The Brooklyn Nets’ Recent Surge
Things have changed within the Brooklyn Nets organization since the drama-filled 2022 off-season and the uncharacteristic start to the 2022-2023 campaign that led to the departure of former Head Coach Steve Nash.
With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving playing like the superstar duo they truly are, and a head coach in Jacque Vaughn who the players seem to respond well to , the Nets have quickly turned things around. So much so that they’ve gone from being near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings to being the second-best team in the conference, 1 game back of the Celtics.
Heading into Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn was riding on a 12-game winning streak. Now, thanks to a 5-5 cold streak from the Celtics and an even worse 4-6 mark from the Bucks, the Nets sit in sole possession of 2nd place in the East at 26-13 with no signs of slowing down.
KD-Kyrie Duo Leading the Way
It’s easy to get carried away by the high-scoring games from Donovan Mitchell, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, and others. For Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they didn’t need to score over 40 points on multiple occasions to get the job done.
Durant only broke the 40-point barrier once in their 12-game run- a 43-point outing against the Detroit Pistons on December 19th. While Durant’s numbers aren’t as eye-popping as some of the other MVP candidates, his numbers still get them wins.
For the season, Durant is averaging 30 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 blocks, on 56% field goal shooting.
Like Durant, Kyrie Irving’s numbers aren’t as exciting as the other superstar point guards around the association. Even though he caught flack for his actions and comments off the court, his on-court performances have been All-Star calibre thus far.
Through 27 games of the season, Irving is averaging 25.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 48.9% field goal shooting in 36.4 minutes per night.
Against the Bulls, Durant and Irving finished with 44 points and 25 points respectively.
Room For Improvement
Even though the Nets saw their 12-game winning streak snapped, the loss also revealed a few flaws in their otherwise great midseason turnaround.
Against the Bulls, the Nets’ defense allowed 40 first-quarter points and 53.1% field goal shooting overall. Brooklyn also allowed the Bulls to shoot 40% from the three-point line. Not to mention giving up 121 points- ten points above the Nets’ opponents’ season average.
Bench production has also been a major concern for the Nets. Their bench players are averaging 32.6 points per game, but against the Bulls, the Nets’ bench only had 25 points- 22 of which came from Seth Curry. Other role players who let the team down include a two point effort from Joe Harris, and a solitary point from Yuta Watanabe.
The rest of the Nets’ starters didn’t show up and help their dynamic duo. Ben Simmons had a silent seven-point, nine-rebound outing in 26 minutes. Nic Claxton had 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, while Royce O’ Neale went scoreless in 35 minutes.
The good news for the Nets though is they’re only one game behind the Boston Celtics for the best record in the NBA. While Brooklyn has hit another gear of late, they remain a piece or two away from becoming bonafide contenders.
Their lack of depth is likely to give them problems in the playoffs, meaning they should be amongst the league’s more active teams as the NBA trade deadline approaches.
While they don’t need to empty the asset cupboard to pull off a blockbuster deal, they should be in the market for serviceable 6th/7th men who can impact a 7 game series.
Players like Alex Caruso of the Bulls or Buddy Hield from the Pacers should be on team’s radar as clubs reach the midway point of the 2022-23 season.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.