NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Brooklyn Nets will endure what could possibly be a great season or a complete disaster. There will be no in-between here. Either they win or they go down as one of the biggest busts in the history of the NBA. Despite an offseason full of trade requests and confusion, the Nets still have Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant suiting up in Brooklyn. And that alone is worthy of a playoff appearance, right?
But they also have Ben Simmons finally set to play a meaningful game for Brooklyn after coming over in the trade deadline deal last season. And another glimmer of hope is the return of sharp-shooter Joe Harris who was MIA as well. While the Nets will look different this season, they may have their best roster since bringing in Durant and Irving. This is going to be an exciting season watching this team.
Brooklyn Nets Guards
Irving is still leading the way here after averaging 27.4 points and 5.8 assists in just 29 games. Backing up Irving will be Patty Mills and then Cam Thomas. Sharing the backcourt in the starting unit will be Joe Harris and then Seth Curry. Harris, who missed all but 14 games last season should be ready to go with his outside shooting. Curry was huge last season and now adding Harris to the mix, the Nets will have deadly shooters on the 1st and 2nd units.
Brooklyn Nets Forwards
The Nets were in desperate need of defense and with Simmons finally suiting up for a regular season game with the Nets this season, all that will change. Simmons, while playing PG since entering the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, will now move to PF for the Nets, according to ESPN Depth Charts. Durant will move to his natural position at SF and will continue to be the scoring machine he has been his entire career. Backing them up will be the newly signed T.J. Warren, Royce O’Neale, and Markieff Morris.
Brooklyn Nets Centers
The Nets are loaded at every position and for some reason, they have continued to ignore this position. Nic Claxton is young and energetic but is he the guy who can hold the paint down for 30+ minutes a night? Last season he averaged 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds in just 20.7 minutes. Backing him up will be the 2nd-year player Day’Ron Sharpe. The play in the paint is where the Nets will need to improve upon if winning a title this season is their goal.
Brooklyn Nets Coach
With all the hoopla going on last season and this offseason, the Brooklyn Nets coaching staff just may be their biggest concern. Steve Nash doesn’t have the necessary experience to coach this group and the Nets have not been able to play the necessary defense required to win a title. And for some reason, Nash has yet to figure out how to use his rotations. But the bigger question here is; does Nash have the trust and confidence of the players he’s trying to lead?
