Arguably the biggest surprise in the NBA this season has been the fall of the Brooklyn Nets. They entered the season as one of the favorites to take home the NBA Championship with a roster built around the Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving.
That Big 3 and dissolved into a Big 1.5 as Harden is now with the Philadelphia 76ers and Irving is still only eligible part-time because of mandates in New York City in regards to the COVID-19 vaccine, which he remains without. That has led to a plummet down the standings.
Brooklyn is now in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 5.5 games behind the sixth-place Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the last spot outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Brooklyn certainly has their work cut out for them to make the playoffs after looking like one of the best teams in the NBA through Christmas.
Following a Los Angeles sweep of the Lakers on December 25th and Clippers on December 27th, the Nets were in first place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-9. Since that time, they are among the worst teams in the NBA, going 10-24.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Does Kevin Durant Have Enough Help To Keep Brooklyn Nets Afloat?
An injury to Kevin Durant is a major reason that they are in the position that they are. Durant recently discussed that and revealed that is likely part of the reason Harden is no longer with the team.
“You can try to look at it from his perspective: Kai’s not playing, and I’m injured. He hasn’t won a championship before,” Durant said, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
Durant and Irving already have titles, so they knew what it takes to climb that bill. Harden joined the Nets in part because he no longer wanted to carry a team by himself. He had been doing that with the Houston Rockets for multiple seasons and was seeking some help on his quest to win that elusive NBA title.
But, with Kevin Durant injured and Irving’s stance on getting vaccinated, things were starting to look a lot like they did in Houston. So, seeing an opportunity with the 76ers, who Harden wanted to end up with when everything with the Rockets went down, Harden jumped at it.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Does Kevin Durant Have Enough Help To Keep Brooklyn Nets Afloat?
Now he is on a team with a potential MVP winner in Joel Embiid and excellent supporting players in Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. It would be quite a story if the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers matched up in the first round of the playoffs, something that is certainly in play if the standings remain the same throughout the end of the regular season.
