"The Nets are an NFT … they are not an actual basketball team" - Nick Wright gives his take on who's gonna win the NBA championship this season
Analyst Nick Wright recently voiced his opinion that the Brooklyn Nets aren't legitimate contenders on "Game Theory with Bomani Jones". Wright feels the Milwaukee Bucks are head and shoulders above the competition. He stated:
"They're an NFT, they're an idea, they're not an actual basketball team. I don't buy them as a championship contender and I don't buy them getting out of round one."
“The Nets are an NFT. They are an idea. They are not an actual basketball team. So I don’t buy them.”
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When the Brooklyn Nets signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency, it looked like the NBA's next super team was forming. That came to fruition when they pulled off a huge trade to bring in James Harden last season.
Despite this abundance of talent, they failed to produce results. Injuries and other off-the-court factors have derailed Brooklyn for two straight seasons now. They find themselves as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, pitted against a red-hot Boston Celtics team.
Given their superstar talent, the Nets were always thrown into discussions regarding teams who could come out of the East.
Brooklyn Nets Have a Tough Road Ahead of Them
At best, Brooklyn could be considered a dark horse team in the Eastern Conference. We saw what Kevin Durant did last postseason, and now he has a full-time Kyrie Irving alongside him.
There is also a chance Ben Simmons could make his long-awaited debut with Brooklyn.
Brooklyn has never put much emphasis on the regular season, and it has come back to haunt them this time around. Their journey to the NBA Finals will be an extremely tough one.
For starters, they face an extremely tough matchup in round one. Boston has one of the league's best defenses, not to mention a deadly perimeter duo in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
This was a DIME from Kyrie 🤧
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Even if they manage to beat the Celtics in a slugfest, they will likely face Milwaukee Bucks in round two. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Durant had a battle for the ages last year, and they could produce another classic.
On top of these tough matchups, Brooklyn will also be without home court advantage in any series.
Wright made some valid points. So far, the idea of Brooklyn has been much better than the product. Now at full strength, it is up to Durant and Irving to prove their critics wrong.