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Mary Altaffer / Associated press
James Harden made his Brooklyn Nets debut with a 32-point triple-double. Two nights later, Harden and Kevin Durant each scored over 30 in a thrilling 125-123 victory over two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Their trebles and rim shots dominated the eventual Eastern Conference final showdown.
Brooklyn looks like a drummer of the world with Harden in the crease, and he suddenly comes across as the odds favorite to get out of the East. With Harden’s contract guaranteed only for the 2021-22 season, now is the right time for the Nets. And with Kyrie Irving should play Wednesday night against Cleveland, it looks like the Nets’ new triumvirate will soon finally be unleashed.
MHowever, any member of the rival team shared their skepticism that the Brooklyn All-Star group will wear makeup as well as the modern Big Threes before them.
The Nets are not the 2007-08 Boston Celtics. This talented group fits in perfectly like long lost puzzle pieces. Ray Allen’s deadly jumper provided spacing for Paul Pierce’s midrange dances, while Kevin Garnett played the heartbeat of the stifling Boston defense. The Nets’ new All-Stars collection offers much less complementary games.
Critics once doubted the 2007-08 Celtics’ ability to coexist in terms of reduced scoring charges and shot attempts. This group of the Nets face the same doubts, especially since Harden and Irving both prefer to score by hammering the rock.
“It’s different because their games don’t necessarily match,” said an Eastern Conference assistant coach.
Kevin Durant will always be Kevin Durant. He is perhaps the most malleable goalscorer in the history of the game. His unmatched size and dexterity is the ultimate cheat code. In Golden State, he, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson went on a rampage in a roaring pattern where every scorer knew if he hit the next pass and cut hard, the ball would soon find them, with all the space to release historical numbers. .
The dynamics of Brooklyn presents something that is not quite so idyllic. Durant’s jumper will still rain down on enemies near and far, but Harden and Irving generally acted as the primary ball handlers, weaving dribbles between their legs and sliding off the high screen after the high screen. Yes, there is only one bullet. And maybe more urgent: only one player at a time can throw that pick-and-roll at the top of the key.
Coaches often repeat a cliché that “the ball has energy”. When the Harden Rockets fought the Durant Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, there’s a reason Houston’s defense was based on change. Houston wanted Golden State to attack individual discrepancies.
Of course, Durant, Curry, and Thompson got theirs. These three can settle for a tough rider on any possession. But when the ball isn’t buzzing around the perimeter and the other teammates aren’t getting involved, they’re stranded in the corner watching, as are the fans on the pitch behind them. Oxygen is drained from an otherwise roaring attack, even when your stars keep pace. Now imagine if the uncommitted teammate is Irving or Harden rather than Andre Iguodala or Shaun Livingston.
The rival staff are very curious whether the Brooklyn group can avoid falling into this iso-ball trap. Many coaches interviewed by B / R expect the Nets to perform a fair share of isolations with Harden and Irving.
“Let them attack the weaker defenseman,” said an NBA coach.
They will seek to punish the switches and will likely succeed in doing so. But relying on your stars to beat their dribbling man is untenable in 48 minutes. And league skeptics are wondering how Irving will handle playing second fiddle at Harden. There will be inevitable stretches where both stars flank creating the other’s dribble from the wing. But by all accounts, The Beard is poised to serve as Brooklyn’s nominal playmaker and primary ball handler. Will Kyrie get frustrated and start throwing himself every time he touches him? Will Harden do the same?
The key to finding this balance seems to be through layers of speech.
“Are they going to join? It is more than anything about their level of communication,” said one scout.
Adam Hunger / Associated press
Brooklyn’s coaching staff and front office will be tasked with preaching a message of sacrifice – shots, touches and minutes to fame and attention. A rival coach spoke to B / R about the importance of learning each player’s individual goals in order to balance how they can achieve them within the overall structure of the Nets. Getting to know them as people, before getting to know them as players, shouldn’t prove to be a big challenge given Brooklyn assistant Mike D’Antoni’s long-standing relationship with Harden and the front office. of the Nets having already spent a full season with Irving and Durant.
Perhaps Brooklyn will stagger Irving and Harden’s minutes, which one coach says would optimally start halfway through the first quarter. Sending Harden off the bench early could immediately provide Irving with a long run to lead the Brooklyn offense. However, some suggest Harden might be better suited to orchestrate the Second Unit.
“James is a better passer,” said an assistant coach.
Irving has always been a first scorer, lowering his head for his range of rocker and midrange jumpers. Without Irving applying pressure to the edge, defenders can help defenders stay at home, especially against a bench formation. There is no rotation and Irving does not draw double teams. He rarely throws the ball during practice to a spotted teammate who is ready to attack a fence. During the 2016 playoffs, for example, Irving’s placement attempts all but doubled once LeBron James took a break.
Brooklyn can avoid a lot of mess on the half court by continuing to punish enemies in transition. The Nets are currently ranked fifth in the league in rhythm, and this dangerous open-pit attack only encourages forward passes and ball movements that should keep the three stars well fed. But when the ball slows down, tactics will prove essential.
So far, we’ve seen Brooklyn frequently use Joe Harris as an examiner for Harden. This action will continue to stretch the defenses even with the immense gravity of Irving and Durant on the ground, which will leave plenty of leeway if the ball is swung.
Irving and Durant presented a pair of unguarded pick-and-rolls ahead of the Harden trade and Irving’s prolonged absence. When these two play this duo, some coaches have predicted that Brooklyn will attempt to engage Harden in some action from the weak side. When the ball swings, he will be able to break through a defense that is already in motion, and possibly a defender that is already on him.
It will take time to sort out, but that’s the goal of the regular season. The Nets will likely drop some outings as they go through the expected growing pains, and with Irving and Durant still progressing from late-season injuries, they believe they are without one of their new Big Three in a number of matches.
League staff are very curious to see how this discussion unfolds in the playoffs. Schemes, conversations, and team philosophies can change as a simple switch based on the different matches and styles within each series. There will always be a ball, but the crunch time in a playoff game only presents one spotlight. And coaches and executives contacted by B / R have suggested Irving will have to take a backseat for Harden in these situations. He’s a goalscorer, not a creator, and many believe that alone makes him the undisputed third star in this new triumvirate. The fact that Irving accepts this may ultimately determine Brooklyn’s level of success.
Still, no matter how skeptical, every modern Big Three we’ve seen has managed to win it all. Durant’s Warriors went back to back, while James, Irving and Kevin Love won the 2016 crown. The King’s Heat won two – though it wasn’t five, six, or seven – and the Boston trio won a title in their first year together, as the star group from Brooklyn hopes.
“We were a bunch of Type A people who everyone thought they could do the job of,” Ray Allen told B / R.
And then these Celtics bought.
Now the Nets need Durant, Irving and Harden to do it, too.
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