Golden State Death Lineup? Meet Brooklyn's Death Star plans

 Brooklyn’s Big Three can work.

The first quarter against Cleveland showed just how scary they can be. James Harden didn’t have a point in the quarter, scored his first basket almost halfway through the 2nd quarter, but given time the Nets will be scary.

This Nets team isn’t even close to being the team that will start in the playoffs (barring injury) and the chemistry will only get better. With time the turnover problems will be fixed as the spacing gets better, the guys get used to being on the floor together, and the rotation becomes clearer—this team will be next to impossible to deal with offensively. The ceiling of Brooklyn’s offensive firepower is unlike anything the league has seen. This is Golden State’s Death Lineup x10. All three of Brooklyn’s Big Three can take over the game and carry the team solo for the entire game. There hasn’t been a threesome like this in league history. The problem will be defensively and on the boards.

Kevin Durant can hold his own defensively (even with his comeback season), Kyrie could when it counts, Harden hasn’t shown he could hold his own on the defensive side of the ball in his career, and Joe Harris could for a possession or two. Jeff Green and DeAndre Jordan (if he hasn’t fouled out) are not liabilities. But that’s the team as currently constructed. There will be moves.

What those moves will be will be determined by the buyouts around the league and who becomes available. What the Nets will mostly look for is what they gave up in the Harden trade—which is rebounding, defensive ability, and sure handed rebounders. Jarret Allen will be a star in this league and his rime production along with his ability to grab 10 rebounds a night is the thing that will haunt Brooklyn until they find someone to fill that role. Looking at the guys who could potentially be buyout guys in mid-March here are a couple guys I think could be finding their way to Brooklyn:

1.      Trevor Ariza- OKC is primed for a top three pick in the ’22 draft and Ariza can give the Nets a good three & D wing that can play along Durant/Kyrie/Harden/Green in small ball “I need a defense stop” moments.

2.      LaMarcus Aldridge-Like OKC, San Antonio is in a transition period, but whether Pop would bite the bullet, and cut Aldridge loose could be a pipe dream. Aldridge does solve a lot of problems for the Nets—even though he hasn’t truly shown up in the playoffs—but if let go by the Spurs the upside is this years’ Markieff Morris x2.

3.      PJ Tucker-Brooklyn would be pillaging Houston’s roster even more than they have this year. There is a possibility Tucker gets bought out because the Harden trade is the beginning of a rebuild. Tucker might not be bought out and it would take some capitol to have Tucker suit up with Harden and Jeff Green again. Like Ariza, what Tucker would provide is a defensive minded guy who will change that side of the floor for the Nets while giving Brooklyn a decent three-point shooter (36.2% career).

4.      Robin Lopez-Due to COVID-19 the Washington Wizards have played 12 games at the quarter mark of the season. The Russell Westbrook trade so far has failed to this point and the prospects of moving on from Bradley Beal returns to the conciseness of Wizard fans. Although Washington might only get to 20 games at the pace they are playing games, Robin Lopez will get dead weight on a roster going nowhere. If Washington’s plan worked Lopez would be a key piece in the solution, but their plan is not working, so hopefully he will be bought out so the Nets can use him as a defensive anchor to try to slow down both Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis (fingers crossed). Everything Lopez would give Brooklyn on the offensive end would be gravy, this move if he is available is to bulk up the defensive intensity for the long playoff road to a title.  

However, until the buyout guys become available, I really think the Nets can work.

All of this is not an overreaction from mere minutes of watching Durant, Kyrie, and Harden. They did lose their first game together in double OT to a team that will be lucky if they get out of the hunt for the lottery. In the second overtime the Brooklyn’s Big Three looked like a bunch of 30-year-old dads out of gas trying to real live the glory days.

UPDATED:

Since writing this on the night the Nets lost in double OT they have gone 4-2 and have shown over the course of several games exactly what they did in the “Colin Sexton Game,” the ability to look unbeatable and like they will win a NBA title in June, to playing down to their competition and allowing teams to stick in games when they talent shouldn’t share the same floor. Since the Harden trade, Brooklyn leads the league in offensive rating and is the worst team in defensive rating—seems like my initial reaction from night one of the Big Three was right… At least for the time being.

The ability the trio showed in a blink of an eye on the floor together is incredible. There is not a shootout that the Nets don’t think they can win. Brooklyn is armed to the teeth; they will score boatloads of points. The amount of highlights they will create is unimaginable. This is all coming after I destroyed the move when the trade went final.

I believe in this team even if I didn’t want to.

This team can win, it’ll only take a matter of time…

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