Brooklyn Nets: “Can the Nets win a title without Kyrie Irving?”
This seems to be the “million-dollar question” right now that everyone is asking and as I have said before, the simple answer is a big — YES.
Kyrie Irving is a fantastic player, arguably a Top-5 point guard of all time given his value and ability to make plays for both himself and others, but the Nets still have two former league MVPs and two guys who are more than capable of leading the league in scoring in Kevin Durant and James Harden
So far this year, Kevin Durant has been sensational and if he keeps playing like he has been, he will be winning his second MVP award of his career. Through the Nets’ first 16 games of the season, KD is averaging 28.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and is shooting a career-best 56.7% from the floor while also shooting 42.7% from three-point range.
Not many players in any sport are able to come back from an Achilles injury and be the same player, but Kevin Durant has defied science. Not only is Durant the same player post-injury as he was pre-injury, but he may actually be better.
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In his first 12 seasons in the league, Durant averaged 27.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and shot 49.3% from the floor, making him one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the league. Since coming back after his Achilles injury, Kevin Durant is averaging 27.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and is shooting 54.7% from the floor.
Being arguably the best scorer in the league since Michael Jordan in terms of being able to get a bucket from anywhere on the floor, KD has the Nets in prime position to contend for a title this year without Kyrie.
His partner in crime in James Harden got out to a slow start this season, but is starting to settle down and be the MVP-like player we are used to seeing. Obviously his scoring numbers have gone down compared to past years since he is deferring to Kevin Durant now, but Harden has recorded a double-double in eight of the last ten games for the Nets and he is shooting 39.5% from three-point range on the season.
Both Durant and Harden are playing at high levels for the Nets right now, but most importantly, they are getting production from the talent around them. Joe Harris has continued to be an elite-level three-point shooter, Patty Mills has been a revelation off the bench in terms of perimeter scoring for them and LaMarcus Aldridge is starting to put his name in the conversation for Sixth-Man of the Year.
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The 7x All-Star big man came back to the Nets this year after briefly retiring due to medical concerns last season and has come off the bench in every single game he has played so far. On the year, Aldridge is averaging 12.8 points (third-best on the team), 5.5 rebounds and is shooting 58.0% from the floor.
Having an experienced All-Star like Aldridge that the Nets can count on off-the-bench is a luxury and as this team continues to grow together, they are only going to get better on both ends of the floor. Obviously having Kyrie on this team would make them a better contender than they are, but there is no reason why the Nets cannot win the Eastern Conference this season and contend for their first title in franchise history.
