Three will then deserve to go down as the greatest players in the history of the game.
The former NBA player (1987-97) isn’t necessarily wrong, although we think that Brooklyn is far better off than it was three weeks ago with James Harden on the roster.
Time isn’t on the Nets’ side but there’s been a much-needed energy shift in the locker room.
"It’s a great vibe," Brown said. "The locker room is a great vibe in there right now. I don’t know what it is but everything just shifted at the trade deadline – just everybody likes everybody.”
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) February 15, 2022
Over the next couple of weeks, Kevin Durant will make his return back to the floor after being out with a sprained MCL since Jan. 15. Ben Simmons and Goran Dragic are working on their conditioning and are expected to be back soon.
Not to mention, Brooklyn’s holding out hope about Joe Harris. He hasn’t played in a game since Nov. 14 and he underwent surgery on his ankle two weeks after that. There’s a chance that Harris will have to undergo a second surgery and he’s supposed to find out for certain sometime over the next week.
Oh, and remember Kyrie Irving? According to Mayor Eric Adams, New York City is likely going to lift its vaccine mandate in the coming weeks.
We understand why Smith made that statement based on the uncertainty that surrounds the Nets’ roster but it doesn’t make sense why he was that skeptical about Brooklyn going all the way. The 11-game skid that the Nets were on before the break seemed to cloud the minds of a lot of people.
Above all, we’re not going to count KD out. Remember what he did last year in the playoffs without Harden and Irving? He nearly singlehandedly led Brooklyn to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Nets just need a little bit of time, that’s all.
When will Ben Simmons make his Nets debut?
On Monday's edition of NBA Today, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that Ben Simmons is 'weeks' away from his Brooklyn Nets debut.